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Do you still need to shut off the water if you have frost free silcocks? I have two exterior spigots in my house, and unless I'm wrong it looks like I'll have to travel inside the crawl space to shut off the water supply.
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Dec 20, 2010 20:37
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Beer4TheBeerGod posted:Do you still need to shut off the water if you have frost free silcocks? I have two exterior spigots in my house, and unless I'm wrong it looks like I'll have to travel inside the crawl space to shut off the water supply. As long as the thing spec'd properly for your house, you shouldnt need to turn off the water since it is held back in the heated section of the wall. The most important thing is that the faucet is slightly tilted down and can drain when closed. That and no hose can be connected, since that can interfere with the draining process.
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Dec 20, 2010 20:59
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No sign of water around the drain after a long shower this morning. Still wondering about the cause of all of this though. Going to give my county sewer department a call to bounce some ideas off them today.
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Dec 20, 2010 21:09
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b0g posted:? It is overflowing into my wall. This is the reason why i'm posting it. It never overflowed previously and now its overflowing. I'm going to 2nd the snake idea. Also there should be a clean out above or below the washer box that you can access.
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Dec 21, 2010 03:41
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:I'm going to 2nd the snake idea. Also there should be a clean out above or below the washer box that you can access. I dont see any clean out above or below the washer box. Just goes straight to down my wall and poof gone lol
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Dec 21, 2010 03:56
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b0g posted:I dont see any clean out above or below the washer box. Just goes straight to down my wall and poof gone lol Well sometimes they cover the clean outs with a white or chrome plate with a screw. If you remove the screw the ABS plug will be there. Now its not code to have a clean out on a washer box so not everyone does it. I'd just use a drum snake down the drain and see what you find.
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Dec 21, 2010 05:00
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asny suggestions on snake drum? Do you know if you can find a picture of a "standard" trap that thye install in the washer drain? I'm worried that i'll shove tghe snake down there and it'll get stuck
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Dec 23, 2010 04:45
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b0g posted:asny suggestions on snake drum? Do you know if you can find a picture of a "standard" trap that thye install in the washer drain? I'm worried that i'll shove tghe snake down there and it'll get stuck  http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-Products-83250--25-Foot-Clearing/dp/B000H5ZYX6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293078140&sr=8-1 And here is the snake I used to clean out a urinal a couple days back. You could try a closet auger because the snake is bigger and would.
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Dec 23, 2010 05:23
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I've got a septic question which I apologize for if it's really basic and dumb. We bought an older (1940's) home back in September from my deceased uncle's estate. It's on a septic (in the city, don't ask) and the only thing that we were unsure of quality wise was the septic system. My father knows that my uncle had the tank emptied when he bought the house in 2007. He also said there may have been a minor crack in the intake pipe. It's been tarred all to heck inside the basement so I assume that was patched. Anyways, cut to this past Monday my wife went to the basement after draining her bath maybe 30 minutes prior, and found a significant amount of water in the basement coming from around the main drain at the wall. The water was clean and didn't have an odor. I spent the next two days using very little, if any water to see if that would help and it hasn't happened since. Today we dug in to the grass and opened the port on the tank (YUCK). It was fairly close to the top of the tank, maybe 3-4 inches. It has about an inch of scum on top and then a lot of very liquid water. We were unable to tell how much sludge there is on the bottom. I'm mostly looking for theories on why that water would've ended up in the basement, but I'm also wondering if we should just have the tank pumped out. It seems kind of early to do, but it can't hurt, right? I'm completely new to this whole idea of storing my poo poo in my backyard.
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Dec 23, 2010 20:00
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Starhawk posted:I've got a septic question which I apologize for if it's really basic and dumb. If a septic tank is running correctly you rarely have to have them pumped. I'd get it pumped since I dont recall my parents septic tank even being that full when we'd get it pumped. The water could have backed up in the tank and came back out of it since usually liquids stay in the tank while solids go over the baffle and into the drain field.
