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Any plumbing/hardware pros in here got any buying tips when it comes to buying taps? The only way I can seem to differentiate hardware is based on the valve type and the reputation of the manufacturer. So any recommendations of what to look for? Are two handles ever better than one? Are there any features (like those retractable hoses on some kitchen faucets) or materials/finishes that you would avoid? What should you spend for good quality kitchen or bathroom taps?
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Nov 8, 2012 18:42
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I could use a bit of plumbing help. I just installed a new toilet and discovered it leaks when I flush. The water is ending up in my basement. I'm pretty sure it's because the toilet is installed over top of a tile floor, with an extra subfloor as well, so the wax ring under the toilet isn't high enough to seal properly. Without the tile and subfloor the toilet would seal properly I'm sure. Any ideas how I could fix this?
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Nov 8, 2012 19:55
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Is there a "go to" brand for kitchen faucets? I want to replace my current one (calcium deposits in the faucet head and the handle is jacked up), but I don't want to spend $200 to get something that will only last a year or two. Not looking for anything too fancy, just a pull down faucet would be great.
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Nov 8, 2012 23:40
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InternetJunky posted:I just installed a new toilet and discovered it leaks when I flush. The water is ending up in my basement. I'm pretty sure it's because the toilet is installed over top of a tile floor, with an extra subfloor as well, so the wax ring under the toilet isn't high enough to seal properly. Without the tile and subfloor the toilet would seal properly I'm sure. 1. get a toilet flange extender 2. get an extra thick wax ring 3. wax rings do stack... I would recommend trying #1 first, and follow the instructions to the letter. You can just as easily end up with a leak using one of those. As for #3, that's an option of last resort. Wax rings tend to slide apart when putting the toilet down. As for people asking for brand and feature recommendations, I say get a good brand with the features and styling that you like while still fitting your sink (4, 3, 2 or 1 hole; 4 or 8 inch; 1 or 2 handle; etc). The big brands are Delta, Moen, Kohler, Kingston, Price Pfister, Newport and American Standard. You do get what you pay for. The more expensive ones tend to use more brass and less plastic, which will last longer. If it comes down to 2 faucets, go with the box that is heavier. One last word: faucets do need maintenance, whether it's just cleaning up hard water or swapping rubber washers or O-rings every so many years. Hard water affects all faucets. Cleaning it up is a fact of life, no matter the manufacturer. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Nov 9, 2012 |
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Nov 9, 2012 00:52
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b0g posted:Alright folks. If the drain backs up that quickly most likely you have something in it really close to the washing machine. Not sure what it could be but either hire someone to snake it or try it yourself. You should have a clean out behind the washer some where.
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Nov 9, 2012 15:08
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kid sinister posted:You got 3 options, depending on the tile depth you need to make up, in order of practicality: Do you have any opinions on this set-rite extender? It looks dead simple and that's pretty appealing to me. Also, one follow up question -- I replaced the other toilet in my house as well and the flange was flat to the floor. From what I understand it should actually be about 1/2" above the floor. Is there a risk of a bad seal on this toilet as well or is 1/2" close enough?
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Nov 9, 2012 19:00
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In my infinite laziness I have been showering in a second floor bathtub that has had the caulk cracking and separating from where the tub joins the tile for almost 6 months now. It's not the entire caulk line, just random spaces where there are gaps in the corners and 2 inch lines where the caulk is missing. I do wipe the tile and cracks down with a towel and squeegee every time, but there has been nothing to stop the water during the shower. I know water has made it into these cracks, my question is how much have I managed to gently caress up and what is my recourse? It seems that just re-caulking the bathtub is no longer an option if there is water under the tub, or at least moisture, I would be inviting a mold/mildew issue. I do not see any water damage from downstairs, but am wondering what the smartest course of action would be from here, now that I've decided to stop being lazy and try to correct the issue.
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Nov 10, 2012 20:10
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How is water getting there in the first place? Do you have shower doors or do you use a curtain? Shower doors usually have some kind of adhesive that bonds the door frame to the tub, and that might be on it's way out. If a curtain, is it long and wide enough to accommodate the tub during showers?
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Nov 10, 2012 20:20
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Sorry, don't think I did a very good job of painting the picture. I use a curtain, but it's the ring around where the tub slides in against the wall that has the cracks. For example:  The gaps aren't very tall (1/16th or 1/8th of an inch), but there are areas where the caulk is missing that water can sit on the top lip of the tub and, I assume, run down in that gap where the caulk is missing and then down the underside of the tub to the floor. I truthfully don't know how much water would actually have been able to drip down there, and would be tempted to just re-caulk like I should have done months ago, if not for a concern over mold. I know that tile itself uses that green waterproof(resistant?) backer board, but I'm not sure what actually goes underneath the tub.
