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The Slack Lagoon posted:This sounds like our basement. Has the perimeter drain worked well? No problems since installation in 1997. Just make sure you get several quotes, and avoid anyone with a lot of weird alphabet soup names - those are usually outfits that hosed up & got sued, filed for bankruptcy, and reorganized under a slightly different name. You want someone that's been around a long time. Mine was super-hairy because there are no footings - they were digging down two feet right along the foundation wall, and, as I have seen in my career on a number of occasions, digging out too much along too far a stretch of wall is inviting failure. You gotta work fast and do it in stages. Back then we both still worked at offices, so we weren't there to see it, but apparently they got the whole thing (45X20) done in under five hours. Something like ten guys showed up. They laid the entire perimeter & ran a diagonal on the long axis to a crock that was almost three feet down to the pump. All I've had to do was replace the pump. We've had rain events on top of long soaks where the thing would kick on every minute or so, 24/7, for 3-4 days. After a while it gets a little freaky as the periods of silence grow shorter & shorter...but aside from a couple of spots where the old puddled concrete got a little dark & sweaty, it's been dry. PO later (several years later, the bastard) told me that once in the 1950s it got so bad that the kids in the neighborhood came over to swim in the basement. Like, three feet deep.
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Jul 10, 2021 05:24
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I've got a leaky toilet. Last year, noted water around base. Not a lot, but small puddle after a couple of hours. I replaced the wax seal, and toilet while I was at it. 8-9 months later, my leak is back. Doesn't appear to be coming in off the supply line (feels dry), so new seal again? Should I switch to one of those silicone ones? Or ghost is missing the bowl.
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Jul 10, 2021 06:11
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Motronic posted:Today this will be plastic corrugated pipe with a sock over it. Or just any type of perforated pipe. Doesn't have to be corrugated.
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Jul 10, 2021 07:34
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pumped up for school posted:Or ghost is missing the bowl. I replaced the gasket on the downstairs toilet because I thought it was leaking. Turns out it was just likely a 4 year old that missed.
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Jul 10, 2021 13:26
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PainterofCrap posted:No problems since installation in 1997. Just make sure you get several quotes, and avoid anyone with a lot of weird alphabet soup names - those are usually outfits that hosed up & got sued, filed for bankruptcy, and reorganized under a slightly different name. You want someone that's been around a long time. Mine was super-hairy because there are no footings - they were digging down two feet right along the foundation wall, and, as I have seen in my career on a number of occasions, digging out too much along too far a stretch of wall is inviting failure. You gotta work fast and do it in stages. Back then we both still worked at offices, so we weren't there to see it, but apparently they got the whole thing (45X20) done in under five hours. Something like ten guys showed up. They laid the entire perimeter & ran a diagonal on the long axis to a crock that was almost three feet down to the pump. Your situation sounded like it was done by a real pro. I think it's hard to shop around for that sort of thing -- is there any sort of best practices you'd recommend when searching on the web to find a reliable outfit to even ASK come give a quote, other than what you mentioned about the alphabet soup names?
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Jul 10, 2021 13:57
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pmchem posted:Your situation sounded like it was done by a real pro. I think it's hard to shop around for that sort of thing -- is there any sort of best practices you'd recommend when searching on the web to find a reliable outfit to even ASK come give a quote, other than what you mentioned about the alphabet soup names? Go to state business registry and look up how long they've been around. It may also show you red flags such as expired license or unpaid taxes.
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Jul 10, 2021 15:03
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The Slack Lagoon posted:I think it may be regional differences for what people are calling things - the quote was for a 'french drain', along the inside perimeter of the basement walls. Perforated pipe surrounded by crashed stone and topped with concrete, which leads to a sump So that's actually a third ting, and done where it's easier than digging outside of the foundation walls to install drain tile. It works, but it's not as good because you have no opportunity to tie in any basement window wells and waterproof the foundation from the outside. Depending on the scope of your problem it may suffice for both drainage and reducing hydrostatic pressure. SourKraut posted:Or just any type of perforated pipe. Doesn't have to be corrugated. True. I've seen more and more PVC installs in the last few years.
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Jul 10, 2021 16:30
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pumped up for school posted:Doesn't appear to be coming in off the supply line (feels dry), so new seal again? Should I switch to one of those silicone ones? How does your flange look? It should be about 1/4" above the finished floor. They can be built back up with extensions if too low. Also, does the toilet move? A loose toilet that rocks, even slightly, can make the wax leak.
