fliprent

Getting good water pressure in your flip or rental is essential to happy home ownership.  I for one cannot stand it when I get in the shower only to get that soft sprinkle of water that takes ten minutes to get the soap out of my hair.  This typically occurs in older homes and in the inner city where the pipes are older and the water lines require upgrading.

 One way to begin diagnosing the problem is to use a water pressure gauge.  You can use these to check the water pressure outside of the home.  If the pressure falls between .40 to .70 it usually indicates normal water pressure coming to the house.  If it’s less, you may want to call your water company to see about increasing it.  If your pressure is within this range then the problem could be the flow inside the house itself. 

If you are flipping an older house then you probably have old corroded pipes which will restrict the flow of water to the fixtures.  Many of these older homes have galvanized pipes as well.  Have a plumber run a new copper main cold water line from outside the house where the pressure is normal.  In some cases you will need to call the water company to have this done.  You can also run a new line directly to the shower/tub that you are installing.  The plumber can also run a hot water line directly from the hot water heater.   Another cheaper option may be to use a shower head that actually boosts water pressure with volume controls.