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Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Unfortunately the closet doesn't have a drain and the heat pump will supposedly create a lot of condensation. What would be the best way to address this issue? I was thinking I could relocate the water heater closer to the utility sink, run a drain line under the closet and patch in to the line for the utility sink, or run a condensate pump.
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May 4, 2010 10:48
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Depending what the drain on the laundry sink is. The PH of the condensate could be alkaline and eat a copper drain line. If its ABS or any other plastic you should be fine. It's PVC. grover posted:The heat pump will be running as a heater, not an air conditioner; the condensate will be at the outside unit. And yeah, it will produce a lot of condensate, so be prepared for a persistent puddle if you don't have good drainage under/around it. There is no outside unit.
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May 4, 2010 11:36
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Phineus posted:My girl and I just moved into a new place and I've been tasked with replacing the old shower head with a new one. I've done this before and not had any issues with installing it, but I ran into a snag. I believe you need a plumber's/pipe wrench. The shape of the head will give it more grip when it turns, rather than just slipping. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_wrench
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May 4, 2010 15:12
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Dragyn posted:I believe you need a plumber's/pipe wrench. The shape of the head will give it more grip when it turns, rather than just slipping. Or a strap wrench.
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May 4, 2010 15:33
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I am replacing a vanity/sink/faucet in my bathroom. The sink and vanity cabinet are a pair and the sink/counter top sort of sits on top and runs across the top of the cabinet like in this picture: Is there a best way to place these sort of sinks on top of the vanity? Mine vanity cabinet was pre-assembled, but the sink seems to slip around a lot and it's hard to find a "sweet spot" where it sits in place. I know I need to caulk them together, but I'm trying to find how they best fit before sealing them together.
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May 4, 2010 15:44
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tadashi posted:I am replacing a vanity/sink/faucet in my bathroom. The sink and vanity cabinet are a pair and the sink/counter top sort of sits on top and runs across the top of the cabinet like in this picture: Just make sure they're siting plumb and square in the cabinet. And caulk it to the wall and caulk the cabinet to the sink it self.
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May 4, 2010 16:09
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Depending where you sewer exits the roots could be a problem. I did the following earlier this week: bought some main drain cleaner (Lowes) - directions said pour 8 ounces down toilet and flush. Did this twice a day (8-10 hours apart) since Sunday. Took a shower at the office since my wife is visiting her family and wasn't bitching every 30 minutes. Today I decided to see how things were working, so I ran the sink in the master bathroom and the sink in the guest bathroom. I removed the plug from the flange in the guest bathroom and listened to the water flow. After about 5 minutes of running just the sinks and not seeing a backup, I went to the master bathroom and flushed the toilet. Turned off the sink in the master bath and went down the hall to check the guest bath. After the toilet flush, there was water up to the brim of the flange. Turned off the sink in the guest bath and waited. There was some small amount of bubbling from the water, a little gurgling from the bathtub drain, and then the water slowly drained away. Took about 2 minutes. So, I've got basically until the weekend when my wife comes back to get this poo poo resolved, otherwise hilarity ensues. I'm pretty much at the point where I'm out of my element, so it's probably time to call in a sewer cleaner. Am I going to go wrong by choosing a company like roto-rooter, or is there something else I need to look for?
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May 5, 2010 00:48
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Scipio posted:I did the following earlier this week: Large company's cost more, you can find a small shop to snake the drain for decently cheap and they usually do as good of a job. Don't get someone who's not license and bonded though. So stay away from craigs List.
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May 5, 2010 01:05
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Large company's cost more, you can find a small shop to snake the drain for decently cheap and they usually do as good of a job. Don't get someone who's not license and bonded though. So stay away from craigs List. Got it. My only concern is the fact that there's no exterior nor interior clean out that I could find. Checked with the neighbors and most of the ones that do have them were retrofits. But, since I know that up-front, I should be able to prepare the company doing the work so that they can deal with it. I'm just worried that someone is going to basically say that the only option is to install a clean out rather then just snake it from inside the house or through the stack.
