Six Tips for Plumbing Installation in Your New Home

If you are building a brand new house or planning a major renovation project for an older home, there are several thinks you need to plan. Firstly, you need to consult a general contractor from companies such as Multi-M Contracting, Inc., and start design and operation discussions with the assigned contractors. Once the operation phase progresses, you need to start thinking about electrical, HVAC and
plumbing installation in the home. The placement of freshwater supply lines, sewer and drain pipes, and plumbing vents should be installed in the right locations with the shortest distances possible. In a new house, plumbing can be done before beginning with interior decor.

If you plan to move to your new house, it can be beneficial if you complete all the plumbing, electrical, and other interior projects before looking for local movers. In this way, you can directly move to the furnished house, which can reduce the stress of relocation to a great extent.

If you have a large home, you may have to consider various plumbing aspects. For one, the farther the water connections are from the main supply line, the lower the pressure can be. Since it can be difficult to know if you will have sufficient water pressure post-construction or post-renovation, it is a good idea to have a water pressure regulator installed at the same time.

The water pressure regulator will allow you to adjust water pressure levels to address any potential issues with low water pressure without having to re-plumb the lines a second time. A word of caution with water pressure regulators: Always have your plumber make adjustments to avoid setting the pressure too high and damaging faucets and water-type appliances.

Aside from having a water pressure regulator installed, here are six more great tips and ideas you will want to incorporate into your new plumbing installation for your home.

1. Include plenty of shut-off valves in the right locations.

Plumbing problems will be the last thing on your mind when installing a new plumbing system in your home. Yet, over time, plumbing problems can and do develop-like water leaks. To make it easier to fix future plumbing problems, you will want to make sure each individual connection has its own shut-off valve.

Shut-off valves will allow you to shut the water off to the affected part of the system without having to shut off the water main. For instance, you will shut off valves under each sink for both the hot and cold water lines. You will also want shut-off valves placed in an easily accessible area for bathtubs, showers, and toilets.

Additionally, when the water company or your plumbing services company is connecting to the water main, make sure you have them install the water main shut-off valve in an accessible location. For example, it is better to place the water main shut-off inside your garage than in the crawl space, where it can be difficult to reach in a plumbing emergency.

2. Think about your present and future plumbing needs.

While you will want plumbing, sewer, and drain lines installed in bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room, there can be other future needs you may be overlooking. Getting in touch with professionals like the ones at Mister Greenway who are experts when it comes to providing home improvement services can be a prudent choice. Along with your plumbing needs, they might be able to advise on other home-related matters. Incorporating the new changes with their guidance can easily save you time and money down the road.

For instance, you will want your plumbing to add water softener plumbing connections even if you do not plan on installing a water softener presently. A good location is in a garage, laundry room or another accessible area that can accommodate a water softener system.

3. Don’t overlook your outdoor plumbing installation needs.

One area of the home many people forget about when designing a new plumbing system for their homes is the outdoors. You will want to have plenty of outdoor plumbing faucet connections around the home. As a minimum recommendation, have one outdoor faucet connection installed on each side of the home.

One other great future plumbing option you might want to have installed now would be the connections for an outdoor kitchen. Down the road, you might decide to enclose your deck or patio and build an outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill.

Lastly, don’t forget about an in-ground pool and in-ground water sprinklers. These things may not be in your current budget, but you never know if down the road you might want them. Your plumber can run connections for the water supply lines now so you will be all set later. One benefit of installing outdoor connections like these is that they can be a selling point in the future, should you decide to move.

4. Decide on what plumbing installation the kitchen will need.

The kitchen is the heart of most people’s homes. You want to have water and drain lines for the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator. If your kitchen design includes an island, you may want plumbing lines run now so you could add a sink to the island later if you are not installing one now.

Kitchen designs can impact plumbing and the overall functionality of the kitchen. For instance, some people make the mistake of not designing the cabinets big enough (there are several other common kitchen cabinet mistakes, you can see more here) to fix the water purifier underneath them. Another issue you might find is not placing the dishwasher near the sink. When you install the dishwasher near the sink, the functionality is at stake. However, worry not, if you have a specific kitchen design where the dishwasher is in a location far from a sink, you could certainly have your plumbing services company install separate hot water and drain lines.

5. Decide on what plumbing lines the bathrooms will need.

It is best to evaluate each bathroom individually. While many of your plumbing system needs will be the same, like bathroom sinks and toilets, others can vary. For instance, in the master bathroom, you may want a stand-alone shower and a garden-style Jacuzzi tub. You will also want to think about the number of showerheads you want, as many modern showers have multiple showerheads.

6. Don’t forget about the laundry room.

Your washer connections need to be in the right location. If you have a front-load washer and dryer setup, the washer door swing is normally to the left and the dryer door swing to the right. As such, you would want the washer connections on the left side of the wall. Some people also run plumbing lines for a laundry room utility sink.

One More Essential Plumbing Installation Consideration

In addition to the six primary areas of the home, there is one more essential plumbing item you will need to decide on: The type of water heater you want in your home. Your available options are choosing between tank-based and tankless water heater installation.

You will want tank-based systems installed in an accessible location that can accommodate the size of the water heater. There should be a drain pan and drain line installed as a safety precaution. You may also need to have the water heater installed near the furnace if you have a water recirculating heating system.

With a tankless water heater installation, you have a bit more flexibility in the placement of the water heater. You could have individual water heaters installed in each area of the home where you need hot water. For example, you could have one heater in each bathroom, another in the kitchen, and another unit in the laundry room.

This type of setup is ideal in homes that want tankless heaters and use a lot of hot water. This setup is also great if you want to run multiple hot water lines simultaneously, like running the dishwasher while taking a shower.

There is a third option as well. Some people opt for a tank-based water heater to address most hot water needs in the home, and a stand-alone tankless heater for one specific area of the home. For instance, you may want a stand-alone tankless water heater in the master bathroom for filling up that garden-style Jacuzzi tub for a nice and relaxing soak after a long day at work.

No matter what you decide for your home’s plumbing system design, just remember to make sure you have met all of your plumbing needs. Otherwise, it can be quite costly to have new plumbing lines and drain lines installed later since the lines are no longer easily accessible.

For help with designing the plumbing system for your new home, along with experienced plumbing installation services, please feel free to contact your nearest Christianson Air Conditioning & Plumbing location in San Antonio, Austin Metro, New Braunfels, or Temple today! We can also take care of your central heating and AC installation needs.