“We had 96 on the gauge and a dripping relief valve. They put in a regulator and a small tank and the dripping stopped.”
Leland B.Homeowner, Eden
Pressure and hot-water diagnostics, Ogden and the benches
Read the pressure before anyone sells you a fix.
Weak showers on the bench, pipes that bang in a 1950s bungalow, a water heater that drips at its valve. Our two diagnostic technicians put a gauge on first, write the number down and tell you what it means.
10
people on the crew2
diagnostic technicians
- A gauge on every first visitQuiet and running readings
- Weber, Davis and Morgan countiesBenches, canyon mouths, valley
- Monday to Saturday7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays
- (801) 555-0104Office line
The three readings
What your pressure gauge says
Screw a pressure gauge onto an outside hose bib, close every tap in the house and read the dial. Then find your reading below. This is what it usually means and what we do about it.
Under 40 psiLow
Showers thin out, the washer fills slowly and a second tap running upstairs makes it worse. Start with what you can see: a half-closed main valve, a clogged aerator, a plugged filter. After that it is usually a worn pressure-reducing valve, rusted pipe, or a house that sits above the street main.
Check that the main shutoff is fully open
A reading that falls when a second tap opens points to a pipe or a valve
Uphill of the main, a booster pump may be the honest fix
40 to 80 psiIn range
Most fixtures work well between 40 and 80 psi, and most plumbing codes set 80 as the top. If the number sits here and the problem stays, pressure isn't the cause. We look at the fixture, the supply line and the water heater instead.
Read it again with a tap open; a big drop points to a restriction
Note the time of day: street pressure moves with demand
Hot water that runs out is a heater question, not a pressure one
Over 80 psiHigh
Houses below the main can read 90 or more. High pressure wears out washing-machine hoses and faucet cartridges, makes pipes knock when a valve closes and sets off the water heater's relief valve. A pressure-reducing valve brings it down. A small expansion tank keeps the new valve from trapping the pressure.
A relief valve that drips on the water heater
Pipes that bang when a tap shuts
Read it again late at night: a number that climbs means the valve is failing
These are common patterns, not a diagnosis. We read the pressure at your house before we say what is wrong.
On a hillside
Where your house sits changes the number
On a hillside the street main can sit a hundred feet above or below your meter. Pressure moves with that height, so the same fix doesn't suit every house on the block.
| Uphill of the main | Level with the main | Downhill of the main | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical reading | Uphill of the mainUnder 40 psi, lowest when the street waters | Level with the main40 to 80 psi | Downhill of the mainOver 80 psi, sometimes far over |
| Why | Uphill of the mainEach foot of climb takes about 0.43 psi away | Level with the mainThe street's own pressure, less what the pipes lose | Downhill of the mainEach foot of drop adds about 0.43 psi to the street's pressure |
| What we check first | Uphill of the mainThe main and meter valves, then the line size | Level with the mainValves, aerators and the water heater | Downhill of the mainWhether a pressure-reducing valve is there and working |
| Usual fix | Uphill of the mainClear the restriction; a booster pump when the hill is the cause | Level with the mainA fixture or supply-line repair, not a pressure fix | Downhill of the mainA pressure-reducing valve and an expansion tank |
What we fix
Four jobs, found by the gauge first
Pressure-reducing valves
We replace or install the valve where the street runs high, set it, and read the house again to prove the new number. An expansion tank goes on the water heater when the valve calls for one.
Set and read at the hose bib
Permit pulled where the city asks for one
Booster pumps
For homes above the main, where the hill itself is the cause. We size the pump to the house and tell you first if clearing a valve or a pipe would be enough.
Read before and after
The cause named on your work order
Hot-water diagnostics
Lukewarm, runs out fast, rumbles, drips at the relief valve, or runs too hot. We find out whether it is a thermostat, an element, sediment or the pressure.
Temperature and pressure read at the heater
Repair or replace, with the reasons
Restricted lines
Rusted galvanized pipe and stuck valves choke a house from the inside. We find where the pressure is lost and tell you what opening it up would involve.