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Jul 10, 2021 18:44
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Motronic posted:So that's actually a third ting, and done where it's easier than digging outside of the foundation walls to install drain tile. It works, but it's not as good because you have no opportunity to tie in any basement window wells and waterproof the foundation from the outside. Depending on the scope of your problem it may suffice for both drainage and reducing hydrostatic pressure. The challenge is that the lots are small, and maybe only about 10% of the lot is pervious. When the houses were built the gutters were tied into the sewer system, but when houses are sold they have to disconnect them. The house on one side of us is still connected, but on the other side it isn't. One side of the foundation is a concrete driveway, so we wouldn't be able to do anything outside, and that's where one of the low points that gets water is. If the perimeter drain will be able to keep the water pressure down below the very uneven concrete floor (seriously there are pours from like 12 different time periods of varying quality concrete) and prevent water coming up I think that's probably the ideal solution in this case. Thanks for all the information!
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Jul 10, 2021 21:33
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pumped up for school posted:I've got a leaky toilet. Last year, noted water around base. Not a lot, but small puddle after a couple of hours. I replaced the wax seal, and toilet while I was at it. I thought my 5 year old was missing. Turns out it was corroded tank bolts.
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Jul 10, 2021 21:47
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The Slack Lagoon posted:One side of the foundation is a concrete driveway, so we wouldn't be able to do anything outside, and that's where one of the low points that gets water is. Yeah, these are the situations where you hope it's sufficient because doing something else would be cost prohibitive. But having a concrete driveway against the foundation as a low point sounds like a big problem to me that needs to be addressed anyway.
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Jul 10, 2021 21:57
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Motronic posted:Yeah, these are the situations where you hope it's sufficient because doing something else would be cost prohibitive. But having a concrete driveway against the foundation as a low point sounds like a big problem to me that needs to be addressed anyway. Sorry, I don't think I was clear. The driveway is at sidewalk level and is a more or less level surface. The low point is in the basement floor, which is very uneven
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Jul 11, 2021 01:10
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The Slack Lagoon posted:Sorry, I don't think I was clear. The driveway is at sidewalk level and is a more or less level surface. The low point is in the basement floor, which is very uneven I was taking that as "lowest level" at grade, meaning you have negative grade to the house from the driveway. If water is running off of that slab towards your house it's a problem that needs repair BEFORE the perimeter drain of any sort is installed. Just like any other negative slope towards your home or downspouts that don't drain far enough away. These (sometimes) simple things usually fix the problem without digging a bunch of poo poo up inside your house or just outside the foundation.
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Jul 11, 2021 01:27
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B-Nasty posted:How does your flange look? It should be about 1/4" above the finished floor. They can be built back up with extensions if too low. I'm hoping it is the latter. Got up this morning after no use overnight - dry as a bone. Flush it several times, no leaks. This afternoon, water about bowl. But it had been used a couple of times. Not like we're dancing on the shitter. We had an earthquake yesterday before the first puddle. I'm blaming that. I tightened the bolts (new ones w/ the new toilet) but I guess I'll have to pull it and replace the seal again. I'm going to try one of those "better than wax" ones unless you folks recommend against them. Just having a wax seal go after less than a year tells me I did something wrong. And I'll take a look at the flange and see if I can see anything weird. Not really familiar so learning. Thanks for the suggestions!
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Jul 11, 2021 05:41
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pumped up for school posted:I'm going to try one of those "better than wax" ones unless you folks recommend against them. Just having a wax seal go after less than a year tells me I did something wrong. You probably want to find this Fluidmaster one: https://www.fluidmaster.com/products/toilet/toilet-seals/7530-better-than-wax-wax-free-seal/ They work great. Just be sure to clean all the wax off the flange and the toilet. You're going to want disposable gloves, a cheap (i.e. you're going to throw it away) plastic scraper and some cardboard/newspaper nearby to put the wax you've scraped off onto while you're working. Also, you probably want to pick up a couple of theses: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-Liquilock-6-oz-Toilet-Water-Solidifier-Gel-31419/202882917 They're freaking magic. You won't spill a drop when you're pulling the toilet. When you add more water it just flushes and you're back in business.
