Our topic today is the repair and replacement of hot and cold water supply risers. We will try to answer the most frequently asked questions by residents of apartment buildings regarding areas of responsibility, solutions and materials used. Let's get started.

Definitions

What is a water supply riser in an apartment building?

This is the name of the vertical section of the pipeline that transports water from the bottling (horizontal distribution in the basement or, less often, in the attic) to the connections in apartments or rooms located above each other.

A riser in a house with a height of more than three floors must be equipped with shut-off valves installed at its base and a vent (valve, ball or plug valve, tee with a plug) for complete drainage during repair work.

What is the difference between risers in dead-end and circulation water supply systems?

To answer this question, we will have to return to defining the section of the water supply system that interests us.

So, what is a cold water supply riser or hot water supply with a dead-end water supply? This is a vertical pipeline ending with a water supply in an apartment on the top floor. The water in it begins to move only when it is dispensed through faucets and other plumbing fixtures.

What are circulating water supply risers?

This is a group of vertical hot water pipelines connected to two bottlings (supply and return) and connected by jumpers laid under the ceiling of the top floor apartment or along the floor of the attic. One group can combine from 2 to 7 risers.

Continuous circulation of water in them is ensured by the pressure difference between the heating main lines, support (throttle) washers or the operation of circulation pumps. Shut-off valves are installed at the base of risers connected by jumpers and in apartments on the top floor.

Reference: buildings built in the mid-80s of the 20th century and later are supplied primarily with hot water circulation systems. Circulation ensures round-the-clock operation of water heated towel rails and rapid heating of water, regardless of the location of the water point in the building.

Areas of responsibility

By whom and at whose expense should repairs to water supply risers be carried out?

The risers belong to the common property of the residents of the house, the eyeliners belong to the individual property of the apartment owner. The public and private water supplies are separated by outlets from the risers (more precisely, the threaded connection of the tap with the outlet).

Everything up to the tap is repaired by the house maintenance organization to pay for the rent; Malfunctions of the connections and fittings installed on them (including valves or taps at the entrance to the apartment) are eliminated at the expense of the owner of the property.

Who replaces the water supply riser if it cannot be restored?

Still the same service organization. Replacement of an individual riser is usually carried out as part of the current repair of the building, replacement of a group of risers or a complete replacement of the cold water or hot water supply system - as part of a major overhaul.

Is it possible to change the water supply riser yourself?

This is possible, but with a few caveats:

You must agree on a replacement with the management organization;

Let's be honest: residents of apartment buildings often neglect approval, and do not suffer at all from this.

You will have to order the housing owners to turn off the water, informing them of the approximate timing of the work;
To replace the riser, you must use the materials specified in the technical passport of the building. If the plastic water supply riser that you installed instead of a steel one bursts due to overheating or water hammer, it will be difficult for you to prove the guilt of the homeowners - simply because the remaining sections of the water supply system have survived.

Service life

How long after the completion of the house should the cold water supply and hot water supply risers be replaced?

For modern materials (polymer and composite), SP 30.13330.2012 provides a minimum service life of 25 years for hot water supply and 50 for cold water supply. Steel pipelines, which are much more common in Soviet-built buildings, last much less.

Departmental construction standards VSN 58-88 R establish the following service life for them:

It’s interesting: in practice, replacement or repair of hot water supply risers is required much less frequently than cold water risers. The fact is that the condition of cold pipelines is greatly affected by the condensation that forms on them in the summer heat and high air humidity.

Transfer of risers

In what cases is it necessary to relocate the water supply riser?

Mainly when combining a bathroom and toilet into a combined bathroom. Risers mounted near the entrance to the toilet will end up in the middle of the room, which is, to put it mildly, inconvenient.

Is approval required for the relocation of water supply risers?

Formally, yes. If you are planning to move hot and cold water supply risers, approval is necessary. However, neglecting approval does not threaten you with any trouble as long as the transfer does not cause flooding of neighbors or interruptions in water supply.

In addition: improperly carried out transfer of a hot water supply riser in a DHW circulation system can cause a circulation disorder in a group of risers. This will happen if a bracket remains in the circuit, trapping air.