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May 5, 2010 01:20
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Ask up front, estimate the distance they will have to run and tell them up front.
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May 5, 2010 03:13
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So it turns out the Sphere is all part of the pipe extending from the wall and I've got to take the pipe out as well. This should be interesting.
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May 5, 2010 05:48
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Phineus posted:So it turns out the Sphere is all part of the pipe extending from the wall and I've got to take the pipe out as well. This should be interesting. I had the exact same situation at my in-law's house last Christmas. That elbow with the sphere used to be common in old houses. Google around, there are some forum posts on how to remove it. You have to be careful not to shear the pipe off inside the wall. The one I did had about 50 years of mineral build-up on it, but with a LOT of messing with it I was eventually able to unscrew the elbow using some vice grips.
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May 5, 2010 16:20
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Papercut posted:I had the exact same situation at my in-law's house last Christmas. That elbow with the sphere used to be common in old houses. Google around, there are some forum posts on how to remove it. You have to be careful not to shear the pipe off inside the wall. The one I did had about 50 years of mineral build-up on it, but with a LOT of messing with it I was eventually able to unscrew the elbow using some vice grips. Alternately, try the old trick to tighten shower head elbows, but with a twist. Cut off the tip with a hacksaw, then stick a long screwdriver down the pipe and use it as a lever to remove the pipe. Again be careful to not shear off anything inside the wall.
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May 5, 2010 17:28
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So, the plumber came out and gave an estimate of $500 to snake through the roof stack and a starting estimate of $1000 to locate the drain pipe and install a clean out. He took a look at the configuration in the house and discovered that the toilets were connected and then the main drain is connected with a join of some kind. Somehow this make snaking from the pulled toilet impossible, something to do with the snake not being flexible enough. After the plumber left, I talked to another neighbor, and hit the information jackpot. Turns out he has done a lot of general contracting work in the area, including plumbing on one of the neighbors houses. He loaned me a probe and told me where to start looking, sure that the houses actually did have a clean out. After about 10 minutes of general probing, I found the pipe and followed it back closer to the house where I did, in fact, find a clean out buried about six inches down and in the middle of the hedges in front of my house. Looks like we can rent a power snake from one of his plumbing contacts for $100. Should be a fun weekend.
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May 5, 2010 21:03
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Well good luck with the snake and have a fun weekend. Also remember when pulling the power snake out don't use the machine. Pull it out by hand or you will fling poo poo everywhere.
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May 5, 2010 21:10
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Neighbor came through fast. Turns out his buddy had the machine available last night. So, we snaked from the clean out to the sewer (about 30 feet) 4 times. Pulled out 4 feet of roots from the shrubbery and now everything runs fine. He said it felt like I had a joint out of alignment somewhere, probably right where the cleanout connects to the drain itself, which is incidentally right under the shrubs, so this makes at least logical sense. We opened up the manhole cover and saw another foot of roots that got washed out. So, I should be good for the near future, but he wants me to dig up the area right by the cleanout so we can get a look at the pipe and see if we can apply a more permanent fix. Not bad, all in all. I learned something new and I can take a poo poo at home.
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May 6, 2010 13:35
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The roots will come back, its only a matter of time. If you install something like ABS or PVC it will take care of your root problem.
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May 6, 2010 17:45
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Hopefully a quick and easy question. I replaced a faucet today. My trap is leaking from both connections on the U part. I know the bottom part is a slip joint and needs a rubber washer. The one that was there was cracked. I'm going to get a replacement tommorow. Is there a rubber washer for the top part that screws into the pipe that connects to the basin? Also should I use some of that stuff you put on the threads to seal it?
