Trouble that turns up in shared buildings
- A ceiling stain with nothing visibly leaking on the floor above
- A shared kitchen stack pushing water into the bottom suite
- Riser valves that will not close fully
- Low pressure on upper floors
- Hot water that takes minutes to arrive at the far end of a corridor
How we approach a suite leak
- Start in the wet suite and note where the water appears.
- Move up, checking the fixtures, supply connections and drains directly above.
- Use moisture readings and pressure tests to confirm the source.
- Close the fewest valves that will stop it, then repair.
- Report to the property manager with suite numbers and findings.
Valves are the weak spot
Many buildings in Durham have riser valves nobody has touched since the building was handed over. When an emergency comes, they either will not close or they start weeping as soon as they are touched. Exercising those valves on a schedule, and replacing the worst of them, turns a building-wide shut-off into a single-stack shut-off.
Planning a shut-down
- The manager gets the suite numbers going dry and the expected time
- Notices can be posted a day or more ahead
- Work is staged so water comes back as soon as each section passes its test