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Jul 11, 2021 16:28
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Hey, plumbing thread! I had an AC inspection done yesterday, and the technician said I've got some leaky fittings on the natural gas pipe in my basement. He showed me the pipes after dousing them and showed me all the bubbles. I tried doing it later myself with soap and water and wasn't able to recreate it (looks like what they used was really soapy though). I'm going to go ahead and get a second opinion, but I was curious if you all had any thoughts yourselves. I can't say I smell it or that there have been any signs of troubles (no increase in my gas bill, though it is the summer now). I can't imagine I'll be repairing it myself, but I was curious what my options might be, as they were saying they'd likely want to replace the run altogether. It's fairly open, so he was saying it wouldn't cost that much, but I won't be getting a quote on it until later tomorrow. Some pictures:     
nitsuga fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Jul 11, 2021 |
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Jul 11, 2021 19:24
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Looks like the nipples & elbows need to be re-doped. It’s not difficult, but can be time-consuming to disassemble the run or runs involved unless there are a number of threaded unions where the line can be separated in the middle. You can do it yourself with a couple of stillson wrenches and/or vice-grips and a pot of pipe dope. Once you shut the gas off, that is. Start at one end & start unscrewing. Unless a piece of that galv pipe shears off, you shouldn’t have to buy anything except pipe dope
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Jul 11, 2021 19:46
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You're going to have to redo everything down stream from that too unless you install a union or left/right nipple and coupling. So make sure anything added since construction doesn't stop you from disassembling and reassembling.
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Jul 11, 2021 20:28
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Cool, we'll see what the estimates look like, but it does seem doable at least. Almost all of it is entirely visible, so it probably is within my abilities to reseal the fittings. I'm puzzled as to what it'd be like disassemble, but I'm going to take your word for it that it is really a matter of TURNING OFF THE GAS and then loosening the bits starting at one end. Just seems like it's a trap where loosening one side is tightening the other, but I really haven't worked with threaded pipes at all. nitsuga fucked around with this message at 21:26 on Jul 11, 2021 |
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Jul 11, 2021 21:13
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That’s why you need two stillson wrenches. One to hold the pipe while the other is used to unscrew the fitting/nipple/elbow etc.
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Jul 12, 2021 03:15
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SkunkDuster posted:And of course, nothing ever goes as planned with plumbing. I installed the valve body in the water softener and noticed is was a little cockeyed. Looking deeper, the head of the unit doesn't seem to be securely locked in to the resin tank. I tried pushing it down, but it isn't budging. I'm going to contact GE Appliances and see where to go from here. Update on the water softener install. I contacted GE and this is their response: GE: "If the unit appears to be damaged or misassembled then your best bet is to return it to the store for a refund/exchange." I contacted Home Depot by phone as they requested. They tried their best and were very polite and helpful, but the end result is that it was out of the 90 day return period, so they referred me back to GE. Me: "The water softener was purchased in Nov 2020. Due to it being out of the 90 day return period for Home Depot, they said I would need to resolve this with you." GE: "Unfortunately with the tank being crooked, it was probably transported on its side, which would have caused the damage. The warranty does not cover delivery or shipping damages. I would not recommend that this unit be installed, because there can be hidden damages and cracks. I'm sorry that you are experiencing this, but this is not a warranty related issue. You will need to contact Home Depot for further assistance." I talked to our UPS and FED-EX guys and they said that package would 100% be put on its side because it cannot go down the sorting belts vertically. This is where I lost it. I've been in customer service / repairs as a manufacturer for over 20 years and if a customer has a problem with our product, I fix it on the spot. I don't blow them off and refer them back to a distributor. Me: "I just told you that Home Depot is not going to support your product and you tell me I need to contact them for support? It is clear you are just trying to blow me off knowing full well I have already contacted them. I agree that the problem is most likely due to the product being transported on its side, so the issue is that it was not packed well enough by GE to be turned on it's side during shipping which is evident by the lack of any packing materials inside the salt tank to keep the resin tank stable during shipping. That is a manufacturer problem. Don't tell me to contact Home Depot to resolve this after I have already told you that they passed me on to you. YOU need to contact Home Depot (order xxxxxxxxxx) and figure it out amongst yourselves who is responsible for the shipping damage and arrange for somebody to come collect this softener out of my basement and issue a refund check. I am beyond the point of wanting an exchange after dealing with your completely useless and dismissive responses. I'm never going to put a GE product in my house again. Whether it is Home Depot tipping it sideways or GE not packaging it properly is not my fault, yet you're telling me that I just have to take a $592.71 loss because I received a damaged product? You built it and you packed it. You need to resolve this." GE: no response in 2 weeks. In summary, GE has terrible customer support and I will never buy anything from them again. I bought a side by side refrigerator from them maybe 8 years ago and the icemaker just pours water all over the place inside the freezer. Once again, it was a year or two before I hooked up the icemaker so I was poo poo out of luck on any warranty. When I bought the water softener, I didn't remember who made my fridge, but if I had checked, I would have gone with somebody else. I don't see any damage to the head assembly, so I am going to hook it up as I don't really have any other choice. If it works, great. If not, I'm out $592. I am a bit concerned that the lever on the salt level cylinder doesn't move, but I'll deal with that down the road.
