Author Topic: Plumbing  (Read 4457 times)

greenmimama

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Plumbing
« on: January 26, 2014, 12:27:12 PM »
I have no experience with plumbing besides trying to unclog a toilet type of stuff. Our kitchen sink was clogged and the regular draino wasn't working, I knew my DH would not have time to fix it and it was becoming a pain (you never know how much you use something until it isn't working)

I googled it and a nice video on youtube popped up. I took the pipes apart, found the issue, cleaned it out, now here is the really impressive part, I put it all back together with no leaks!!

I probably saved us at least $125 to call a plumber and pay for the service call and their time, I was pretty proud of myself.

My 4yo helped me and watched me do it, so now he knows that mamas fix things too :)

Greg

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2014, 03:38:18 PM »
Your post is full of awesome.  Good job.

Tennis Maniac

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2014, 05:51:15 PM »
...and next time you have slightly harder job to it won't seem so ominous.
Nice job!

greenmimama

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2014, 09:25:51 AM »
Thank you, It does give me the courage to try more.

Exflyboy

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2014, 12:17:01 PM »
Excellent.. soon you won't hire anyone to do anything.

We built our own house from a book and my car has never seen the inside of a mechanics shop..:)

On that waste plumbing the joints are supposed to be "hand tight". Unless you are as strong as the average 170lb male you might want to get a pair of "channel lock" pliers and just nip the joints up another 1/8th to 1/4 of a turn... but no more.

Frank

greenmimama

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2014, 12:45:03 PM »
Excellent.. soon you won't hire anyone to do anything.

We built our own house from a book and my car has never seen the inside of a mechanics shop..:)

On that waste plumbing the joints are supposed to be "hand tight". Unless you are as strong as the average 170lb male you might want to get a pair of "channel lock" pliers and just nip the joints up another 1/8th to 1/4 of a turn... but no more.

Frank

It is brand new plumbing, I did hand tighten it, I will tighten it a bit more though, although this was a couple of months ago and no leaks yet, so it should be good right?

My DH and I did a ton of work on our last house, I got pretty good working the saw and hanging siding, painting and painting and painting, some shingling and other stuff, it did feel good, but we almost killed ourselves finishing it, if we ever do it again I hope to do it with cash so we won't have the mortgage deadline hanging over our head.

Exflyboy

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2014, 02:25:59 PM »
Nice..:)

yes the plumbing is good but that extra nip can mean the difference between never having a leak and maybe one sprouting at some point due to repeated thermal expansion/ contraction cycles.

So definately just give it an extra 1/8th tighten. Mind you, if you have been doing a ton of work maybe if you shook my hand I would be doubled over in pain as you crushed my hand.

In which case your plastic plumbing should be perfect..:)

Frank

Milspecstache

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2014, 08:49:03 PM »
Great job!  I love YouTube for the ability to do what you just shared: watch a video on something you've never done/fixed/created and then go do it!

jinga nation

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #8 on: February 02, 2024, 07:37:11 AM »
I'm glad I found an old plumbing thread. (pun intended)

We use reclaimed water for lawn watering. Last Friday, it was shut off by the county due to maintenance work. On Monday, they turned on the system. The pressure broke a plastic part in the pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) which sits before the irrigation manifold and valves.

I did some research, found there were rebuild kits available. I couldn't get a key part out; researched again and saw a special tool is needed. But no one has the tool. Called a bunch of places and internet retailers. Researching more, found that my PVB was the original design; the rebuild kits fit the new design, which is why my parts look different from those in the rebuild kit. Found a new unit at a local store and was planning on replacing. Talked to a neighbor walking his dog; he said to call his irritation repairman because the PVB might not be required.

Irrigation guy tells me he's two weeks out from coming, but then says, "Hey, you don't need a PVB because your reclaimed water is isolated from the potable water line. If you have two separate shutoffs at the street, you defo don't need it. Just put in some Sch40 PVC and you're golden."

Meanwhile, the query I had placed with the county department gets replied to with "We're not sure but we recommend you replacing it with another PVB and get an annual inspection done." Then I called the city's water department (we get county water, but I know the city's water folks are smarter as I used to be their customer.) They said the same thing as the irrigation repairman.

Now, I've never done any plumbing before but have seen enough IRL and on UToob to learn to measure thrice, cut twice, dry-fit, plan ahead, and timing is crucial because primer and glue.

Went to the hardware store, awesome folks in the plumbing department who looked at the photos on my phone, told me what to do and what to use, which tool to cut the pipe to make, etc. Then he said, "if you keep the tools and packaging clean, just return it when done".