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May 7, 2010 22:41
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There is a washer there. Actually, drains use nylon washers. You'll need 1 or 2, depending on your type of trap. Some drain pipes and kits have a washer built into the wall pipe. There are 2 pipe sizes used for drains: 1 1/4", and 1 1/2". The smaller stuff can fit into the larger stuff with a bigger washer. My advice would be to measure the diameter of the basin drain pipe, then take the rest of your drain pieces all the way to the wall to the hardware store so you know everything fits together before you leave. Stuff a plastic bag in the drain hole in the meantime so it doesn't stink up your house too bad.
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May 8, 2010 00:05
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jassi007 posted:Hopefully a quick and easy question. I replaced a faucet today. My trap is leaking from both connections on the U part. I know the bottom part is a slip joint and needs a rubber washer. The one that was there was cracked. I'm going to get a replacement tommorow. Is there a rubber washer for the top part that screws into the pipe that connects to the basin? Also should I use some of that stuff you put on the threads to seal it? What is the trap made out of. Plastic, metal? You shouldn't need to put pipe sealant (dope) on the trap in most cases. One side will have a plastic washer that sides around the tail piece coming from the sink. The side that has a flared out edge wont need a rubber washer. edit: beaten
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May 8, 2010 01:25
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I went to Lowes and looked at what they had, i bought a pack of 2 rubber slip washers. The little pictures on the J bends they had showed a washer on both openings, so that is what I did, and its not leaking, so should be gtg. It was a metal pipe with a chrome finish also.
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May 8, 2010 20:03
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jassi007 posted:I went to Lowes and looked at what they had, i bought a pack of 2 rubber slip washers. The little pictures on the J bends they had showed a washer on both openings, so that is what I did, and its not leaking, so should be gtg. It was a metal pipe with a chrome finish also. Well if its not leaking you should be safe.
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May 9, 2010 00:29
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I'm buying this condo with a really old washer and dryer. There's these copper pipe things sticking out of the wall, which I understand are supposed to prevent the pipes from knocking. What are they called? And is there a reason why they're sticking out of the wall instead of being hidden inside of it?  Click here for the full 800x600 image. I'm not going to rear end things up by tearing walls out and showing off my poor solding skills. Well, not yet at least. Maybe I'll polish them up and have some shiny copper things sticking out of my wall.
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May 10, 2010 23:57
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They are called water hammer arrestors, but that seems like a weird place to put them.
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May 11, 2010 00:03
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The water hammer arrestors are accessible to maintain. After awhile they can go out.
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May 11, 2010 00:43
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That makes sense, but I thought they had to go at the closest 90 to the shutoff point to work properly. Is that not the case?
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May 11, 2010 17:35
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I forgot the exact code. But in the UPC it says it needs to have one with in so many feet of a solenoid valve. And since a washing machine has one, it explains why its there. Your dishwasher will most likely have one too under the kitchen sink.
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May 11, 2010 18:32
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This thing sticking out of the sink? If that's a weird place to put them, I don't know. Pretty much all of the condos that I looked at in the complex had them sticking out of the wall.
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May 11, 2010 18:40
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FogHelmut posted:This thing sticking out of the sink? What thing are you talking about now? Are you talking about the air gap on the kitchen sink now?
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May 11, 2010 18:46
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:What thing are you talking about now? Are you talking about the air gap on the kitchen sink now? So that's an air gap. I've never seen one of those either. Is a "because it's old" thing? Do modern dishwashers have built in measures that do the job of an air gap?
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May 11, 2010 18:54
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FogHelmut posted:So that's an air gap. I've never seen one of those either. Is a "because it's old" thing? Do modern dishwashers have built in measures that do the job of an air gap? Yes the air gap is a fairly common thing. The upc always requires one. It basically prevents if the kitchen sink gets backed up that it will go into the dish washer.
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May 11, 2010 19:34
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Or a lot of places will do a high loop under the sink instead of an air gap. Depends on your area's code - I think there are places that allow it, but I'll let a pro like Rd Rash confirm.... I replaced my air gap with a high loop simply to put in an undermount soap dispenser. If I go to sell and the buyers complain, I'll replace the dispenser with the old air gap.