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Jul 13, 2021 03:50
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Call your credit card company asap and tell them your tale of woe. Might be a claim there. How did it go 8 months without being installed? How was it shipped to you?
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Jul 13, 2021 04:05
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SkunkDuster posted:Update on the water softener install. I contacted GE and this is their response: You can file suit in small-claims court. You don't need a lawyer or need to be one; fill out the Complaint and have it served. That should get their attention, because they will have to send an attorney. The cost of filing varies, but I've never seen it exceed $100.
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Jul 13, 2021 04:10
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Nothing in this drat house is easy. I'm trying to replace my tub spout because the diverter doesn't work anymore. I've got a universal tub spout that will fit on 3 different kinds of threaded ends or a slip on. I get my old spout out, it's a threaded, except it's a completely different type of thread! https://imgur.com/a/jHIK02B There's a pipe (nipple?) in the old spout that I can't easily get out, but I'm not sure if I could even buy a replacement. The threads that go into the wall are courser than the threads on the inside of my new spout (and, as best I can tell, the inside of the old spout has the same threads as the new spout). All the nipples I see have the same thread size on each size. The pipe in the wall appears to be a 3/4 inch inside diameter. Is there a part I can buy to connect my "universal" tub spout to this? Should I get a nipple extractor and pull out the old nipple and reuse it? Is it even a nipple in there?
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Jul 13, 2021 21:43
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O-ring didn’t fix the water softener,  Not gonna throw any more money at it since the date code is 2002, new one gets installed Thursday.
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Jul 13, 2021 21:56
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H110Hawk posted:Call your credit card company asap and tell them your tale of woe. Might be a claim there. How did it go 8 months without being installed? I took apart the head unit tonight and didn't see anything obviously broken, but I've never had a job repairing water softeners. I've worked on cars for years and been in the repair business since the early 90s, so I'm not shy about taking things apart, but water softeners are new to me. At this point, I'm just going to install it and, if something is hosed up, I'll order a replacement part. The reason it took so long to install is sort of a domino effect. Hard water deposits have been a minor annoyance in my house since I moved in almost 20 years ago, but I lived with it. Last year, I bought a countertop dishwasher and the minerals were leaving a lot of deposits on the glassware. So I bought a water softener. I'm currently just hooking the dishwasher up to the faucet but want to do a permanent install, but for that, I need a garbage disposal, so I bought one of those. Okay, I don't need a garbage disposal, but I'm sick of dumping leftovers down the toilet, so I might as well install one while I'm at it. My $300 dishwasher is now costing me over $1000. The faucet I was hooking the dishwasher up to sprung a pinhole leak, so now I need a new faucet. The bathroom faucet sucks, so might as well replace that too. Meanwhile, the valves in the shower poo poo the bed, so installing a new valve assembly just took top priority. I think I'm up to $1500 or so now. What little experience I have in plumbing has all been in copper. Frankly, I was pretty intimidated by all the tasks that I needed to take care of and just kept putting things off until I found the magic of PEX B a couple months ago. Now, I have the confidence to take on this wall of projects. That's why it went 8 months without being installed. It was shipped FED-EX. PainterofCrap posted:You can file suit in small-claims court. You don't need a lawyer or need to be one; fill out the Complaint and have it served. That should get their attention, because they will have to send an attorney. The cost of filing varies, but I've never seen it exceed $100. This crossed my mind when I was fuming about the dismissive reply I got from GE. I even posted about it in the legal questions thread. I live in a podunk county where the courthouse is over an hour away from the nearest airport, so I was betting that they would just cave in and send me a replacement rather than show up at court. I'm a non-confrontational person, so I didn't feel good about sending that last response, but I figured it might get their attention. It didn't. In the end, I calmed down and figured it was best to just choose my battles and install it and see how it goes from there. Being that I have spent most of my career in service/support, I'm disgusted by how poorly GE handled the situation, so I'll just work with what I have for now and never buy anything from GE again.