Let's get started

So, how to replace cold water supply and hot water risers with your own hands? Let's break one big question into several small ones.

Materials

What pipes can be used to replace or relocate risers?

Replacing a cold water riser can be done with metal, polymer or composite materials. In practice, only a few types of pipes are used from a large list of modern materials.

Here is their list:

Image	Description
	, with operating pressure PN10 and higher (reinforced and without reinforcement).
	(made of cross-linked or heat-resistant polyethylene with an aluminum core glued between the outer and inner shells) with connections on press fittings or (less often) on compression fittings.
	steel with threaded connections. Welding galvanization is also practiced, but in vain: the zinc coating burns off on the welds, making them vulnerable to rust.
	. They are connected by socket soldering or press fittings. Installation of copper risers on compression fittings is extremely rare.
	Corrugated stainless steel with compression joints. These pipes are extremely easy to install due to their flexibility, serve indefinitely, but have very high hydraulic resistance.

All of the listed materials can be used for both cold and hot water supply, but only in a building with a closed heat supply circuit (read - with water heating in heat exchangers) or with autonomous water heaters.

But houses with hot water supplied from elevator units are much more demanding on the material of pipelines - due to the high probability of deviation of water supply parameters from the standard ones. We strongly recommend using only metal pipes in them.

Shutdown

How to turn off the water supply riser?

The cold water or hot water riser in a dead-end hot water supply system is turned off by a tap at the outlet from the bottling and drained through a plug or vent. In the DHW circulation circuit, the riser is turned off by two valves - in the basement and in the apartment on the top floor.

Hint: if necessary, you can turn off the entire group of risers connected by jumpers. Usually two risers in one apartment or all hot water risers in the entrance are looped.

What to do if there are no valves on the water supply riser?

The most reasonable thing is to order a shutdown for housing workers and let them solve this problem on their own. Turning off water to the entire house (by a water meter for hot water supply or an elevator for hot water supply) without approval can lead to the fact that the emergency team that responded to the request will open the valves at the most inopportune moment.

Guess who will be blamed for flooding the neighbors' apartments below?

Selecting a replacement site

Is it necessary to change the water supply risers in the ceiling?

Necessarily. This is where corrosion destroys steel the fastest. A leak in the ceiling can lead to the appearance of fungus in you and your neighbors below, as well as in the destruction of the cement seal of the ceiling, up to the collapse of part of the ceiling.

Installation rules

What are the minimum distances between water supply risers?

The minimum distance between the axes of the cold water and hot water risers is 80 millimeters.

The distance between the riser and the wall is determined by its diameter:

What steps are required to attach water supply risers to permanent structures?

The instructions are contained in SNiP 3.05.01-85: if the floor height is less than 3 meters, the riser need not be fastened (its fixation is ensured by cement-sand sealing of the floor), and if the floor height is higher, the fastening is carried out at half this height.

Conclusion

We hope that we were able to answer all the reader’s questions. The video in this article will show you more clearly how to install water supply risers. Good luck!

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Work to replace water supply lines

Replacement of risers in apartment buildings

As a rule, residents of apartment buildings become seriously concerned about the problem of deterioration of communications for supplying and discharging water only when an environmental “catastrophe” of local significance occurs, that is, water supply pipes repeatedly break through, or even worse: a sewerage pipe bursts. Such a disaster cannot leave any of the owners of apartments located on a riser indifferent, so, willy-nilly, one has to think about completely replacing outdated communications.

Involving utility services is not always effective, and apartment owners have to think about replacing communications themselves. In reality, it is quite possible to limit yourself to replacing part of the pipe in your own apartment, but, as practice shows, the most optimal option is to completely replace the risers in all apartments.

The main area of concern when carrying out partial pipe replacement is the joint, as the old heavy cast iron pipes are attached to modern lightweight PVC pipes in these areas, and such joints often become the site of constant leakage. In addition, over time, in apartments where the risers have not been replaced, with further wear and tear, breakdowns and cracks begin to appear, which is why the communications still have to be changed.

