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This is caused by your pressure regulator on your main line. The pressure regulator is located just above your main water shut-off valve. It is a cone-shaped brass valve. They last about 10 – 12 years before they need to be replaced.

This means there is a blockage on the hot outlet of the water heater. The water to the heater should be shut off and the pipe on the hot side cleaned out. Then the pipes need to be put back together and water turned back on.

There are a couple of things that may be causing this. The first thing is that the pressure in your home may be too high. If you have a pressure regulator located on your main line above the shut-off valve, it may not be working anymore. Also you may want to check the temperature of the water in your water heater by checking the gas valve knob on the bottom of the heater. If it is turned all the way hot, the water is too hot. This will also cause the valve to leak. Other possibilities could include the valve has just worn out, but that is more rare. To check the pressure in your home, you can purchase pressure gauges that screw onto your hose bib outside. Turn the water on and see what it reads. Normal pressure should be anywhere from 50 – 75 psi.

In most cases, your thermocouple is bad. The thermocouple consists of the two tubes that come out of the gas valve and go into the combustion chamber at the bottom of the water heater. They can be replaced. Sometimes water leaking in the tank can drip down and snuff the pilot light out. If the tank is leaking down onto the pilot light, usually you have to replace the water heater. Before you hire someone to replace a thermocouple, check the date when your heater was built. All water heaters come with a six year warranty. If it is newer than six years old, call the manufacturer to send a warranty representative out to look at it. All this information can be found on the stickers on your water heater or the warranty paperwork that came with the heater. Sometimes this paperwork can be found in a packet attached to the side of the heater.

The noise you hear is water being heated through all the sediment in the bottom of your heater. It is an indication that your heater is getting up in years and is starting to wear out. It will not blow up however. It still may have life in it still and does not mean it has to be replaced right away unless it is leaking.

When considering this option, you must weigh the cost of the transformation. To install a tankless, or on demand, water heater, you must first run a new stainless, or pvc flu to the outside (see manufacturers specs). The aluminum flu on top of the water heater will not handle the heat that the on demand units put out. A dedicated power outlet must be installed to run the unit. The gas line must be increased to ¾ instead of ¼ in most cases. Most manufacturers recommend that the unit be tied in with a water softener for the house. And the basic unit for a standard size house is usually over $1,000.00. After everything is in place, it can cost several thousand dollars to have your house fitted with one of these new units. The silver lining to this is that they are much more efficient than a standard water heater and you never run out of hot water. If you have jetted tubs that you are always filling, many showers, laundry and other hot water needs on a constant basis, then it may be the way to go. The manufacturers warranty on these is much longer than a standard water heater.

Usually the wax ring that seals the toilet to the flange on the floor has worn away. The toilet needs to be pulled, a new seal installed and the toilet reset.

There are two things that will make your toilet run. The first is that the fill valve inside the tank is not shutting off properly and needs to be replaced. The other would be that the flapper is not sealing down properly in the tank. The flapper is the round rubber piece that lifts up when you push the handle to flush.

All single or double handle sink faucets can be rebuilt with new stems and washers or cartridges to stop the leaking. If it is a two handle faucet, you should get parts for both sides even if only the hot or cold is leaking. Both stems are the same age and the other may leak shortly after you rebuild one. If your tub spout is leaking, your shower valve will need to be rebuilt also. The washers, o-rings, or cartridges can wear out over time and should be replaced.

If nothing in the house is leaking constantly, you should shut off the main water valve in your house. Then open up the water meter box out by the street. You can do this with a pair of pliers. Turn the hexagon shaped nut on the lid until you can pull the cover off. Inside the vault, you will see your water meter. On top of the meter, is a gauge that meters how much water you use. There may be a metal cover over the top of the dials. Lift the lid and you will see a dial, similar to a clock long hand, or a similar measuring dial. In the middle of the face, you will see a triangle shaped, or round, dial that spins when water is moving through the meter. If your main valve inside is shut off and you see this dial spinning at all, it means you have a leak between the meter and the house in the main line somewhere. If your sprinklers are connected in the yard, sometimes water leaks at the tee where the sprinkler line is connected.

The banging is caused from the sprinkler valve diaphragm opening and closing. I had the same problem with my sprinklers when I first installed them. Because the diaphragms open so quickly it causes vibration in the piping system. You hear it a lot if you have copper water pipes in your house because the sound reverberates through the pipes. I installed a water hammer arrester on my sprinkler system, but still had the banging. Over time, the banging went away. Your pipes will not blow up, but it is annoying to hear that, especially if they come on early in the morning or late at night. There is not a whole lot you can do about it. It is very common and most people have said that it does diminish over time.