The pipes in your house form a complex maze of channels. They can develop clogs, rust, or leaks over time; finding them can be a challenge when doing any repair or renovation. You also need to be careful when drilling or hammering a nail into the wall. Whether you’re looking for water pipes yourself or relying on repiping specialists or other plumbing service providers, we’ll look at different ways pipes can be found.
How Your Plumbing System Is Laid Out
The main water supply source is typically in the basement or near a lower exterior wall. It branches into pipes that run through walls, ceilings, and floors, serving every plumbing fixture, faucet, and appliance. Pipes are essentially everywhere, branching into numerous sections. However, the plumbing layout differs in each home and is determined by its size, type of construction, and age.
Sewer lines are also part of your plumbing system. They start in your home and carry wastewater away from drains. You can trace their location by finding the clean-out, a visible pipe with a removable cap. It’s usually in the yard or along an exterior wall. Finding the main connection of the clean-out helps approximate the path of the main sewer line, but smaller sewer pipes still run throughout your property (as there are multiple drainage points).
Finding the Exact Location and Path of Residential Pipes
There are several ways to determine where plumbing pipes are. Don’t skip this step, as puncturing a water pipe can cause serious water damage. Fixing the pipe and the wall it’s in can be quite expensive. Here are some effective ways to safely locate pipes in your home:
- Blueprints: If you have the original blueprints of your home, you don’t need any type of physical investigation. Blueprints provide a detailed view of the entire system. If you don’t have them, you can call the contractor or local building department that constructed your house.
- Stud Finder: Little expertise is needed to operate a stud finder. It helps find the studs, or vertical beams, of the frame supporting your home. The device can identify the presence of other structures too, such as pipes. Studs run in straight lines, but pipes often change direction. Therefore, if you find an object that turns or branches off, it’s likely a pipe (some stud finders can detect both metal and plastic piping).
- Metal Detector: Not all pipes are made of metal. A metal detector won’t help you find plastic pipes, but it is effective for detecting and tracing metal pipes as well as their depth within the wall. The instrument can also detect the foil insulation on water pipes and wiring.
- Thermal Detector: A thermal detector senses changes in temperature around a wall. Since the water going through pipes is at a different temperature than its surroundings, the device can estimate where the pipe runs. Feeling the wall near a radiator can also help estimate where a pipe is, but it is not as accurate as a thermal detector.
- Electronic Pipe Detector: Pipe detectors and wall scanners provide a safe and accurate method to find any obstructions in the wall. Some scanners can find pipes, wires, and cables. A homeowner can buy or rent a device at a hardware store. The detector will flash a certain indicator light or make a specific sound when it finds a pipe (rather than studs or electrical wiring). When using it, mark the points on the wall where pipes are found, so you can trace their path.
- Pipe Cameras: A plumber inserts a camera at an access point inside your home or outside. It’s attached to a long cable and a computer that can track the camera’s location and direction of travel. Aside from helping trace a pipe, the camera lets a plumber see any clogs, rust, mineral scale, cracks, leaks, or tree root penetrations.
- Sonar/Radar: Plumbers can map water and sewer lines outside using a sonar device. Ground-penetrating radar may also be used. The equipment is rolled along the ground. If a buried pipe is located, it will show on a display. Sometimes, a plumber will also send an electronic transmitter into the pipeline, which can send signals to above-ground detectors to precisely determine its location.
Schedule Plumbing Services with Air Stars
Our drain cleaning, pipe repair, and repiping specialists use state-of-the-art tools, equipment, and techniques to address your plumbing needs. The latest technologies are also used in leak detection. A plumbing problem can quickly escalate to major damage, but our team can quickly troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair any issue quickly. To request professional plumbing services in Oregon, book an appointment online or call (503) 897-9292 today.