By completely replacing the riser, you can not only solve the problem of future leaks, but also perform better work on replacing communications, since it becomes possible to form monolithic joints between pipes along the entire height. Among other things, the obvious advantages of a complete replacement of an outdated pipeline include lower costs of work. However, it is not always possible to completely modernize communications, since not all residents may want to provide access to their apartments for work, so in this case one has to be content with a partial replacement. Replacing risers for all types of communications is in some way similar to each other, but it is worth considering the work in more detail, since there are still some differences in terms of work execution

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Replacing the sewerage drainage riser

Replacing sewerage pipes is quite a troublesome undertaking, since in the case of partial replacement of pipes in an apartment, you have to negotiate with all the neighbors above so that they do not drain the water. If a complete replacement of the riser is planned, then all apartments located along the riser will not be able to use the sewerage system, and in addition, it is necessary to gain access to the bathroom in all apartments.

To replace a sewer riser in a single apartment, without damaging other parts located in other apartments, you will need the following tools and materials:

Grinder with discs for cutting metal.
PVC pipes with a diameter of 110 mm.
Adapter pipe with rubber cuff.
Plastic tee.
Clamps with studs.
An awl or sharp screwdriver.
Hammer.

If it is possible to get to the connections of the cast iron riser pipes, you can try to replace a separate section more painlessly, that is, simply unscrew one segment and replace it with a new one.

In most cases, the connecting part of the riser is built into the span or hidden by a layer of cement, so it is advisable to use a hammer drill to clean the connection point.

Next, the joint needs to be cleaned of old paint. If it is not possible to get to the connecting part at the bottom of the pipe, you can dismantle it by cutting it with a grinder. In the upper part, where there is no way to get to the hidden connection, the old pipe will simply have to be cut off with a grinder. First, you need to cut off the top part of the old pipe with a grinder with a distance of 6-8 cm from the ceiling. For ease of dismantling, you can also cut off several parts of the pipe from above. If you have access to the lower connecting part, you can try to unscrew the remaining part of the sewer riser; if there is no access, the riser is cut to the level of the concreted part.

After dismantling the old pipe, you can begin directly installing the new part. First of all, you need to roughly assemble the sewer riser without fastening, so as not to get into trouble with the dimensions. The rough riser must be assembled from the bottom up, starting from the tee and up to the expansion pipe, which is necessary for connecting a plastic pipe with a cast iron trim on top.

Next, using a drill, you need to make holes in the wall and place dowels in them, into which the clamps on the studs will subsequently be screwed. There must be at least 3 clamps on the studs, and they must be positioned exactly horizontally, so you need to check their location by level. After assembling the rough version, you can begin assembling the riser with rubber cuffs, paying special attention to sealing the highest point, in the place where the new section of pipes is attached to the old cast iron.

Scheme for repairing a sewer riser with replacement of a damaged fitting:
a) before repair; b) after repair of 1.4 parts of the riser; 2 - compensation pipe; 3 - damaged fitting (tee).

To completely replace the riser along its entire length, you will need the same materials and tools as for its partial replacement. Among other things, two revisions will be required for installation on the first and last floors. In this case, it is recommended to remove the pipes completely, including parts located inside the spans. This can be quite a time-consuming task and will require access to the bathroom in all apartments. In places where the riser in the spans is concreted, you will have to work with a hammer drill.

The riser is removed down to the basement tie-in. On each floor, before starting installation, you need to make holes for installing clamps on studs. Further, the principle of collection almost completely duplicates the partial installation of pipes, but it is necessary to preserve the vent hole opening into the attic or roof, since with a large flow of water into the sewer riser, a large pressure drop occurs, and without an vent, it will be squeezed out along with the air into the bathrooms of the apartments.

Water supply risers are reviewed, the reasons why it will be necessary to replace the risers are described, installation tips are given, and recommendations are given for the selection of materials for new risers.

Each apartment has vertical pipelines - water risers, which are designed and installed according to some basic principles. Water supply risers are installed mainly in bathrooms at a distance of 3-5 cm from the wall; one riser should be installed on a group of water fittings and a shut-off valve should be placed at the lower base of the riser. (See also: )

Previously, in old apartments and houses, cast iron risers and pipes were installed, or those made of galvanized steel. These risers are not practical and their main enemy is corrosion. Under the influence of organic substances, such pipes may leak after some time. Rust and dirt also clog the inner walls of pipes, which causes a narrowing of the passage channel and a decrease in water flow. After long-term use, it is possible that the hot or cold water riser may fail; in this case, they must be partially or completely replaced. It is worth noting that the hot water supply riser becomes clogged and rusts much faster than the cold riser.

