How we answer
Whose Pipe Is It? is a question-and-answer site for people who own or rent in shared buildings. The questions are common ones, drawn from search data and from what people ask in public. They are not letters from named readers, and we don't invent readers.
What goes into an answer
Each answer starts with a who-pays line, then the direct answer. The who-pays line is a starting point, not a ruling. We read government pages, insurance regulators' guides, published plumbing codes and makers' manuals, and list them under "Read it yourself" with the date we read them.
Some official sites block our connection. Where that happened we read an archived copy of the official page and say so, or a third-party display of the code text and say that too. Some practical points, such as how a building's pipes usually run, are a general picture with no source to link. We keep those hedged.
What we won't do
We don't give legal or insurance advice. We can't tell you what your declaration, lease or policy means for your situation, or how a court would see it. We name a state's law only if we read its text, and it applies only in that state. When real money is at stake, ask a lawyer licensed in your state or your insurance agent.
We don't quote repair or assessment costs, because we have no sound figure to give you. We don't tell anyone to operate risers, stacks, main shutoffs or building valves. Those belong to building staff.
Who has checked this
The answers are written and checked against the sources listed. They have not been reviewed by a licensed plumber or a lawyer. For videos, we read the transcripts but didn't watch them, so use your judgment.
Links to stores owned by the same people as this site are marked beside each link. See who owns this site.
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