Common Plumbing Questions From Florence, SC Homeowners: Leaks, Permits and Water Heaters

Close the main water shutoff, which is usually near the meter or where the line enters the house. Open the lowest tap in the house to drain pressure out of the system. Turn off power to wet areas only if you can reach the switch without standing in water, and photograph the damage before you move anything. If you smell gas, leave the house, avoid switches and call your gas utility or 911 from outside. Then call us on (866) 919-0785.

A warm spot on a floor, the sound of water running with every tap closed, a bill that climbs with no change in use, or damp flooring over the slab. A hot line leaking under concrete is the usual cause of the warm spot. The slab leak page covers how the break is located before any concrete is opened and how the repair-or-reroute decision is made.

Florence County averages 45.3 inches of rain a year and logged 47 flood and flash flood events between 1993 and 2020. The city is partway through a 20-year program of roughly $300 million aimed at sewer overflows into Jeffries Creek. When mains are full in a storm, a backup tends to surface at the lowest fixture in a house. The city's work is on its mains and does not clear your own line, which a camera run shows.

For most single-family homes, a cleaning every 18 to 24 months keeps main lines moving. Shorten that if mature trees sit near the sewer line, since roots return in a predictable cycle, or if the kitchen line carries a lot of grease. One slow fixture is a different case: that is usually a local clog in a branch, and it is cleared when it shows up. If the same drain slows twice in a year, a camera run shows whether the line itself is the problem, and hydro jetting is the next step.

That is called phantom flushing. It is almost always a worn rubber flapper that no longer seals, or a fill valve set too high, so the tank slowly leaks into the bowl and then tops itself up. Drop a few drops of food coloring into the tank and wait ten minutes without flushing: color in the bowl means the flapper is leaking. Both parts are inexpensive to replace, and an unattended one can waste a lot of water on a monthly bill.

When the line is sound enough to line, meaning it is cracked, scaled or root-invaded but still in place. Lining rebuilds it without trenching the yard, driveway or landscaping. A collapsed or badly offset line usually has to be dug. A camera inspection decides between them, and the trenchless page sets out the comparison in full.

A conventional tank commonly lasts 8 to 12 years, and a tankless unit often longer with annual descaling. No Florence-specific lifespan figure is published, so these are general ranges. Documented elevated iron in the city's supply is one reason deposits can build up on heating elements and valves, so a tank near the end of that range is worth watching.

Yes. Permits are required for work in the county, and the person doing the work is responsible for pulling one. The Florence County Building Inspection Department, (843) 676-8600, handles them. The application needs proof of an SC license where required and a receipt showing water and sewer taps are paid. Plumbing gets underground, rough-in and final inspections as they apply, with tests following Section P312 of the Standard Plumbing Code, and requests are typically handled within 48 hours.

Look the contractor up at verify.llronline.com under the Residential Builders Commission, or call the Commission at (803) 896-4696. The lookup is public and takes about a minute. Do it before agreeing to work, whoever the plumber is, including us.

Residential plumbing work over $500 requires a Residential Plumber license from the Residential Builders Commission, which sits within the state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Commercial work over $10,000 falls under the Contractor's Licensing Board instead. A very small repair can fall under the threshold, but most water heater, sewer and repiping jobs do not.

We give a range before work starts, and the Cost page lists wide market ranges for the jobs people ask about most. A range is as precise as anyone can honestly be before seeing the problem, because access, pipe condition and the length of a run change the number substantially.

No. We handle water extraction and drying, and the plumbing that caused or was damaged by the water. Drywall, flooring and insulation replacement is outside what we do, and each service page says where its scope stops.

Yes. Quinby shares Florence's 29506 ZIP, and we serve Florence across ZIP codes 29501 through 29506. Darlington, Effingham, Timmonsville and Coward have their own ZIP codes and their own pages. Call with the address and we will tell you what to expect.