Important! The risers must be equipped with a tap that can completely shut off or increase the water supply. This tap must be installed and replaced along with the replacement of the riser and pipes.

When do you need to change water supply risers?

The need to replace the riser arises in two cases:

2) In case of complete renovation of the apartment. In this case, replacing the cold and hot water riser is a necessity. Often in apartments, risers are laid and hidden from view with tiles, and subsequent access to the riser is limited. Also, a trend in new modern designs requires moving the riser to free up additional square meters. If a person dreams of a new jacuzzi or other auxiliary equipment in the bathroom, then moving the riser cannot be avoided.

Important! If you replace a pipe riser, you must replace it at least from the ceiling to the floor. Under no circumstances should you renew a short section of pipe that has become rusty.

When deciding to change the water supply risers, it is necessary to coordinate the repair with the Housing Office, as well as completely turn off the water through the riser. And after finishing the work, all welds and joints on the risers must be treated with a primer and wrapped in thermal insulation.

Why is thermal insulation needed?

Thermal insulation is necessary in cases where condensation forms on water supply pipes. To get rid of condensation and minimize heat loss from the pipes, the risers are wrapped in thermal insulating polyethylene foam. Such materials are produced both in the post-Soviet space and abroad. The greatest demand is for foreign materials produced in Germany, which are distinguished by their quality, reliability and reasonable price.

Features of replacing risers

Complete replacement of water supply risers should be carried out using foreign-made polypropylene pipes, which have many advantages compared to post-Soviet pipe manufacturers.

If you live in a relatively recently built apartment building (up to ten years), then, as a rule, there is no need to replace water supply risers, since in many new houses they began to install pipes made of modern materials and, with proper operation, they last for many years. If you decide to repair the riser in one apartment, then you should know a few rules.

Cost of replacing risers

Fast and high-quality replacement of water supply risers; the price for this part of the repair is not small and depends on many factors (region, type of riser, qualifications of the technician, and so on). For example, in the capital of Russia, in order to disconnect the entire riser of an apartment building from the water supply, you need to pay approximately 500 rubles for one hour of disconnection. Thus, before starting work, you need to have everything you need for repairs so as not to delay it for several hours. Threaded and steel connections are necessary for the installation of galvanized steel pipes; as practice shows, it is more practical to produce them by welding.

Important! It is worth remembering that when welding a galvanized pipe with conventional electrodes or simply welding wire, it is necessary to remove the galvanized layer from the place where the welding will be performed and the pipes must be overlapped with each other.

Since these layers are subject to evaporation and after welding is completed, some places remain for moisture to penetrate. After welding is completed, it is imperative to treat the joints with an anti-corrosion primer. The same thing is worth remembering when working with threaded joints, because they also tend to deteriorate under mechanical stress and the zinc layer is destroyed just as easily.

Replacing the sewer riser

If it is necessary to change the sewer riser, then before starting work it is worth warning all residents of the house about the disconnection of the riser and choosing a convenient time for the majority of residents, so that as few people as possible need to use it. Usually this time is between 10 and 15 o'clock in the afternoon because many residents are at work. Typically, replacing water supply and sewer risers takes about half an hour, but you shouldn’t rush too much so as not to miss important details.

Selection of material for the riser

In cases where the bathrooms of your home have pipes made of cast iron, professionals recommend replacing them with more practical pipes - made of polypropylene material. Such pipes are specially created to once and for all forget about rotten and worn out risers. Such pipes are durable even at a temperature of 95 degrees and are very resistant to the harmful effects of various substances, so the service life of polypropylene water supply risers will be impressive. To connect such pipes, butt adapters are produced in production and sold in specialized stores, which have all the necessary shapes. But if you do not want to change cast iron pipes, then various butt adapters are also sold for them.

Every apartment building has vertical pipelines called risers. As a rule, they are installed in bathrooms.

