What happened to my water pressure?

General Questions
#1

We live in a 60 year old home in the attic apartment. A couple of months ago we developed some problems with our bathroom that culminated in a total bathroom remodel. We hired a contractor who gutted the bathroom, removed everything including the walls and rebuilt it.

The bathroom is finished. It looks beautiful but the water pressure is not what it used to be. The old shower had very strong water pressure as did the kitchen sink and now we have about half the pressure we used to have. We noticed this when they were still finishing the bathroom and mentioned it to the contractor and he said there was nothing that they had done during the remodel that would have affected the water pressure.

So, do I call the contractor back and insist that he fix the water pressure (assuming that he caused the loss of pressure) or do I just call my regular plumber and ask him to investigate.

#2

Is there a main shutoff valve leading to your part of the house? If so, check to make sure it’s fully open. Check with people in the other part of the house to see if they also have a loss of pressure.

Did he replace any pipes during the renovation? If so, he might have torn out your half inch copper pipes and put in shiny new quarter inch PVC. I’m not sure how much of a pressure drop that would cause. It’s also possible he took the liberty of installing flow restrictors on the shower head and faucets.

#3

Yes, we did check the main shut off valve and it’s wide open.

I have to check the rest of the house (my mother in law lives on the main floor but we pretty much share the whole house) and see if the pressure is low elsewhere.

We did notice this morning a drop in pressure when the sprinklers went on.

Yes, I think he replaced all of the pipes under the kitchen sink and in the bathroom. So that’s a possibility. I don’t think they installed any kind of flow restrictor.

#4

Has the pressure/volume changed in other parts of the house?

Where does the water come from? A well or a community system? A community system can and does change output pressures.

New faucets come with low flow inserts. Just remove the aerator take out the flow restrictor.

#5

It’s possible there’s a leak in the pipe to the house. Admittedly, it would be a strange coincidence, but stranger things have happened.

#6

Get a pressure gage that will adapt to a sink faucet. Check the pressure with no water running

Check the pressure at other points in the house with the water running and the water not running.

If the pressure is the same with the water running or not running then there is no restriction. If there is no difference between the levels again no restriction.

If with the water running there is a pressure drop at the top but not on the lower floors then the contractor may have made a mistake. If there is a pressure drop in the whole building then there is a restriction some where other than the new work.