Plumbing Services
in Cape May, NJ

What Usually Goes Wrong in a Cape May House

Cape May is a historic city, and a lot of its housing dates to the 1800s. Plumbing in a house that old behaves differently from plumbing in a new build — pipe materials are older, drain stacks are older, and bathrooms have often been fitted into rooms that were never designed for them. Tap any problem to see what it usually means.

• Low water pressure throughout the house
  When pressure is low at every fixture rather than just one, the supply piping is usually the cause. Older galvanized steel lines corrode from the inside over decades, narrowing the opening until flow drops off. A pressure check tells us whether the problem is the incoming supply, a valve, or the pipe itself — and whether a targeted repair or repiping makes more sense.
• Discolored or rusty water when a tap is first opened
  Rusty water on the first draw usually points to corrosion inside the supply piping or inside the water heater tank. Which one it is matters, because the fix is completely different. If it clears only on the hot side, the water heater is the more likely source; if it happens on both, the piping is.
• A slow drain that keeps coming back
  A clog that clears and then returns within weeks is rarely a clog. In older homes it is often a cast-iron drain line that has scaled up on the inside, a section that has settled and lost its slope, or roots working into a joint further down. A camera inspection shows which, so the repair addresses the cause instead of the symptom.
• A running or unreliable toilet in a period bathroom
  Most running toilets are a worn flapper, a fill valve out of adjustment, or a flush valve seat that no longer seals. In an older bathroom the complication is usually the shutoff and the supply connection rather than the toilet itself — old valves can seize. We check those before starting so a small repair does not turn into a bigger one. See toilet repair.
• No hot water, or hot water that runs out quickly
  No hot water at all is usually a failed heating element, thermocouple, or gas control. Hot water that runs out faster than it used to often means sediment has built up in the bottom of the tank and is taking up capacity. In a house with several bathrooms added over the years, it can also simply mean the tank was never sized for the current demand. We test before recommending replacement.
• A leak you can hear but cannot see
  Hidden leaks are the ones worth calling about early. In an older home the piping often runs behind lath and plaster, under original flooring, or through spaces that were closed in during a past renovation. Locating the leak precisely before opening anything up is the whole job — it is the difference between one small repair and a much larger one.
• Outdoor shower or hose bib that will not shut off cleanly
  Outdoor plumbing takes the worst of shore conditions — salt air, sand, and a long off-season sitting unused. A hose bib or outdoor shower valve that drips or will not close fully usually needs the valve rebuilt or replaced. It is worth handling before winter, since a fixture that will not shut fully is also a fixture that will not drain fully.