The distance from the wall is about 5 cm. One riser is used for several water taps; a shut-off valve is located in the lower part.

1 Types of riser materials

The water supply riser in an apartment can be made of various materials:

steel;
metal-plastic;
polypropylene;
copper.

The first and last options for implementing the system yourself are very inconvenient. Steel pipes are quite problematic to connect with each other, and will not allow you to use water for drinking or cooking.

A polypropylene riser in an apartment building will not cost much. Although installation will require some preparation. A soldering iron is used for connection. However, the end result is a fast and reliable connection.
Special fittings are used to connect metal-plastic products. No additional tools needed. And thanks to the flexibility of the material, installation is greatly simplified. True, you need to be prepared for a higher cost than when using polypropylene.

If you need to organize a riser for cold water supply, standard polypropylene will do; for hot water, you need foil.

Recommendation: if hot or cold water supply is being replaced, products made from the same material should be used. If there are transitions between materials, they may become “weak points” during operation.

In apartments of old buildings, pipes made of galvanized steel and cast iron are found. This is not a very good option, since these materials are prone to leaking and rusting.. Due to the clogging of the material with dirt, the internal lumen narrows. This may cause permanent water supply shutdown.

Hot water products are more susceptible to such clogging.

2 When and why might replacement be required?

Essentially there are two cases:

The service life of the pipes has expired. If the system uses metal products, they are designed to last about 25 years. Of course, in reality their service life turns out to be much longer, which means there are risks of complications. When the service life comes to an end, the operation of the pipeline is considered emergency.
Apartment renovation. Despite the long service life of metal pipes, when a complete renovation is carried out, apartment owners tend to either replace them or move them to another location.

When replacing risers, you should not just cut out the damaged piece of pipeline, but replace it completely, even in ceilings. After all, it is in these places that the greatest wear occurs.

You must first obtain official permission to dismantle the old pipeline, for which you need to contact the housing maintenance organization;
repairs must be coordinated with neighbors, especially during periods when there will be a long water outage;
only specialists can disconnect the existing riser;
Since there are fewer people at home on weekdays than on weekends, work should be carried out on weekdays. Then turning off the pipeline will be less painful for neighbors.

2.1 List of required tools for installation

Installation of water supply risers (hot or cold) can be carried out using the following tools and materials:

Bulgarian;
perforator;
keys: gas and adjustable;
ratchets for thread cutting;
dye.

If polypropylene pipes are used, you will need a soldering iron and connecting elements.

3 Installation features

To perform the operation of installing or replacing a hot or cold water supply riser in an apartment building, several steps must be completed:

drawing up a diagram of the location of the water supply system;
turning off the water supply;
dismantling old pipes (if any);
assemble and install a new rack;
connecting the water supply to the system of an apartment building;
installation of accessories: filters, taps and others.

Please note that turning off the water supply must be the responsibility of utility workers.

The highest quality material should be used. For hot water supply, it is recommended to use a polypropylene pipe intended for use in a heating system.

For cold water supply, you can use products designed for use as a hot pipeline.

The stages of work are as follows:

After shutting off the water supply, it is necessary to turn off the plumbing fixtures.
A grinder is used to cut pipelines. A distance of about 10 cm should be left above the floor and below the ceiling.
On the remaining pieces of the pipeline, it is necessary to cut a thread, onto which the FUM tape is then wound, and after them - the couplings. These products are selected with a metal inner sleeve and a union nut. Assembly is done from below.
Pipes should be cut using a special pipe cutter, taking into account the developed installation scheme. The cuts must be made at right angles. In this case, the depth of the fitting must be taken into account. Therefore, the length of the pipe piece should be 3 cm longer.
Using a soldering iron, you should connect the pipes.
Ball valves must be placed as close to the riser as possible.
At the end the pipes are laid out. To secure them to the walls, special plastic clips are used.
Holes should be made using a hammer drill.
The clips are secured using plastic dowels and screws.

At the end, you need to do testing, carefully checking the riser for leaks. You need to handle the hot water supply pipe carefully to avoid getting burned.

As you can see, the procedure for replacing a riser in an apartment building can be quite simple, despite the existence of certain nuances.