Question: Good morning, Robert, I’m hoping you can walk me through what I think will be a big project that I’m willing to attempt. I’ve noticed that I have an area near my front walkway that is constantly wet, when it hasn’t always been. My guess is that I have a leak of some sort, but I’m not sure what exactly is there. Where do I begin? Can you give me a starting point, and maybe a few highlights on how this may play out or if I should not even take this on? Thank you!
– Evan V.
Answer: Evan, you can certainly at least get far enough to diagnose the issue, and figure out your abilities to fix it, from there. With time and patience you should be able to get to the finish line on this project.
First shut, off the irrigation and see if it stops. This is the first and easiest route. If it stops then you know it’s irrigation, and you have to work in that direction. If it’s not irrigation, shut off the main water supply and then you have to start digging. It may take a while to get to the source, but that’s what the first step is.
Follow the water, beginning at the wettest spot and chase it from there. Once you get to the source by exposing the pipe, you’ll see what that is, whether it’s your main or just a broken sprinkler line. Identify the source and then it’ll be standard plumbing protocol. You can reach out further if you need additional guidance. Best of luck.
Robert Lamoureux has more than 40 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at [email protected].