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Nov 10, 2012 20:28
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Ah, got it. Without a closer picture it's hard to say how "bad" the problem is, but if it were up to me I would just recaulk. Buy the Stage II caulk (or advanced, or whatever they call it), it's a few bucks extra a tube, but worth it. It's going to be a pain in the rear end if you want to find and remove any mold underneath the tub. I haven't heard of anyone being able to remove a tub without breaking it, but I can be very wrong about it. This got close: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=KH_PG_BA_Removing_Old_Tub_or_Shower&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053 but after all that work when you get to step seven they tell you to smash it anyway.
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Nov 10, 2012 20:48
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Thanks for your responses. I went ahead and took photos of the cracks for reference, just in case:   
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Nov 11, 2012 01:16
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I have a 40 gallon natural gas water heater. If my wife and I shower back to back, or one of us takes a long shower (more than 10 minutes or so), the water starts to get cool, and then eventually cold. It's set pretty high, on the second highest setting. The hottest setting is too much in my opinion, will hurt really bad if just hot. I don't understand why this is happening. I would like to think that it should be able to keep up. It's only 3-4 years old and we have a newer shower head, so it should be fairly efficient.
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Nov 11, 2012 01:38
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I installed a shower pan about a year ago that had a lip going up about an inch to prevent water from leaking underneath the pan. I would imagine tubs like that would have the same thing as well. And unless the tile/board was installed incorrectly you shouldn't have to worry about water wicking up the wall either.
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Nov 11, 2012 01:47
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AppleCider posted:Thanks for your responses. I went ahead and took photos of the cracks for reference, just in case: Edit: I also want to point out that you never fill the tub/tile joint with grout for this exact reason. Wall and tub will expand and contract at different rates, eventually breaking that joint. It needs to be caulked, always. NickNails posted:I have a 40 gallon natural gas water heater. If my wife and I shower back to back, or one of us takes a long shower (more than 10 minutes or so), the water starts to get cool, and then eventually cold. It's set pretty high, on the second highest setting. The hottest setting is too much in my opinion, will hurt really bad if just hot. I don't understand why this is happening. I would like to think that it should be able to keep up. It's only 3-4 years old and we have a newer shower head, so it should be fairly efficient. You're obviously running out of hot water. The solution is to either use less water or get a bigger tank. You may also upgrade to a tankless unit that will heat water continuously for as long as you need it, but those are pricey. But first look into a water-pinching shower head that has a much lower rating than your current one. Going from 2.5GPM to 1.5GPM saves you 40% of hot water. These are available at Home Depot for about $15 Nitrox fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Nov 11, 2012 |
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Nov 11, 2012 04:05
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InternetJunky posted:Thanks! maniacripper posted:So I took a shot at it, how'd I do? Nitrox fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Nov 11, 2012 |
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Nov 11, 2012 04:20
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NickNails posted:I have a 40 gallon natural gas water heater. If my wife and I shower back to back, or one of us takes a long shower (more than 10 minutes or so), the water starts to get cool, and then eventually cold. It's set pretty high, on the second highest setting. The hottest setting is too much in my opinion, will hurt really bad if just hot. I don't understand why this is happening. I would like to think that it should be able to keep up. It's only 3-4 years old and we have a newer shower head, so it should be fairly efficient. Unrelated question: Does anyone know if tankless water heaters allow for super hot temperatures like a standard water heater?
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Nov 11, 2012 15:21
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Has anyone used one of the cobra drain auger? I'm thinking about getting this to use on my washer drain pipe since its over flowing. http://www.lowes.com/pd_347513-319-LX-86250_0__?productId=3376010&Ntt=drain+auger&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Ddrain%2Bauger&facetInfo=
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Nov 11, 2012 19:18
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NickNails posted:I have a 40 gallon natural gas water heater. If my wife and I shower back to back, or one of us takes a long shower (more than 10 minutes or so), the water starts to get cool, and then eventually cold. It's set pretty high, on the second highest setting. The hottest setting is too much in my opinion, will hurt really bad if just hot. I don't understand why this is happening. I would like to think that it should be able to keep up. It's only 3-4 years old and we have a newer shower head, so it should be fairly efficient. How old is the water heater, have you checked the dip tube. It could be the dip tube or the gas regulator. Don't get a tankless water heater. They are junk.