Did all the cutting and prep after work on Tuesday. On Wednesday, at lunch, installed the new PVC pipe and fittings. Turn on the water and sprinklers, nothing happening apart from valves kicking. Check the county's newsroom site, entire reclaimed water system is still down. Great!

I guess I'll found out how well I did the job when the water lines are pressurized.

Also, two plumbers gave me quotes over the phone to fix. One wanted $350. Another had a $99 call-out charge plus time/labor/materials.

My cost, under $20 (excluding the fancy cutting tool which I'll return after confirming success).

Exflyboy

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #9 on: February 02, 2024, 11:54:29 AM »
@jinga nation  Good for you! As I was reading your post I was also asking "WTF do you need a vacuum breaker for on a reclaimed water system".

So great, like almost everything, its all really simple. Plumbing, construction, electrical wiring, car repair is all ultimately a combination of simple skills and a few tools. If you have the talent to learn those skills you can learn to do anything you decide to.

For some people the learning curve is too great and simply not a good use of their time. If you have a cushy job that brings in say $1M/year or time with your family is far more valuable to you than fixing the leaking toilet,  then yeah, hire the damn plumber.

Personally I love expanding my arsenal of hands on skills after a professional career that just needed me to run a calculator, plus I'm just too cheap to hire anyone.

I think I might have done my last roof though.. I hate that job and the next one should need to be done at age 85, sooo.....

jinga nation

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2024, 08:34:47 PM »
Personally I love expanding my arsenal of hands on skills after a professional career that just needed me to run a calculator, plus I'm just too cheap to hire anyone.

I don't mind paying the professionals for jobs because I tend to stick around and ask questions and learn. But the post-covid reality in my area is that finding skilled folks is getting harder for various reasons. Or they'll come, but are a week or two out as they're slammed with biz. I'm happy for them to be busy, but that delay doesn't help fix my situation in a timely manner. Thankfully I'm temporarily able to WFH on my current client, thus able to research and plan and fix and iterate during the day.

The reclaimed water came back online today. My fix worked; leak-free!
However, there's a slow leak coming from the sprinklers and the solenoids/valves box was flooded. Shut the line off and did some research. I may have a clog in one or more valves; time to let the box drain out and clean out the valves. Also noticed that some of the electrical caps were missing on the wiring, so will have to put on news ones and tape over. Gotta love the internets!

Just Joe

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2024, 01:41:27 PM »
We are continuing to reno our kitchen - new cabinets, sink, etc. Today will be the sink. Sink is installed. Will be installing new faucet and p-trap this weekend.

Also have been missing the kitchen basics like a stove and oven like the OP said.

Exflyboy

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #12 on: February 10, 2024, 01:54:59 PM »
Personally I love expanding my arsenal of hands on skills after a professional career that just needed me to run a calculator, plus I'm just too cheap to hire anyone.

I don't mind paying the professionals for jobs because I tend to stick around and ask questions and learn. But the post-covid reality in my area is that finding skilled folks is getting harder for various reasons. Or they'll come, but are a week or two out as they're slammed with biz. I'm happy for them to be busy, but that delay doesn't help fix my situation in a timely manner. Thankfully I'm temporarily able to WFH on my current client, thus able to research and plan and fix and iterate during the day.

The reclaimed water came back online today. My fix worked; leak-free!
However, there's a slow leak coming from the sprinklers and the solenoids/valves box was flooded. Shut the line off and did some research. I may have a clog in one or more valves; time to let the box drain out and clean out the valves. Also noticed that some of the electrical caps were missing on the wiring, so will have to put on news ones and tape over. Gotta love the internets!

Yes you only need a tiny spec of grit inside those valves and they will not shut off. I had the same problem one time when my well picked up something similar.

I cured the problem once and for all by installing a 3/4" strainer/filter from Home Dopey upstream of the valve manifold. If you have room in your valve box this would be a nice to have. Or you could dig another valve box to house the strainer.

Just Joe

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Re: Plumbing
« Reply #13 on: February 12, 2024, 03:04:48 PM »
New sink is plumbed. New faucet. New supply lines. New p-trap. I'll finish the dishwasher tonight I hope.

Looking forward to washing dishes in the kitchen rather than the spare bathroom sink after all these months.

Might maybe have a bad shutoff valve install. I felt the slightest bit of wetness last night. Might need to cut that one off and replace. Wondering about whether I should replace the pipe. I have easy access below.

Maybe I'll put a drip pan under it and look for drips.