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Dec 23, 2010 20:55
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The water level in the tank is usually pretty high, by design; it should drain out from there into the field. If the water table is high (water puddling on the ground), hydraulic pressure will force the water backwards through the field and prevent your septic system from working. You may need it occassionally cleaned and drained of it's full of solids (they *should* decompose naturally and flow out with the effluent, but poo poo happens - pun intended!) Draining it for being full of water is only a futile and temporary measure and gets expensive rather quickly. If the tank is full of water, drain lines from the house will flow very slowly, and solids will clog it in a hurry. If you're in the city, connect to city sewer. IT'S WORTH IT! grover fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Dec 23, 2010 |
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Dec 23, 2010 21:41
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I've got a couple questions that I hope you guys can answer. I just bought a condo. There was one issue on the inspection report and another I've since discovered. The first problem is that the inspector found that the upstairs toilet has a crack in it. No biggie, already bought a new toilet and will probably install it tomorrow when I get off of work. The kit came with everything, I'm just wondering about the difficulty of the install. It looks pretty straightforward and I have all the tools but this is beyond anything I've attempted before. The other problem is a bit trickier. The same bathroom has a tub/shower combo. The first night I was there, there was no hot water coming. After I actually turned the water heater up from low to the normal operating level, I can get a bit of hot water. With the knob turned fully to hot, it is about 90 degrees or so. I can go to the sink and do the same thing and within 15 seconds the temp is almost too hot. The shower looks a bit corroded in places with the pipe coming from the wall where the shower head attaches actually being frozen in place. I tried to remove it because the provious owner had it pointed up instead of down but it would not move. Could the hot water pipe be corroded or clogged at the shower control knob? The tub faucet also doesn't close all the way with a fairly heavy amount of water coming out even with the plunger thing pulled up. The condo is 30 years old and I don't think it has had any issues before. My area (central CA) does have pretty hard water though.
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Dec 26, 2010 03:48
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diremonk posted:I've got a couple questions that I hope you guys can answer. For the toilet install it should be pretty simple. Remove the old one. Even if you have to break it out. Remove the old wax ring and put down a new one. Squish the ring down and tighten the nuts down for the new toilet. The tub shower question confuses me. What exactly is your problem? And if the valve itself isnt shutting off I will need a to see it or at least find out the trim to know what I am looking at.
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Dec 26, 2010 07:13
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Sorry I wasn't being very clear about the shower issue. The problem is that even with the knob turned fully to the hot side the water never gets too hot, if that makes any sense. The water heater is turned on and I can get very hot water everywhere else, but the shower doesn't get to the same level of hot. That's why I was wondering if it was possible that there might be a issue with the hot water piping to the shower. I did notice something else today, the control know didn't turn the water flow off. I had to wiggle it back a forth in order for the flow to stop. I'll take a couple of pics of the trim when I get home today to give you an idea of what I've got. Thanks for saying that the toilet install shouldn't be too difficult.
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Dec 26, 2010 13:35
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diremonk posted:Sorry I wasn't being very clear about the shower issue. The problem is that even with the knob turned fully to the hot side the water never gets too hot, if that makes any sense. The water heater is turned on and I can get very hot water everywhere else, but the shower doesn't get to the same level of hot. That's why I was wondering if it was possible that there might be a issue with the hot water piping to the shower. Well if its a single handle shower valve then its most likely a cartridge problem.
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Dec 26, 2010 18:24
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And now a plumbing question of a different type. What's the proper way to dispose of an empty propane tank for my torch? Also, is there an easy way to clean up flux?
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Dec 28, 2010 07:42
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kid sinister posted:And now a plumbing question of a different type. What's the proper way to dispose of an empty propane tank for my torch? I would suggest a recycling center. And what type of flux are you using? If you wipe your fitting after it cools enough that its still hot but the solder isnt still liquid it comes off easy.
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Dec 28, 2010 14:16
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I'm rebuilding my inlaws' bathroom. I tiled the floor and the floor and the toilet flange are about level now. Would I expect to need anything besides the wax ring?
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Dec 28, 2010 16:11
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InferiorWang posted:I'm rebuilding my inlaws' bathroom. I tiled the floor and the floor and the toilet flange are about level now. Would I expect to need anything besides the wax ring? It all depends on how high the flange is above the finished floor. If its below the floor you most likely will need 2. If its still below the tile then one should do it.
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Dec 30, 2010 01:09
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The pressure relief valve on my water heater is trickling. It's not much; this morning there was a damp ring around the heater base and a foot long wet spot towards the drain that didn't reach. My heater's heat setting dial is barely nudged past the middle mark. Should I be worried?