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Nov 12, 2012 00:09
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:How old is the water heater, have you checked the dip tube. It could be the dip tube or the gas regulator. Don't get a tankless water heater. They are junk. It's probably 3-5 years old. I actually bought a new magnesium rod, but I can't budge the old one. It's in a small closet and there's no way to get a bar on it for more force. I did check the shower head and it's 2.5GPM. I could get a lower flow head, but I like the one we have as far as coverage and pressure.
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Nov 12, 2012 01:38
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I have two showers in my house, one on each floor. The one downstairs works great, and the one upstairs is pretty poor. To get hot water with even a little pressure, I have to start on cold (it's a single handle one) and turn to hot until I see the pressure drop off. As I take my shower, it will get warmer with better pressure, and if I hear the furnace turn on, I get better pressure soon after. I have hard water, so my dad and I constantly flush the furnace. All of the other faucets get great pressure on hot water almost instantly, regardless of which floor they're on. We've also had the knob on this shower apart a couple times to replace the ball inside, but that hasn't really had an effect on anything. We put a new "green" low-flow shower head on, and that made it better, but still the same pattern. Sorry if that's a lot to read, but I really don't know where else to look for a problem.
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Nov 12, 2012 03:58
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Don't get a tankless water heater. They are junk.
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Nov 12, 2012 07:48
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Nitrox posted:Can you please elaborate? Worldwide, tankless gas/electric heaters are overwhelming majority. I've personally used many and can attest to their effectiveness. In washington and other colder climates they have issues of heating the water properly. When you have in coming water coming in at 35°F. And the heater has to raise it to 120F. It usually slows down the water to make sure it can heat it properly. You then get 2-4gpm which can run a shower and a lav roughly. Also you have to have a water softener in front of it. To keep calcium from plugging up in the heat exchanger of the tankless heater. Then the bags of salt for your water softener will add up. Depending on what you get you will use roughly 1-3 bags a month. Averagoing around $6 dollars a bag. Turd Herder fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Nov 12, 2012 |
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Nov 12, 2012 15:18
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Just a following up to my problem. I haveone of them home warranties for my home and decidedto call them out to look at my washer drain pipe. He had to snake in about 40 feet and clean all that poo poo out. 50$ later, my washer drain draining like a boss. Thanks guys
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Nov 13, 2012 20:12
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kid sinister posted:As for people asking for brand and feature recommendations, I say get a good brand with the features and styling that you like while still fitting your sink (4, 3, 2 or 1 hole; 4 or 8 inch; 1 or 2 handle; etc). The big brands are Delta, Moen, Kohler, Kingston, Price Pfister, Newport and American Standard. You do get what you pay for. The more expensive ones tend to use more brass and less plastic, which will last longer. If it comes down to 2 faucets, go with the box that is heavier. Very easy to install and it was actually a bigger pain to remove the old one. After pulling it out I realized how rusted it was. They didn't install it with the faucet gasket either which was causing my cabinet floors to get moist. Gross. We never did maintenance on the old faucet, but will definitely be doing it this time around. Money well spent.
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Nov 13, 2012 22:13
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Hey Rd Rash, how about a #8 for the OP? 8. Don't hulk out when trying to loosen brass and copper parts! Copper and brass are soft; they bend and tear easily. If you have a nut or pipe that won't budge, support the piece you're trying to twist off with a second wrench on the other piece, otherwise this happens: 
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Nov 15, 2012 00:44
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:In washington and other colder climates they have issues of heating the water properly. When you have in coming water coming in at 35°F. And the heater has to raise it to 120F. It usually slows down the water to make sure it can heat it properly. You then get 2-4gpm which can run a shower and a lav roughly.
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Nov 15, 2012 00:51
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kid sinister posted:Hey Rd Rash, how about a #8 for the OP? Good idea, I did reword it differently to add some stuff I have learned about how to back up a fitting when un threading it. Can you think of anything else to add?
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Nov 15, 2012 01:49
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Good idea, I did reword it differently to add some stuff I have learned about how to back up a fitting when un threading it. Can you think of anything else to add? Eh, I'd still put in a warning about brass and copper being soft. Well, softer than steel that most people are used to loosening. How about when to use teflon tape/pipe dope? 9. If you are joining together 2 threaded parts and they don't have a ferrule or rubber washer on the inside, then use either teflon tape or pipe dope on the male threads first before twisting them together. For teflon tape, looking straight down the male fitting the tape will go on, give it 4 clockwise layers of tape.
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Nov 15, 2012 16:07
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kid sinister posted:Eh, I'd still put in a warning about brass and copper being soft. Well, softer than steel that most people are used to loosening. I updated it with your #9. While I agree that copper is a lot softer. If you don't back a steel pipe you can unthread it and cause leaks down the line. That's why I left it generic. If you want to give a further explanation and can give a link to your post i'll put it in the OP.
