There is minimal maintenance to keep the water heater running good as new. Here is a quick link to some helpful steps http://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-a-Tankless-Water-Heater

Daniel, Gavigan Uses Tankless water heat ( Gas or LP) when ever possible. The industry and level of Quaity have surpassed common standards. Knowing how to check and possibly service the system is a a Must. The systems are low maintance although knowing Why and how to check if it's working is key incase of a power outage, freeze, or just need to know. 

PRO TIP: KNOW WHERE THE FLUSH Lever is and how to remedy in a freeze situation. See if you need a 7 or 9 Gallon system ( flow) 

Great comment! GAVIGAN HOMES GAVIGAN CONSTRUCTION 

Billy Gavigan

Here's what to do if you wake up some frigid winter morning to find a water pipe frozen solid:Step 1: Open faucet so steam produced by your thawing activities will be able to escape.

Step 2: Start thawing pipe (see pipe-thawing options below) at faucet, and work back toward other end of frozen section. As you melt ice, water and steam will come out open faucet. If you started in the middle, steam produced by melting ice could get trapped and build up enough pressure to burst the pipe.

Pipe-thawing options: There are several things you can do to thaw your home's pipes. Here's a list:

• Probably the most popular and safest pipe-thawing option is to use hot water. Wrap and secure heavy towel or burlap bag around pipe to concentrate and hold heat against it. Place bucket under pipe to catch runoff water, then pour hot or boiling water over towel.
• A less messy but far more dangerous heat source for thawing frozen pipes is a propane torch equipped with a flame-spreader nozzle. With this heat source, you must be extremely careful to prevent torch flame from damaging or igniting wall behind pipe. A scrap of fireproof material between pipe and wall is a good precautionary measure, but the way you use the torch is the main element in safe pipe thawing. Keep flame moving back and forth. Never leave it in one spot very long. Be especially careful if you're near any soldered pipe joints. Pass over them very quickly or else they may melt and cause leaks, and you'll find that you have a much more serious plumbing problem on your hands than a frozen pipe. Caution: Never use torch or other direct high heat on plastic pipe.
• If you want to avoid the messiness of thawing with hot water and the danger of melting soldered joints with propane torch, try heat lamp or hair dryer as heat source. These work less quickly but are much safer.

To thaw a frozen drainpipe, remove trap, and insert length of garden hose into pipe. When you can't push hose any farther, it has probably reached the ice. Raise your end of the hose and feed hot water in through a funnel. This way, the hot water is sure to get to the problem area. You must be careful when using this technique.

Until the ice melts and drains down the pipe, the hot water you pour in will back up toward you. Have a bucket ready to catch the overflow, and be careful not to scald yo

urself.

John

I would do what Paul said but I would take an additonal step of capping the sprinkler heads where they are easy to get to with a half dozen of 1/2" PVC caps.  Then you are increasing the pressure on the leak and you will find it much faster and expend less water. 

Philip

HDR Remodeling Berkeley Ca

Call a plumbing professional.  That way the toilets can be evaluated.  You would not want to flush money down the drain on repairs if you are going to have to end up replacing the toilets in the near future.  A plumbing professional would be able to go over all of your options, explaining the pros and cons of each.  That way you can make an educated decision on what you should do.

I agree that buying quality fixtures is the way to go.  We have had our best results using Moen, plus they carry a Lifetime Warranty.  There are many good models but we have had the most success with the Kingsley line for bathroom remodeling.  Not only is Moen Kingsley available in the most popular finishes of Chrome, Brushed Nickel and Oil Rubbed Bronze but you can coordinate with matching fixtures for the entire bathroom including accessories like toilet paper holders, towel bars, robe hooks, etc.  Let's face it, you get what you pay for!

not sure about the product used in your home. we usually pack the joint with oakum. then we use hydrolic cement (water plug). followed by tar on the outside. hope this helps. email with any questions. kevin@mrplumbing.com

You definitely should not have any leaking.  I suggest you call a plumber to come look at the issue.

Hi John, 

Turn on your sprinklers for the zone your leak is on and let it run. The area where the leak is will cause the ground around it to be soaked and water logged more so than any other area. There is your leak.

Good luck!

Plumbing fixtures are one area where you want to make sure that you choose quality.  To the untrained eye, the only real way to rate them is on the style or outward appearance.  However the tolerances involved internally are really important.  Buying one of the bargain brands will often cause more expense and headache in the long run.  Kohler and Moen are both high quality brands available widely and I recommend either.  Generally I suggest that a homeowner should budget around $100 for a bathroom faucet and $200+ for a kitchen faucet.  When I was installing a lot of bathrooms and kitchens, I found that cheaper products were either defective right out of the box, or required a call back within 6 months about 50% of the time. Definitely, not worth the hassle.