Who should change risers in an apartment building in 2021

Legislative norms

The bulk of the multi-storey housing stock was built decades ago. Then pipes and batteries were installed from cast iron or steel, which are subject to wear and tear over time. To avoid a breakthrough, the property owner must know who is responsible for the trouble-free and uninterrupted operation of engineering structures in order to take the required measures in a timely manner.

The organization in the housing and communal services sector that carries out the trust management of the property of an apartment building (MKD), that is, the management company (hereinafter referred to as the management company), must monitor the degree of wear and the presence of corrosion. She is also charged with replacing risers in an apartment building, as the law states. Information about this is recorded in government decree No. 354 of 2011, as well as in the provisions of Art. 161 of the Housing Code.

Responsibilities of the management organization in 2020

Every month, apartment owners or tenants contribute money to maintain common property in working condition. This also includes maintenance, emergency and routine measures to eliminate breakdowns. The responsibilities of management companies include the repair of all structural elements designed to ensure comfortable living for people.

The answer to the question of who should change the risers in an apartment building is similar. The organization servicing the building also repairs and updates gas pipes, ventilation, drainage systems and electricity supply. Management company employees do not have the right to request payment from the tenant for replacing risers and other elements.

Homeowner

The owner of the premises is obliged to monitor the equipment located in the apartment. If a worn-out area on the riser was discovered, the resident must submit an application to the management company. When the owner of the apartment makes the repairs himself, in the event of a breakthrough he will bear responsibility and will have to pay for the damage to the neighbors below.\

Procedure

The algorithm for replacing a broken sewer riser is quite simple. The following plan should be followed:

Invite a plumber who will check the condition of the equipment and draw up an independent report on the presence of damage and the need for replacement;
Write an application to the management company requesting repair work. As a rule, there is no established template for a petition, so it is drawn up in free form in two copies;
The application is reviewed and a decision is made on a time for the work that is convenient for the resident.

Important!
When submitting a request to replace equipment, you need to make sure that the citizen has no rent debts. There are no additional costs required for repairs from the apartment owner himself. The main thing is to clear the passage to the equipment so that the technician can carry out the work conveniently and comfortably.

Reasons for installing a new riser

The need for replacement arises when the design has expired or during major repairs. Installation can be planned or emergency. Speaking about pipe wear, it should be noted that most often it occurs in interfloor ceilings. Rust appears faster on hot water risers.

The service life of metal pipes is about 25 years. However, the real safety margin is designed for a much longer period. However, using pipes after the warranty period is not recommended, even if their appearance does not raise suspicions. A worn-out riser can leak at the most unexpected moment, which will lead to material losses, sometimes very significant.

Step-by-step instructions for changing

Replacement of the riser is carried out in the following order:

Open and do not close any water tap to drain. Make sure the riser is turned off and there is no water in it.
Disassemble the cold water supply unit into the apartment from the tap to the coarse filter following it, if possible without removing the meter. Secure the disconnected water supply so as not to damage its elements.
Cut out the old riser inside your apartment, leaving 15-20 cm of pipe at the top and bottom to knock the pipe out of the ceiling.
Cut out 15 cm of old pipe from the neighbors below near the ceiling, and from the neighbors above near the floor, so that you can remove the rest of the pipe from the ceiling.
In your apartment, use a sledgehammer to knock out an old pipe from the ceiling. If it is not possible to knock it out, then use a hammer drill to hollow out the concrete around the pipe until it becomes mobile, and then knock it out again. There should be a second partner below who controls the exit of the pipe so that if it falls, it does not cause damage to the property of neighbors.
Install fasteners for new plastic pipes in increments of no more than 40-50 cm, otherwise the pipes may bend and a leak will appear at the soldering site. This is typical for hot water, but it is also possible with cold water.
Solder a tap into the tee to connect the apartment. You will need a piece of pipe for the transition of a smaller diameter. A tap with a tee is connected to the apartment water supply. This will allow you to accurately determine the location of the tee.
Cut threads on the remaining old steel pipes using grapple. If this is not possible, move on to the second option, with GEBO fittings.
Assemble the unit : screw the drive with a steel coupling and lock nut into a plastic coupling with an internal metal thread. Attach the squeegee to the old riser with a cut thread and connect them with a coupling. This is necessary to accurately measure the length of the plastic pipe and determine where to cut it.
Insert new pipes into the holes in the ceiling and solder them into the tee. Fasten to the wall with clamps.
Cut plastic pipes at the top and bottom at the level of the edge of the plastic coupling, taking into account the length of the inserted end of the pipe into the coupling when soldering.
Remove the squeegee and the plastic coupling from the squeegee and solder the coupling to the plastic pipe. Then screw the squeegee into the plastic coupling. Screw a locknut and a steel coupling onto the drive. All threaded connections are sealed using sealant or fum tape.
Attach the squeegee to the old threaded riser and connect them with a steel coupling. Lock the coupling with a locknut or install GEBO fittings. These operations are performed for both connections.
Connect the internal water supply to the tap soldered into the tee. To eliminate the gap, you can use steel inserts from a bend or double-sided thread.
Invite management company employees to accept work and supply water to the riser.
Turn on the riser to pressurize the mounted section of the riser with operating pressure. Why does one person open the tap at the bottom of the riser, and the second must monitor the presence of leaks. If a leak appears, give a signal to close the riser, then repack the current connections.