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Nov 16, 2012 07:29
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I just finished renovating a house; redid all the plumbing to 1/2" PEX. Just noticed that the hot water at the kitchen faucet acts strange after it gets hot. While still cold and the faucet turned to full, it flows fine, then once it gets hot, the stream studders off and on and you can hear hammering Any idea what this is? I did just replace the seat washer and o-rings for the hot (it was leaking) dwoloz fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Nov 18, 2012 |
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Nov 18, 2012 00:19
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dwoloz posted:I just finished renovating a house; redid all the plumbing to 1/2" PEX. Just noticed that the hot water at the kitchen faucet acts strange after it gets hot. While still cold and the faucet turned to full, it flows fine, then once it gets hot, the stream studders off and on and you can hear hammering Wait you replaced all of your water lines with half inch pex?
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Nov 19, 2012 03:13
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I don't really know why I said that. The main lines are 3/4, the individual supply lines are 1/2 The problem is definitely related to the valve on the hot side, somethings not right with it. It only seems to do the studdering in the 1/2-3/4 position. Air may be getting in somehow
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Nov 19, 2012 03:52
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dwoloz posted:I don't really know why I said that. The main lines are 3/4, the individual supply lines are 1/2 It doesnt sound like air. Since air can't get into a line with out air. It may be chattering of the cartridge. But I am only theorizing .
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Nov 21, 2012 06:22
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How easy/hard would it be to replace my current (walk-in) shower knob:  With a regular ol' single lever handle? I went to turn off the shower the other day, and it didn't completetly turn off like normal. I tightened the handle and it worked a little bit better, but the shower head still dripped. I took the handle off entirely and pushed in and down on the little lever that's there, and that did the trick. Putting the handle back on doesn't seem to solve the problem though, so I figure something is just loose in the thing. I don't like the fixture anyway, so rather than messing with it, I'd just like to replace the whole thing. I guess the thing about my current handle is that it can do both hot/cold with varying degrees of pressure (moves in a 'v' way). I don't really have a need for this, so I'd rather just have a single lever that simply turns things on and allows for temperature adjustment. Would there be a problem just taking out what I have now and throwing in a simple single lever handle?
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Nov 27, 2012 17:39
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dwoloz posted:I just finished renovating a house; redid all the plumbing to 1/2" PEX. Just noticed that the hot water at the kitchen faucet acts strange after it gets hot. While still cold and the faucet turned to full, it flows fine, then once it gets hot, the stream studders off and on and you can hear hammering Ended up the seat washer wasn't seated properly in the recess; it came out due to not enough pressure from the screw holding it. The new seat washer has a larger center hole for the screw so I need to put a washer under the screw so it sreads the force more evently
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Nov 27, 2012 19:59
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My toilet has recently been taking a long time to fill the tank after a flush, around 7 minutes or so. Flushing and draining are completely normal. What should I look out for?
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Nov 27, 2012 20:16
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FCKGW posted:My toilet has recently been taking a long time to fill the tank after a flush, around 7 minutes or so. Flushing and draining are completely normal. Make sure that the shut off valve under the tank is open all the way. Other than that, you can check if the fill valve in the tank is getting clogged with hard water. Voodoo posted:How easy/hard would it be to replace my current (walk-in) shower knob: It would be quite hard. Replacing a shower valve involves tearing open the wall, cutting/desoldering the old valve out, lining up the new valve and joining it to your existing piping. That's why it's almost always reserved for complete bathroom renovations.
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Nov 28, 2012 03:11
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This is a bit tenuous to plumbing, but my front loading washing machine has started to shake whilst on a spin cycle, which I think is a sign that the drum is off balance in some way. Is there anyway to realign it?
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Nov 30, 2012 21:34
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You're right, I'd ask about that in the Fix It Fast thread instead. However, I've fixed lots of washing machines in my time. You really don't have to worry about front loaders being off balance, that is part of their design. You only really have to worry about it from top loaders. Washing machines lose more of their balance from their loads than their drums. The best you can do is to make sure that the cabinet is level all around, and if you're using a top loader to make sure that clothes are distributed evenly around the drum.
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Nov 30, 2012 21:51
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| # ? May 13, 2024 19:51 |
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I apologize of this has been asked. Basically I have no plumbing knowledge. My toilet keeps leaking at the base. I keep tightening the bolts which works temporarily. Is there a permanent fix for this that I can do myself? I'm assuming it has something to do with the seal.
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Dec 1, 2012 13:42
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