Investigating Plumbing Failures

In PM Engineer magazine, Gary Hayden provides an excellent explanation of the process forensic engineers use to investigate causes of plumbing failures and identify causes, liability, and subrogation potential. Here is a brief summary of that article, listing issues architects and engineers should consider.

Damage from plumbing failures represents a significant portion of insured property losses, accounting for a notable share of claims and billions of dollars annually. When insurers pay these claims, they often pursue subrogation, seeking to recover costs from the party or parties responsible for the failure. Forensic engineering is central to that process.

The article emphasizes that often, forensics identify multiple contributing factors contribute to failures, leading to shared responsibility and liability for failures. Interacting factors such as system design errors, improper installation, incompatible materials, maintenance issues and chemical exposure, can act in combination to trigger losses. Common forensic findings include brittle or over-glued CPVC pipe, plastic failures caused by water hammer, incompatibility between CPVC and fire-caulking materials, and of course freeze