Backflow Installation
Backflow assemblies are required on commercial, irrigation and fire connections. Installing one means choosing the right assembly type for the hazard and getting it tested and recorded.
Backflow Installation
When to call
What usually brings people to this
Ground movement is a real factor in this valley, and it shows up as offset joints in sewer laterals that were perfectly fine a decade ago.
These are the symptoms that usually prompt the call. Any one of them is worth a conversation, and most of them get cheaper to deal with the earlier they are looked at.
A new commercial or irrigation connection
A notice from the water purveyor requiring an assembly
A property changing use
An assembly beyond repair
A fire line connection
Ignoring an early symptom does not save money. It moves the spending to a worse moment and adds restoration work to it.
How we work it
We inspect the real condition of the system before recommending anything, because the fix depends entirely on what we find.
Establish the hazard and required type
The assembly type follows the hazard level, and the purveyor sets the requirement.
Install in an accessible location
Assemblies need annual testing, so access is part of doing it properly.
Test and certify
Tested at installation and the results submitted.
Set the annual reminder
Testing is yearly and the deadline is real.
Worth knowingWhat backflow installation actually involves
Sometimes the right recommendation is the cheap one. A shop that has been in one family for four decades cannot afford a reputation for anything else.
Accessibility is the part of backflow installation people regret getting wrong. The assembly requires annual testing for as long as the building stands, and an assembly installed somewhere awkward means paying for difficult access every single year. Spending a little thought on placement at installation saves money for the life of the connection.
We run our own camera and locating equipment rather than subcontracting the diagnosis, so the person who finds the problem is the person who explains it to you.
Four decades of work in this region built a service area that covers most of the Inland Empire. If you are outside the usual radius, call and ask. We cover more ground than most shops our size.
We inspect the real condition of the system before recommending anything, because the fix depends entirely on what we find.
Keeping it from happening again
Ignoring an early symptom does not save money. It moves the spending to a worse moment and adds restoration work to it.
Wipes should not go down any drain, whether the packet says flushable or not. They do not break down, and they are behind a large share of the main line blockages we clear.
If you have had a line cleared more than once, ask for a camera inspection rather than a third clearing. Repeated blockages nearly always have a physical cause worth finding.
The cheapest plumbing is the kind that gets looked at before it fails. An annual walk of the visible plumbing, checking under sinks, around the water heater and at any exposed pipe, catches most problems while they are still small and dry.
Exercise your shutoff valves once a year. A quarter turn and back keeps them from seizing, and a main shutoff that will not turn during an emergency is a much more expensive problem than one that gets used occasionally.
Who you are calling
Nights, weekends and holidays are ordinary working hours in this trade and we staff for them.
When you call, a person answers, day or night. That has been true since Big Mike ran the phone himself, and it is one of the reasons people keep calling us.
Being licensed for sanitation systems as well as plumbing is why septic work stays in-house rather than getting referred out.
The same family has been doing this work here since 1982, through three generations of Inland Empire housing stock.
Big Mike's · Yucaipa, California
Questions we get about backflow installation
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
What type of assembly do we need?
It depends on the hazard. Your water purveyor specifies it, and we install to that requirement.
How often does it need testing?
Annually in most jurisdictions, with results submitted to the purveyor.
Where should it be installed?
Somewhere accessible for annual testing and protected from damage and freezing.
What if we do not have one?
Purveyors do enforce this, and a required assembly that is missing can put your service at risk.
Do you work on commercial property as well as homes?
Yes. Residential, commercial and industrial, including offices, apartment complexes, hotels, restaurants and plant systems.
How long have you been in business?
Since 1982. Big Mike founded the company and handed it to his family, who run it now. That is forty-four years in the same valley under the same name.
Do I need to be home?
Usually yes, or somebody who can make decisions about the work. We will not authorize additional work ourselves without talking to you.
Do you pull permits?
Where the work requires them, yes. Permits and inspections are handled as part of the job rather than left to the customer.
How this fits the rest of the system
The plumbing in a commercial building carries more volume, runs longer horizontal distances and serves people who notice immediately when something is wrong. Systems that would last decades in a house wear out faster under commercial use, and maintenance that seems unnecessary in a residential context is straightforwardly economical here.
Before we come out
Before we arrive it helps to know where your main water shutoff is and whether it turns. Clearing access to the work area and putting pets somewhere else speeds things up considerably too.
Forty-four years of work in one region builds a footprint that covers a lot of towns, and the trucks are on the road across it every day.
Related work and where we do it
Other commercial work
- Commercial Water Line Installation
New commercial water services.
- Commercial Hydro Jetting
Scheduled jetting for kitchens and property lines.
- Commercial Sewer Repair
Commercial laterals and mains.
- Commercial Repiping
Repiping occupied commercial buildings.
- Commercial Drain Cleaning
Keeping business drains running.
- Apartment Complex Plumbing
Multifamily plumbing across many units.
Where we go
We run backflow installation out of Yucaipa across West Covina, Indian Wells, Palm Springs, Lake Elsinore, Upland, Azusa and Eastvale, and the rest of San Bernardino, Riverside and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.
Call the shop. A person picks up.
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it takes to fix it. Plain language, no sales pitch, and the number before we start.
Yucaipa, California · Serving San Bernardino, Riverside and eastern Los Angeles counties · Open 24 hours