Pressure read at two points on the line
Wall repair priced separately, in writing
The visit
A pressure check, start to finish
Most visits take about an hour. You don't need to be home for the whole of it, but you do need to be there at the end, when we read the numbers to you.
Step 1: Quiet reading
Every tap closed, the gauge on your hose bib. This is the static pressure, the number the street and the valve give your house.
Step 2: Running reading
We open taps and run the washer or the irrigation zone. A big drop from the quiet number points to a restriction between the street and the fixture.
Step 3: The hardware
The main valve, the pressure-reducing valve if you have one, the expansion tank and the water heater's temperature and relief valve.
Step 4: The written numbers
Every reading goes on your work order, with the cause we found and the options. The price comes in writing before anything is done.
How pricing works
Plain answers to what a pressure or hot-water visit costs, without a price list that would be wrong for your house.
What decides the price
Whether the cause is a valve, a pump, a pipe or the water heater. How far the work is from the meter and how hard it is to reach, such as a crawl space or a finished wall. Whether the work needs a permit. And what the house needs, such as a booster pump for a home above the street main.
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
It includes labor, parts, permit fees and hauling away what we take out. It leaves out opening and repairing walls, drywall, tile and paint, and anything behind a wall we can't see until it is open.
What happens at the visit
A technician puts a gauge on your hose bib and reads the pressure with the house quiet and with taps running. Then the technician checks the main valve, the pressure-reducing valve and the water heater, and writes every reading on your work order. We give you the visit fee on the phone, before anyone drives out.
After hours
We take calls Monday through Saturday, in the hours shown on this page. We don't have an after-hours rate because we don't take after-hours calls. If water is spraying, shut the main valve and call us when the office opens.
When you get the number
In writing, after the diagnosis and before any work starts. It is the price for that job. If something else turns up behind a wall, we stop and give you a new number before we go on.
Every number we give is for your house. We don't post prices because a pressure problem can be a ten-minute valve or a new pump.
Neighbors
What the gauge found, in their words
“Upstairs showers were a trickle every summer evening. Dajuan showed me the reading and why a booster pump made sense for our street.”
Maribel S.Homeowner, North Ogden
“The shutoff in our 1948 house was half closed. They found it in the first ten minutes and wrote the number on the work order.”
Lyle D.Homeowner, Uintah
Sample reviews.
Our counties
From the benches to the valley floor
One shop on Wall Avenue and two diagnostic technicians cover Weber County and the edges of Davis and Morgan.
- Weber County: Ogden, North Ogden, Hooper, Washington Terrace, Uintah, Farr West, West Haven, Plain City, Huntsville, Eden, Liberty · Bench and canyon-mouth streets sit above their mains and read low; valley-floor streets read high.
- Davis County: Fruit Heights
- Morgan County: Morgan, Mountain Green · Long rural runs: we read pressure at the house and check the line size.
We don't go to Salt Lake City, Park City or Logan. For those, call a plumber near you.
Questions
Before you call
What pressure should my house have?
Most fixtures work well between 40 and 80 psi, and most plumbing codes set 80 as the top. Read it with a gauge on an outside hose bib and every tap closed.
Why is pressure low upstairs but fine downstairs?
Every foot of height costs about 0.43 psi, and a long or rusted run costs more. If it is only upstairs, we look at that run and at the fixtures before we look at the street.
What does a visit cost and what does it include?
We give you the visit fee on the phone before anyone drives out. The visit is a gauge reading, a look at the main valve, the pressure-reducing valve and the water heater, and the numbers written on a work order.
Will I get a price before you start?
Yes, in writing, after the diagnosis and before any work. If something else turns up behind a wall, we stop and give you a new number first.
Do you pull permits?
Water heater replacements and valve installs usually need a permit from the city or county. We pull it where it is required and put the permit number on your work order.
What are your hours?
Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon. We don't take after-hours calls. If water is spraying, shut the main and call when we open.
Start here
Book a pressure check
Tell us what the water does. Rocio or Rodrigo will call or text you a time, and we tell you the visit fee before anyone drives out.
Office line(801) 555-0104
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed