July 2025
Plumbing is a necessity of condo living we tend to take for granted. Water travels from Lake Ontario, is purified, and enters the pipes to your building. Clean water is delivered to each unit while dirty water is returned and cleaned. Your high-rise home contains a system of pipes transporting water up to your home then down through drains to city pipes.
From time to time there are problems. Kitec plumbing failures, two dissimilar metals in plumbing pipes, were the cause of floods and other water problems. Kitec plumbing was used in condominium buildings built between 1995 and 2007. It was popular as a corrosion-resistant alternative to copper pipes. In 2005 it was recalled because of premature failure and is no longer manufactured. Buildings had to replace entire plumbing systems.
A more current issue is plumbing failures in epoxy-lined plumbing pipes. Starting around 2010, a proactive alternative to replacing pipes was utilized. An epoxy coating was applied to the inside of water pipes. This coating adheres to the inside of the piping, seals existing pinhole leaks and helps prevent future leaks.
Epoxy coating can save up to 30 percent of the cost of pipe replacement, can be installed faster with less disruption, and prevents pinhole leaks in pipes. Epoxy coatings wear down over time. Deterioration starts on the inside of a pipe and works its way to the outside making advance detection of problems, which can occur as early as five years from installation, unlikely. A portion of pipe becomes so thin that a small stream of water is released – a pinhole leak. A single pinhole leak is rare. More likely is that many more pinhole leaks exist and have gone unnoticed, and that more pinhole leaks may soon arise.
Some communities choose not to take proactive steps to prevent or minimize the impact of water leaks. They considered relining a “one-time solution,” failed to regularly treat their pipes to prevent epoxy linings from failing, and have no water detection systems in place. In addition to a recurrence of pinhole leaks, failed linings can block water and heating systems. Older buildings with copper piping are also starting to see failures in their plumbing systems.
Buildings with recurring flooding or water problems can find their insurance no longer includes coverage for flooding, or the deductible may be increased, potentially at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Periodic water leaks in a building are not uncommon. If they reach three to five over a one-month period, it is time to consult with a specialist to determine the severity of the problem and solutions.
Water problems that go unnoticed will worsen and continue to cause damage until detected and addressed. Late detection of water problems increases the likelihood of costly maintenance or repairs to internal infrastructure.
