All Forum Posts by: Mike A.

@Mike A. When you said the meter dial “spins out of control” did you bother to watch and approximate the GPM flow?  If turning the main house cutoff stops the meter, and the meter turns with the valve open....obviously there is a flow.  I don’t think the gear mechanism in the meter could produce a false high reading, but I’m not sure.  I could see it “slipping” and produce a false low reading.

BTW, just 1 GPM is over 40,000 gallons a month. Is this a slab home? Are there any underground pipes downstream of the main shut off valve?

One of your tenants can't sleep unless the shower is running through the night.

If you are saying the basement is dry and there is no water throughout the building, then it is going down the drain somewhere (or out through a hose to another building/structure from your outside connectors). 

Look at the water heater (put your ear on it if needed) sometime the temperature and pressure (T&P) relief valve at a water heater leaks.

Ask the city to change the meter. That you have no confidence in the present one. If you can have access to all the units and ensure everything is "off", you can then check the flow indicator on the meter to see if it is still indicating water usage. The most common place for a building to lose that much water is via a toilet.

The city doesn’t look for leaks, past their water meter.  You’ll have to find it.  Perhaps install some cut off valves in the water system at various places until you isolate the area of the leak.

Slab, crawlspace or basement and age of water pipes ?

@Mike A. Your zoning/land use allows for a bank building to be used for residential purposes?

What is your intended use for the property? Lease it out retail? I've seen banks re-leased out as starbucks or bar/restaurants. The cheapest path appears to be to remove the vault door and prevent liability of someone getting locked inside and use the inside as a store-room. Or sometimes the vault door could be permanently rendered unsuable and placed in the open position behind plexiglass and maybe be used as a design accent. Just some ideas if you dont want to demo the vault.