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Dec 30, 2010 02:02
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Once they blow they will continue you to drip because small calcium deposits. You could have had a bad t/p valve. Your options are replace it and see if it solves it. Or you could need an expansion tank on your water heater which cost about $30. What temperature is the water coming out of your tap?
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Dec 30, 2010 02:07
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Okay, new problem. My kitchen sink is completely clogged up, as in it's not flowing at all. Both sinks are about half full of water. I have dumped an entire pint of Liquid Plumber down the sink, and it's hasn't budged in over an hour. Would it be viable to seal one side with the strainer and plunge the other? I really don't want to take apart the plumbing as I really don't have anything to catch all of that water.
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Dec 30, 2010 03:33
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To start with you should probably start bailing that water into another sink or toilet, and invest in a bucket.
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Dec 30, 2010 03:50
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Finally! I knew there must be a plumbing megathread around here somewhere. I have a wall of text to post: So I bought a house about 8 months ago. Built in 1939 (in case it's important). Everything seemed fine with plumbing until about 2 weeks ago, when I discovered that the basement floor drain had overflowed. Everything from the first and second floors was coming up onto the basement floor. I called a drain cleaning company, and someone came out and tried to snake the line without success. They told me to call the city, so I had a city guy come over and snake the line from the main cleanout in the central stack all the way to the street. He said that it felt really sludgy, but was able to get a little flow going. Was able to use shower and bathroom for about a week. Then, on the 23rd, blockage returned, basement floor drain overflowed again. The city came back out and tried re-snaking without success. So they dug a hole in the street, saw no problem, and ran a camera up the line from the street to where the line hit my house. Completely clear, no roots, nothing. Problem seems to be in the house. So on the 27th (after having no drainage for 4 days) I called a plumbing company who my neighbors recommended. They sent out some drain guys who worked for 6 hours trying to snake every possible entrance. They said that the only minor success they were having was by hose clamping a rag on the end of a snake and using it to ram the sludge out, but even so, only had very minor results. They said that they think the line under my basement may have settled and is now running the wrong way, and that there is some serious sludge buildup that, although they can snake through, seems to close itself back up. The only solutions they offered were water jetting the line, to clear out the current sludge, or digging up the basement and correcting the pipe that is sloped the wrong way. Either way seems fairly expensive. If they water jet the line, won't it just get more sludge buildup in the future? Any idea on how long this temporary fix would last? What if I just use some wingnut rubber caps on all the drains in the basement? Will the crap just come out upstairs? Or will the weight of the water force stuff to run uphill past the hump, and out into the sewers? Please, I would love any advice. I feel sort of like my life is on hold, unable to even wash my hands without fear of it all ending up on the basement floor.
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Dec 30, 2010 05:34
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Gothmog1065 posted:Okay, new problem. My kitchen sink is completely clogged up, as in it's not flowing at all. Both sinks are about half full of water. I have dumped an entire pint of Liquid Plumber down the sink, and it's hasn't budged in over an hour. Would it be viable to seal one side with the strainer and plunge the other? I really don't want to take apart the plumbing as I really don't have anything to catch all of that water. Wear saftey goggles, since you dont want to get that draino in your eye.
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Dec 30, 2010 07:55
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artificialj posted:Finally! I knew there must be a plumbing megathread around here somewhere. I have a wall of text to post: The water jet is nothing special. Its just a hose with a expanding balloon on it that has a small hole that sprays out water. The water jet shouldn't be to expensive. Ask them to give you a quote on it. Now I hope you fought the previous bills with a plumbing company and tell them since they didnt fix the problem, that you shouldn't have to pay. Specially at 6 hrs worth of work. Ideally re doing the plumbing would be the best but that wil cost a poo poo ton to jack hammer up the slab and run new pipe and repair the concrete.
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Dec 30, 2010 08:01
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Well if its a single handle shower valve then its most likely a cartridge problem. Just wanted to give an update on my situation. I, well a coworker who is a plumber, replaced the bad cartridge in my shower. Took about 15 minutes to get it out due to it being heavily corroded. But after the new one was installed, everything seems to be fine now other than I want to rip out the shower enclosure and put up tile. But that is a future project.
