Start from observed conditions
Fixture behavior, pipe material, pressure, drainage, venting, shutoff location, access, and prior repairs each factor into an accurate diagnosis.
Build a complete scope
- The material between the main and the meter, given state lead line rules
- Whether galvanized supply in the older housing is at end of life
- How walls are opened for access and how they are put back
- Protection for any run in an unheated space at this frost depth
- Permits and inspection when a replacement rather than a repair is involved
Ann Arbor context
The city's Old West Side, platted starting in 1845 and listed on the National Register in 1972, still carries two-story frame houses built for a fast-growing 19th-century college town -- about 85% clapboard-clad, the rest brick or stucco -- later filled in with Dutch Colonials, bungalows, and Tudor cottages on small lots. Underneath that older core and the newer subdivisions built across Washtenaw County sits a mix of sand, gravel, and clay-rich glacial till left by retreating ice roughly 14,000 years ago -- fertile ground that also drains poorly, one reason plumbing and drainage work stays in steady demand across the area.