Chapter 10 Further Reading: Common Plumbing Problems

Books and Print Resources

1. "Home Plumbing Illustrated" — The Editors of Family Handyman One of the most practical visual guides to home plumbing repairs. Organized by problem type — leaks, clogs, pressure — making it fast to navigate when you're standing in front of a problem. The photography shows hands doing the work, not just diagrams. Strong on the intermediate repairs that fall between "tighten a screw" and "call a plumber": replacing shutoff valves, repairing supply lines, unclogging main stack cleanouts. Good for the homeowner building beyond beginner repairs.

2. "Plumbing: A Tradesman's Guide" — Multiple editions (Delmar) A vocational training text used in plumbing apprenticeship programs. More detailed than consumer home repair guides and written assuming you want to understand principles, not just follow steps. Excellent on pipe physics, pressure hydraulics, and the engineering behind plumbing systems. Not a quick reference — a learning resource for the homeowner who wants genuine depth on why things work (and fail) the way they do.

3. "The Pocket Ref" — Thomas Glover (Sequoia Publishing) A dense reference book used by tradespeople across multiple disciplines. The plumbing sections include pipe sizing charts, pressure formulas, material compatibility tables, and fitting dimensions. Invaluable if you're doing serious DIY plumbing work and need to verify specifications. Not a narrative — a lookup resource. Available inexpensively and compact enough to keep in a toolbox.

Online Tools and Resources

4. American Red Cross — redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare The Red Cross home preparedness guides cover water emergency preparedness — including water shutoff instructions, safe water storage, and emergency response. Their home emergency action checklists are straightforward and practical. Particularly relevant for the household emergency protocol described in Section 10.7.

5. FEMA Ready — ready.gov/home FEMA's household preparedness materials include winter storm preparation guidance with specific pipe-freezing prevention steps. Freely available and regularly updated. Their winter preparedness guides are particularly useful for households in freeze-prone climates and include clear action checklists for both before and during cold weather events.

6. Insurance Information Institute — iii.org The III publishes consumer guides on home insurance, including what water damage claims cover (and don't cover) and how gradual leaks versus sudden pipe bursts are treated differently by most homeowners policies. Understanding your coverage before an event — particularly which types of water damage require separate flood insurance — is genuinely important information. Their guides are clear and free.

Video and Digital Resources

7. This Old House "Plumbing" playlist — thisoldhouse.com/plumbing The gold standard for home plumbing video instruction. This Old House plumbing expert Richard Trethewey has filmed practical tutorials on nearly every common plumbing problem: frozen pipes, water hammer, main shutoff valve replacement, drain clearing. The "frozen pipe prevention" and "water hammer" segments from This Old House are among the best practical tutorials available anywhere. Both are free on YouTube.

8. Ask the Builder — askthebuilder.com Tim Carter's long-running home advice site has detailed written guides on plumbing diagnosis and repair. Carter's approach emphasizes understanding cause before applying fix — he's particularly good on leak diagnosis and water pressure problems. His guides predate the video era and are often more detailed textually than video resources.

Standards and Safety Resources

9. IICRC S500 Standard — Water Damage Restoration (iicrc.org) The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification publishes the S500 — the industry standard for water damage restoration. While written for professionals, homeowners will find the classification of water damage types (clean water vs. gray water vs. sewage) and the drying protocols directly useful in understanding what any restoration company should be doing during a remediation. Knowing the professional standard helps you verify the quality of contractor work.

10. Consumer Product Safety Commission — cpsc.gov The CPSC publishes recalls and safety notices for plumbing products and fixtures. If you have a specific brand of pipe, fitting, or fixture, a quick search of CPSC recalls can tell you whether it's been subject to safety action. Notable historical examples include certain PB (polybutylene) pipe systems and specific types of flexible braided supply lines. Searching your product or system before trusting it is five minutes of useful verification.

Technical Reference

11. Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine — pmmag.com An industry trade publication primarily aimed at plumbing contractors, but its technical articles on pipe materials, failure modes, and repair technologies are more detailed than consumer resources. Particularly useful for understanding new trenchless technologies, PEX adoption, and the technical arguments around water treatment and pressure management. Free online access to most content.

12. University Extension Services — various (search "[your state] + extension + water conservation) State cooperative extension services (university-based consumer education programs) publish free guides on household water conservation, water pressure management, and water quality. These guides are calibrated for regional conditions — water hardness, typical municipal pressure ranges, climate-specific freeze prevention — in ways that national resources can't be. Find your state's extension service and search their home water resources.