Testing allows us to collect data that can be helpful to individual homeowners to better understand how the re-piping has impacted their home. It also allows us to collect data for the entire community so homeowners can know what is a normal and expected amount of change, and when the changes to their water system fall outside the range of acceptability for quality of work. It’s helpful to know these things when talking to the members of the sageWater teams when discussing what needs to be fixed, when it’s okay for you to sign off on work that has been completed (or not completed) and when to seek additional help when communicating with sageWater or the construction consultants is not enough.
The tools we use for testing are:
These tools are available to borrow for your own tests, or you can ask to have a volunteer come help you do the testing. If you have your own tools feel free to use those. Most people have a stopwatch on their smart phone, and this is perfectly acceptable for all testing. Forms to print to record your testing will be available for download soon. We have already-printed versions of the form to give you. Just ask, and we can provide you with the tools and forms.
Our tools are available for use whether or not you choose to share your data with the NBT Project. We want all home owners and tenants to be able to prepare themselves and be informed, and do not require participation or anything in return. Helping the community is our priority.
Don’t worry about perfect accuracy when doing your testing. Hyper-precision is not necessary for these tests. Changes in water flow of a few seconds is not a notable difference, but a 30 second difference is. What we are looking for are significant differences outside of an acceptable range of change. What is the most-important thing is that in your testing, before and after re-piping, is that you test in the same way. If you test the same way, in the same location (sink/room), before and after the re-piping the amount of relative change will give you a good reading on the level of quality of work for your unit.
When testing for time, please always round down for the number of seconds. 5.9 seconds should be rounded to 5 seconds, not up to 6.
You can download the sheet for recording your test results from the link below, or ask us for a pre-printed copy if you don’t have a printer available. We always have plenty!
This test tells us how long it takes for the water to be hot in each sink in the house. This test is sensitive to time-of-day, and multiple tests per sink at different times of day is preferred, especially in the early morning or late hours when fewer neighbors will be using the hot water. Having different days of the week is also very helpful.
This is the most-important test. The most common issue is longer times to get hot water. This effects all of us in the community, because longer times to get hot water means we all run (waste) more water while waiting for our water to be hot. This means a higher water bill, which translates to more increases in HOA dues. If you are a renter, this may lead to an increase in your rent.
After re-piping, some units have had very slow times to get hot water to their sinks. Times that have been recorded are 2.5 minutes and 4 minutes after re-piping, where the time before re-piping was standard for most of the complex, between 30-40 seconds.
The water flow test gives us a record of how much water is coming out of your faucet(s). Multiple locations in the home is helpful, but if only one is tested the kitchen is preferred. Only one test per faucet is needed.
Some people have reported very slow water coming from their faucets after the re-piping.
This tests if the hydronic heater is operational or not.
This test is done with a laser thermometer, by turning the heater on and to a temperature much higher than room temperature. Use the laser to determine if the air blown from the vents is hot. This may be done by a NBT Project volunteer.
Units have had heaters that worked before re-piping that stopped working completely after.
This test simply tests how hot the hot water is coming from the sink(s)
Let the water run until it’s reached maximum heat, then measure with the infrared thermometer. This test is best done right after a hot water speed test, so not to waste water on just this one test.
The PEX used to re-pipe degrades at temperatures above 140 degrees (F). This can cause the pipes to fail, leading to leaking and flooding. There is also a health risk, as bits of plastic can end up in the drinking water.
This tests the moisture content in the drywall before the re-pipe project.
sageWater has been painting over wet drywall. Painting over the wet drywall seals the moisture in the wall which can lead to mold and mildew in the walls. NBT homes already have issues with mold due to the humidity from being so close to the ocean.
This test allows us to make sure there aren’t already moisture issues before the re-piping.