Attention! If there are no leaks, the work is considered completed.

Features of replacing a riser in a privatized apartment

Having discovered a flaw or a corrosion process on a pipe, the owner must submit a written request for repair to the Criminal Code. It is important to do this as quickly as possible to avoid a breakthrough. Company employees must inspect the structural element and determine whether the riser needs repair. An act is drawn up that reflects the degree of wear and tear of the equipment and, if necessary, the sequence of measures.

Heating

During planned work, replacement of the hot water riser is scheduled for the period of centralized summer shutdown of the system for prevention. Residents of the upper and lower floors should be notified of the date and time of events to ensure access to the premises. If the repair is emergency, the service employee first drains the water, and only after that the heating risers in the apartment building are replaced.

Preparing to dismantle old pipes

Before starting work, all unnecessary items must be removed from the premises.

Before installing a new riser, you need to remove the old communications. To do this, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory activities:

Contact the Housing Office to call a locksmith. It should shut off the water through the riser.
Notify all neighbors about the impossibility of using water supply and sewerage for a certain period of time.
Remove everything unnecessary from the plumbing room/toilet (furniture, textiles, household chemicals).
If possible, cover the toilet, sink, or bathtub with an old cloth to avoid contamination with metal chips.

When dismantling old pipes, they act very carefully. It is advisable to have two craftsmen working. One should always insure against accidental falling of old cast iron pipe pieces.

Who should pay

Residents of high-rise buildings receive monthly notices for payment of utility bills. Among others, there is a paragraph that also contains the answer to the question of at whose expense the risers in the apartment are replaced - “Maintenance of the premises.” The amount is calculated depending on the size of the apartment and the number of people living in it. Both sewerage repairs and the installation of a new riser are financed by these contributions.

The situation is different when the tenant made unauthorized changes in the building’s utilities. In this case, the management company is not responsible for the installed equipment. In the event of a breakdown or leak, the person at fault must pay for eliminating the consequences and replacing the riser.

Personal or common property

Based on the established Rules, the responsibilities of the residents themselves include the maintenance and repair of intra-apartment communications.
Thus, the maintenance and repair of water pipes located between apartments lies on the shoulders of the owners themselves. If we are talking about riser pipes that are used by several apartments, then this is recognized as common property. This includes branches from the common riser to the very first connecting connection. Repair of these devices falls on the shoulders of the Housing Office.

Emerging conflicts

According to GOST 3262-75, galvanized steel pipes have a guaranteed service life of 25 years. Based on this, deadlines are set for replacing risers in an apartment building. The management company is obliged to make major repairs and lay new utilities. If this does not happen, a breakthrough may occur. Then all the blame will fall on the organization that carries out the trust management of the MKD property.

Quite often, residents cannot get the management company to inspect the fault or replace the damaged riser. In this case, who is to blame if a pipe bursts? It is important to have a copy of the application, which contains a note that the problem has already been reported in writing, and the document about this has been accepted by an employee of the responsible organization. Then the management company is obliged not only to make repairs, but also to compensate for damage caused by the flood.

Materials and tools

The easiest way is to replace any pipes with polypropylene ones, especially since you can even purchase pipes with a pressure of 25 bar for high-rise buildings. Most often this is what they do.

Tools for dismantling will be needed:

angle grinder (grinder) with a cutting wheel for metal;
small sledgehammer 3-5 kg;
locksmith's key number 2-3;
hammer drill or electric hammer.

For installation you need to prepare the following tools and materials:

soldering kit for plastic pipes with scissors;
tee for connecting an apartment;
faucet for soldering to plastic, with the transition to residential wiring, taking into account the material of the internal water supply pipes;
2 transition elements for connecting a plastic pipe to a steel pipe (more about them below);
4 meters of pipe (2x2), taking into account the thickness of the ceiling and the approach to neighbors of 20 cm;
wall mounting clamps;
die for cutting threads on an old steel pipe
2 bends complete with couplings and locknuts if the threaded option is selected.

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Details about cold water pipes - what material to choose, how to determine the diameter and when is replacement needed?

Before purchasing materials, you need to think about how plastic pipes will be connected to steel ones, as well as how to connect the apartment. These are the most crucial and difficult moments in replacing the riser.

If the metal of the pipe is in good condition, then the best way is to cut a thread, then install the pipe on a coupling with a lock nut and connect it to the pipe with an adapter plastic coupling with an internal thread.

Such a connection can be serviced, and in the event of a leak, disassembled and repacked. Some contractors immediately screw the coupling onto the threads, guaranteeing that there will be no leaks. As a result, you still have to redo it, and relations with neighbors will be ruined.

Advice! You can cut threads on a pipe using grapple. You can do without a special key by turning it with a plumbing (gas) wrench. The Krupp has a guide skirt, so a reliable thread is obtained.

If the metal is severely corroded and there is doubt about the quality of the thread, then GEBO fittings are installed, specially designed for such a connection.

The pipes should be approximately equal in diameter . It is possible to use crimp clamps consisting of two halves with 4 bolts.

In this case, it is also important that both pipes are approximately the same diameter, and a rubber band is applied at the crimping point, which should compress the clamp. This method is the least reliable of all three.

When choosing a tee and a tap, you should think carefully, or better yet, pre-assemble a sequential chain: tee, tap, suitable threaded connection to the outlet to the apartment.