Plumbing advice

Planning plumbing maintenance for an office, clinic or apartment block

What a facility manager should have checked, how often, and what a good maintenance report looks like — so plumbing stops being an emergency budget line.

Why plumbing fails in the same places

In commercial buildings the failures are predictable: float valves that stop closing so tanks overflow, booster pumps that cycle themselves to death on a leaking non-return valve, washroom cisterns that run all night, floor drains that were never cleaned, and gutters that block a week before the rains. None of these are dramatic on the day they start. All of them are expensive by the time someone notices.

The monthly checks

Once a month, someone should walk the building with a short list: every washroom cistern (listen for hissing, look for trickles), every tap and shower (drips and pressure), visible pipework for weeping joints, the tank float valve and overflow, the pump (does it cycle when no water is being used?), and the floor drains and gullies (standing water, smells).

The quarterly checks

Every three months, add the things that need tools: flush and clean drains and gullies, check pump pressure settings and the air vessel, inspect the tank inside for sediment, test isolation valves so they actually close when you need them, and inspect the water heaters — pressure-relief weeping, discoloured water, or slow heating are early warnings.

The yearly items

Once a year: tank cleaning and disinfection, gutter and downpipe clearing before the rainy season, a condition survey of the drainage runs and external chambers, and a written list of parts that are approaching the end of their life so replacement can be budgeted rather than paid for at midnight.

What a good maintenance report looks like

A useful report is short. It says what was checked, what was fixed on the day, what needs attention (with a photograph only where useful and approved), and a recommended date. It should be readable by someone who is not a plumber, and it should build up over the months into a history of the building — that history is what makes the next fault quick to diagnose.

Judging a maintenance contractor

Ask three things. Is it a registered company with an office you can visit? Will the same team come back each time, so knowledge of the building accumulates? And will they agree the scope and price of anything beyond the routine visit before doing it? If the answer to all three is yes, you have found a contractor rather than a phone number.