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May 11, 2010 19:41
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jackyl posted:Or a lot of places will do a high loop under the sink instead of an air gap. Depends on your area's code - I think there are places that allow it, but I'll let a pro like Rd Rash confirm.... I replaced my air gap with a high loop simply to put in an undermount soap dispenser. If I go to sell and the buyers complain, I'll replace the dispenser with the old air gap. Ya you're right some do allow it. It also depends on the inspector. I usually see the high loop if its on a nice granite counter top and they don't want a cheesy air gap poking through.
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May 11, 2010 19:46
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That's exactly my scenario. I didn't want an air gap through our nice new counter, so I had a hole for one put in and stuck in the soap dispenser. That way I can put an air gap in without having to drill a new hole if I ever have to.
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May 11, 2010 19:56
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What size threaded adapter do I need to connect to my water supply? The outside of the male threaded output side measures nearly 1". Is that a 3/4" fitting? http://tinypic.com/r/23w3bcg/5 http://tinypic.com/r/faxxz4/5
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May 14, 2010 03:38
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mr.belowaverage posted:What size threaded adapter do I need to connect to my water supply? The outside of the male threaded output side measures nearly 1". Is that a 3/4" fitting? I have the exact same meter here in Baden, but ours has the nuts wired with an anti-tamper wire. I just had to change out the output for a water softener, and I found it easiest to just leave the little stem with the nut on the meter and break the pipe open at the first joint after the meter (on mine, I had to de-solder a joint. on yours, you just need to take it off at the elbow to the right.) and connect the new piping there. Is there a reason you can't do that?
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May 14, 2010 14:20
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mr.belowaverage posted:What size threaded adapter do I need to connect to my water supply? The outside of the male threaded output side measures nearly 1". Is that a 3/4" fitting? Its hard to tell from the picture but i believe its 3/4 since 3/4 pipe black iron pipe OD is 1 1/8. Correct me if i'm wrong on this, i'm pulling a blank on pipe sizes right now.
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May 15, 2010 00:00
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insanity74 posted:I have the exact same meter here in Baden, but ours has the nuts wired with an anti-tamper wire. I just had to change out the output for a water softener, and I found it easiest to just leave the little stem with the nut on the meter and break the pipe open at the first joint after the meter (on mine, I had to de-solder a joint. on yours, you just need to take it off at the elbow to the right.) and connect the new piping there. Is there a reason you can't do that? The reason for asking is because I want to replace that first nut with one that is female thread to PEX, to send to my PEX manifold. I have to special order the fitting, and I want to order the right one. The nuts all appear to be brass. I could sweat a 1/2" to 1/2" copper-pex fitting after the elbow, but I'm trying to move up a size for the supply line. edit: Baden? It probably is the same meter; same Regional Municipality.
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May 15, 2010 00:24
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There's multiple Baden goons?  (Not from Baden, just Paris)
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May 15, 2010 01:38
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mr.belowaverage posted:The reason for asking is because I want to replace that first nut with one that is female thread to PEX, to send to my PEX manifold. I have to special order the fitting, and I want to order the right one. The nuts all appear to be brass. I could sweat a 1/2" to 1/2" copper-pex fitting after the elbow, but I'm trying to move up a size for the supply line. Ah. When I first started installing PEX at this house, I was told by a plumber that you want to run hard line from the meter to the manifold, since PEX connectors are restrictive. (the fittings go inside the PEX pipe, so the inner diameter is smaller.) Otherwise, you'll end up restricting to the whole house, and you'll see a noticeable difference in pressure when you have more than one tap open. Messadiah posted:There's multiple Baden goons? (Not from Baden, just Paris) Paris, huh? I met a guy from Paris at the Newfoundland Targa Rally last year. Hey! It's true! We all know each other in Canada!
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May 15, 2010 02:12
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