The Head's Plumbing Learning Center

Permits, inspections & the Georgia plumbing code

Many plumbing projects in metro Atlanta need a permit and inspection. These guides explain the general rules in plain language — educational, not legal advice. Always confirm specifics with your local building department, or let our licensed team handle the permit for you.

Plumbing for every room in your home

A room-by-room map of your home's plumbing — kitchen, bathroom, basement, laundry, and outdoors. What each space needs, what tends to go wrong, and honest cost and effort, with no fabricated prices.

Plumbing terms, plainly defined

The words a plumber might use — explained without the jargon, so you always know what you are paying for.

Trenchless repair / CIPP lining

A way to fix a damaged sewer or drain line without digging up the whole yard. Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining inserts a resin-saturated liner into the old pipe and hardens it into a new, seamless pipe-within-a-pipe through one or two small access points.

Hydro jetting

A drain-cleaning method that uses high-pressure water (often 1,500–4,000 PSI) through a specialized nozzle to scour grease, scale, and roots off the full inside wall of a pipe — far more thorough than a cable snake, which only punches a hole through the clog.

Backflow preventer

A valve assembly that stops dirty or contaminated water from reversing direction and flowing back into your clean drinking-water supply. Georgia requires many of these devices to be tested by a certified tester on a regular schedule.

Slab leak

A water-line leak in or beneath the concrete foundation slab of a home. Common signs include a warm spot on the floor, the sound of running water with everything off, an unexplained spike in your water bill, or cracking in the slab.

Pressure-reducing valve (PRV)

A valve that lowers and stabilizes incoming municipal water pressure to a safe level (typically 50–75 PSI). Too-high pressure stresses fixtures, water heaters, and joints, and can void appliance warranties.

Sewer camera / scope

A waterproof video camera on a flexible cable that a plumber feeds into your sewer or drain line to see the exact location and cause of a problem — roots, a collapse, a belly (sag), or a separated joint — before recommending a repair.

Repipe

Replacing some or all of a home's supply (or drain) piping. Older Atlanta homes often have galvanized steel, polybutylene, or cast iron that corrodes or fails with age; a repipe swaps it for modern copper or PEX.

Descaling

Flushing mineral scale (mostly calcium and magnesium from hard water) out of a tankless water heater or pipes. Tankless units especially need periodic descaling to keep their heat exchanger efficient and under warranty.

Anode rod

A sacrificial metal rod inside a tank water heater that corrodes on purpose so the steel tank does not. Replacing a spent anode rod on schedule is one of the cheapest ways to extend a water heater's life.

Tankless water heater

A water heater that heats water on demand as it flows through the unit, instead of storing it in a tank. It saves space and avoids standby heat loss, but needs correct sizing and periodic descaling.

Heat pump water heater (HPWH)

A highly efficient electric water heater that moves heat from the surrounding air into the water tank instead of generating heat directly. It can use roughly a third of the energy of a standard electric tank and may qualify for federal tax credits.

Water service line

The pipe that carries clean water from the city main (or your well) to your home. When it leaks or fails, it can cause low pressure, soggy spots in the yard, or a high water bill.

Sump pump

A pump set in a basin (the sump) at the low point of a basement or crawl space that automatically removes water that collects there, helping prevent flooding and moisture damage.

P-trap

The U-shaped bend under sinks, tubs, and showers that holds a small amount of water to block sewer gas from entering your home. A dry or missing P-trap is a common source of drain odor.

Uniform Energy Factor (UEF)

The federal efficiency rating for water heaters — the higher the UEF, the more hot water you get per dollar of energy. It is the apples-to-apples number to compare brands and models, because every manufacturer is tested the same way.

First Hour Rating (FHR)

For tank water heaters, how many gallons of hot water the unit can deliver in a busy first hour starting full. Sizing to your household's real peak demand (back-to-back showers, laundry, dishwasher) matters more than tank gallons alone.

GPM (gallons per minute) flow rate

For tankless water heaters, how many gallons per minute the unit can heat to your target temperature. Sizing is based on how many fixtures run at once and how cold the incoming water is — a key spec when comparing tankless brands.

Condensing tankless water heater

A high-efficiency tankless unit with a second heat exchanger that captures heat from exhaust gases, reaching higher UEF ratings. It uses PVC venting and produces acidic condensate that needs a proper drain, which affects where it can be installed.

Thermal expansion tank

A small tank installed near a water heater on a closed plumbing system (one with a pressure-reducing valve or check valve). It absorbs the pressure spike created as water heats and expands, protecting the heater and fixtures — and it is required by code in many metro-Atlanta jurisdictions.

Rough-in

The stage of a remodel or new build when supply and drain pipes are run in the walls and floor before fixtures are set and walls are closed. Getting the rough-in right — correct sizing, slope, and venting — is what makes the finished space work for decades.

Frost-free hose bib (sillcock)

An outdoor faucet built so the valve that actually shuts off the water sits inside the heated wall, well back from the cold exterior. It drains itself when closed, which helps prevent the burst pipes that standard outdoor spigots cause in a hard freeze.

Water hammer

The bang or thud you hear when a valve (a washing machine, dishwasher, or quick-closing faucet) shuts off and moving water slams to a stop. Left unaddressed it stresses joints and fixtures; arrestors or air chambers absorb the shock.

Faucet cartridge

The replaceable valve inside a modern faucet that controls flow and temperature. Cartridge design varies by brand, which is a big reason brand choice affects how easy — and how cheap — a faucet is to repair years later.

Point-of-entry (POE) vs. point-of-use (POU)

Point-of-entry treatment is installed where the main water line enters the home, so every tap benefits (whole-home filtration or softening). Point-of-use treats a single fixture, like an under-sink drinking-water filter. The right choice depends on what you are treating and why.