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Jul 14, 2021 03:09
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I have a resolution to my jet engine sounding faucet! They finally just sent me a whole new faucet, and the sound is gone. I took a look at the previous faucet, and I'm wondering if this was causing the issue - a kink at the end of the hot water line
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Jul 14, 2021 22:44
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SkunkDuster posted:I'm sick of dumping leftovers down the toilet, Wtf? Do you not have a trash can?
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Jul 14, 2021 23:58
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Guy Axlerod posted:Wtf? Do you not have a trash can? I'm talking about liquid stuff like soups and stews where I don't want to deal with a trash bag tearing and leaking crap all over. I put leftover solid stuff in the trash can like a normal person. I'm just picturing you trying to imagine me flushing a half a broasted chicken down the toilet.
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Jul 15, 2021 01:42
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actionjackson posted:I have a resolution to my jet engine sounding faucet! They finally just sent me a whole new faucet, and the sound is gone. I took a look at the previous faucet, and I'm wondering if this was causing the issue - a kink at the end of the hot water line SkunkDuster posted:I'm just picturing you trying to imagine me flushing a half a broasted chicken down the toilet.
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Jul 15, 2021 02:51
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SkunkDuster posted:I'm just picturing you trying to imagine me flushing a half a broasted chicken down the toilet. PainterofCrap posted:Challenge: accepted  Mod Challenge!If someone, anyone manages to do this successfully I’ll give them an av or plat or archives for posting proof in this thread. Proof must be a video, you must include your username in the video (write it on the leftover broasted chicken in sharpie or something) and you can (and probably should) cover your face. Anyone who attempts and fails, and who posts proof of their failure will get a “chickenflushers” gang tag or something along those lines as a consolation prize for flooding their bathroom.
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Jul 15, 2021 04:10
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Can I get clarification on what a broasted chicken is? Google seems to show it's just like Kentucky Fried Chicken? I can probably flush one of those pieces. E: Are there different gang tags for those who succeed vs fail?
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Jul 15, 2021 04:21
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PainterofCrap posted:That could absolutely produce some godawful shrieking. thanks - I'm honestly wondering how it happened, because that sound was definitely not always present, and I only put in the faucet a couple years ago. I'm also curious why I got the shrieking when doing cold water only, since there was only a kink on the hot line.
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Jul 15, 2021 04:22
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SpartanIvy posted:Can I get clarification on what a broasted chicken is? Google seems to show it's just like Kentucky Fried Chicken? I can probably flush one of those pieces. Yes, KFC is broasted chicken. The one catch to this challenge is that it's for a half chicken, so wing, thigh, drumstick, and breast. Anyone can flush a single piece, the reward is for someone who manages to send all that meat down their toilet at once. I've barely started on the gangtag but sure. Here's happy colonel sanders and disappointed colonel sanders. Which is the success tag I'm not sure of yet. 
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Jul 15, 2021 05:09
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Waiting for this to trickle over to the wiring thread where it'll be plugging half a broasted chicken into a 240v outlet
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Jul 15, 2021 08:38
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BonerGhost posted:Waiting for this to trickle over to the wiring thread where it'll be plugging half a broasted chicken into a 240v outlet That traditional experiment is usually done with a dill pickle. Anyway it's 4 am and here's a rough preview. If someone comes up with a better graphic and saves me from having to animate this, I have no ego. 
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Jul 15, 2021 09:08
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So, 4 individual pieces of KFC chicken at once? Hrmmmm, I actually think my Toto's could handle that.......but I really don't want to deal with it if the drumstick bone gets lodged.
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Jul 15, 2021 14:02
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I was going to go through with the challenge, but then I just ate the chicken
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Jul 15, 2021 18:13
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That's what I'd do with a 4pc kfc dinner myself.
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Jul 15, 2021 23:00
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My girlfriend is telling me I can't flush even a single piece of fried chicken down the toilet even though I just had all my cast iron replaced with PVC
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Jul 15, 2021 23:31
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