Best Practices to Effectively Budget For Plumbing

The holidays around the corner, which means for many property managers with HOA associations it’s time to start planning for your 2018 operating and reserve budgets! Plumbing may be the last thing on your mind, however, with the rising number of failing piping systems across both the public and private sector in North America – it’s time to plan for pipes. Budgeting for your HOA’s plumbing is more imperative than ever to maintain a functioning system, keeping emergency repair costs down, and extending the useful life of your pipe systems. A proactive pipe plan today means money saved tomorrow.

Pipe System Condition Assessments

Your association’s pipes have an expiration date, which means they will need maintenance, repairs and restoration to keep them running efficiently. A condition assessment starts with a CCTV camera inspection. Sanitary and storm drain video inspections are the best way to identify the condition of your pipe system. Whether inside or outside the building, CCTV camera inspections are the starting point towards budgeting for plumbing.

Inspection Benefits

• Identify Condition of System
• Identify Problem Area
• Verify Plumbing Location
• Verify Pipe System Material
• Prevent Emergencies
• Prevent Catastrophic Failures

Video inspections are recorded real time and afterward, a digital copy is sent to for your records. With a copy of the inspection, you will be able to identify top priority repair areas and monitor any problem areas that do not need immediate repairs but could develop over time. 

Pipe Condition Reports

Pipe condition reports provide a detailed synopsis of a piping system by identifying each stack, the pipe condition and any problem areas within. This report is based on any pipe system that was inspected inside the building or underground. Once the data is pulled together, problem areas are identified in severity and are labeled accordingly to help you identify short term and long term repair options that will extend the useful life of the system.

What’s next? The next step is researching what the best solution for your specific pipe problem is, asking for quotes from reputable pipe specialists and budgeting those costs. During this process, many property managers turn to conventional re-plumbing as the solution, when in reality re-plumbing, in many cases, is like having one flat tire but replacing all four tires at the same time. There are alternatives to re-plumbing that are cost effective, time efficient and doesn’t turn the building and property into a construction zone. Trenchless technologies such as cured-in-place-pipe CIPP lining, pipe bursting and others are among these alternatives that offer a no-dig solution. Knowing your alternative solutions is key.

While you prepare for 2018, remember pipe systems are amongst your association’s largest asset. With aging buildings/properties and pipe systems across North America, budgeting for pipes and repairing before catastrophic failures is the best way towards extending the useful life of your association’s pipe systems.