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Dec 30, 2010 11:17
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:It all depends on how high the flange is above the finished floor. If its below the floor you most likely will need 2. If its still below the tile then one should do it. Thanks, it's about level with the tile. Picked up the toilet kit last night and will give it a go tonight.
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Dec 30, 2010 14:48
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InferiorWang posted:Thanks, it's about level with the tile. Picked up the toilet kit last night and will give it a go tonight. Oops I meant above the tile then you should need one. When you put the wax ring on wax ring then set the toilet on it you should feel it squish down. You will most likely have to sit on it and rock back and forth.
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Dec 30, 2010 17:30
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Wear saftey goggles, since you dont want to get that draino in your eye. Is that a "It can be done, just be careful" or "Don't be a retard."
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Dec 30, 2010 17:38
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:The water jet is nothing special. Its just a hose with a expanding balloon on it that has a small hole that sprays out water. I guess I should have specified that by water jetting I didn't mean a blow bag, which we already tried, but meant a truck with a 1000 gal water tank and a high pressure hose that snakes into the line and sprays the hell out of the pipe - sort of like a pressure washer meets pipe snake.
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Dec 30, 2010 18:38
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Gothmog1065 posted:Is that a "It can be done, just be careful" or "Don't be a retard." I have heard that shits bad to get into your eyes. And plungering out a sink can throw water everywhere. So I'd say better safe then sorry. Though as long as you advert your eyes you should be fine.
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Dec 30, 2010 22:32
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artificialj posted:I guess I should have specified that by water jetting I didn't mean a blow bag, which we already tried, but meant a truck with a 1000 gal water tank and a high pressure hose that snakes into the line and sprays the hell out of the pipe - sort of like a pressure washer meets pipe snake. I can't really say what would be the better option. I mean if you plan on living there for awhile i'd do it the right way. And bust up your slap and replace the drain line. You will save a ton of money if you bust up the slab yourself.
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Dec 30, 2010 22:34
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:I can't really say what would be the better option. I mean if you plan on living there for awhile i'd do it the right way. And bust up your slap and replace the drain line. You will save a ton of money if you bust up the slab yourself. Yeah, I think you're probably right. I feel like the water jetting, even if successful, is just a band-aid. So I'm fully into busting up the slab myself, and pretty sure I have a buddy who would loan me a concrete saw for it, but how do I figure out where the pipe runs under the slab? Do I have to hire someone with one of those snakes with a homing beacon on it? Do I just guess? Seems like if I want to make it clean and cut the concrete with a saw, then I can't just guess at it... Any thoughts on finding exactly where the pipe runs?
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Dec 31, 2010 00:24
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artificialj posted:Yeah, I think you're probably right. I feel like the water jetting, even if successful, is just a band-aid. I'd have them locate it for you. Then you will have to dig less to find it. You will want it dug for the plumber too. Though if you get that far you could replace the pipe yourself. Cutting the edges with a concrete saw is nice for patching it but unless you have a pry bar. Or you have a big enough saw to all the way through the slab you will still have to use a jack hammer to hammer out the pieces.
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Dec 31, 2010 01:43
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Oh yay, plumbing megathread! 1978 house. The previous idiot owners ran the hot and cold lines backwards in the second bathroom. The sink should be a pretty easy DIY fix, but how would I even start to fix the shower? It's got a fiberglass insert, wet wall shared with the main bathroom, spacious and spider-free crawlspace (as these things go).
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Dec 31, 2010 06:56
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VikingKitten posted:Oh yay, plumbing megathread! What type of shower valve do you have? If its a single handle shower you can just flip the cartridge 180 degrees.
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Dec 31, 2010 17:39
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It is a single handle, but our water is very hard - I'm worried that if I try to remove the cartridge thing I'll break it. I broke a dripping frost-free hydrant trying to take it apart to repair it. That was fun.
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Dec 31, 2010 18:10
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VikingKitten posted:It is a single handle, but our water is very hard - I'm worried that if I try to remove the cartridge thing I'll break it. I broke a dripping frost-free hydrant trying to take it apart to repair it. That was fun. Well what brand is it, If you tell me the brand I can tell you how to take it apart. If you cant figure out the brand due to it rubbing off. Post a picture of it.
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Jan 1, 2011 01:13
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Ok, thanks.  I'll update tomorrow or Sunday when I get back home.
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Jan 1, 2011 04:52
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