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March 2, 2008
low water pressure in a coop
hello all, i am purchasing a unit in a 10 unit coop. we did an informal inspection yesterday and we noticed the water pressure in the shower and bath faucet were very low. is there any solution to this problem? can the pressure be increased via a pump for the whole building, or at least with a pump locally for our unit?
ps we will has a formal inspection done this week.
Comments
Step one would be to check the faucets for those damned flow restrictors--I hate those things. That might be part of your problem.
But more likely, this is a matter of concern for the following reason: You probably have old, galvanized pipe, which corrodes on the inside over the years, reducing flow and pressure and--eventually, inevitably, if they're not replaced--bursting.
Which means that your building will, sooner or later, have to replace your risers (pipes that move water vertically through the building) with copper, which is not a cheap or clean project. Which, in turn, is why any time you open a wall in a bathroom or kitchen, you might want to consider upgrading any plumbing there. Unless you enjoy plastering. Hate it, meself.
Posted by: Rehab at March 2, 2008 5:01 PM
I should add that this is probably not a pressing emergency or a reason not to buy, nor is it the kind of thing that I like to see people use to carp too much about a price you've already settled on. But it is a factor. You could probably put new risers in a brownstone for a few thousand bucks.
Posted by: Rehab at March 2, 2008 5:11 PM
Oh yeah, the new coop will love you if you com in and expect the board to assess everyone to pay for your needs. Buy a condo if you want new stuff where everything works well.
Posted by: guest at March 2, 2008 6:14 PM
One possible cause might be the main water line coming into the building. A lot of the old mains are lead. These are often narrow and, because lead is relatively soft, sometimes get compressed over time. Your inspector should be able to tell whether this is the case.
Posted by: slopefarm at March 2, 2008 9:24 PM
thanks rehab!
6:14, not so much. i was looking for advice about a technical problem, and how to fix it, not asking you whether or not to buy a coop.
thanks slopefarm!
Posted by: blackfish at March 2, 2008 10:11 PM
If you care enough to look at the water pressure, I would seriously consider NOT buy it. I've been turning on showers, in places I've rented an bought, ever since I was 19, as I like a shower with water pressure. Kinda necessary to me. Though I have friends who live in a 8-unit coop with no water pressure at all to speak of, such that the people living there often take baths, as both showers are basically non-functional, just a trickle of water - I would never buy in that building.
There is a chance it was temporarily low because someone else was showering/doing laundry/using a lot of water. This can be a perfectly livable situation in a small coop (and is the norm in many), so test it again and see if the results are the same, and if so, decide if you can live with it.
As someone above noted, if the coop hasn't fixed it for the building, they aren't likely want to. I don't know about what you can do for your particular unit - perhaps someone else does.
Posted by: guest at March 3, 2008 1:41 PM
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