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Turd Herder posted:I'm pretty sure those are easy to remove. I think its a coiled spring is what holds it onto the threads. You have to grab onto it with a good pair of channel locks and push down while turning. I hope so! I will try this out tomorrow before I start smashing the living gently caress out of it. Thank you to everyone for the advice.
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May 24, 2018 03:17
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VERTiG0 posted:I hope so! I will try this out tomorrow before I start smashing the living gently caress out of it. Thank you to everyone for the advice. Its still a bugger to get off but once you start , it gets easier.
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May 24, 2018 12:01
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VERTiG0 posted:I hope so! I will try this out tomorrow before I start smashing the living gently caress out of it. Thank you to everyone for the advice. O hey, my time machine works for posts 24hrs in the future: VERTiG0 posted:Help! I tried to remove the fitting and the whole fitting broke off. Water began gushing out and the main water stopcock wouldn't turn off as it was seized open.
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May 24, 2018 12:21
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spog posted:O hey, my time machine works for posts 24hrs in the future: He would really have to goon this up to cause it to leak. The vac breaker is down stream of the water shut off.
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May 24, 2018 12:29
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Update: the destruction begins tomorrow since I have guests unexpectedly showing up to drink beer.
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May 24, 2018 23:47
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VERTiG0 posted:Update: the destruction begins tomorrow since I have guests unexpectedly showing up to drink beer. Uh, beer and destruction are not mutually exclusive.
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May 25, 2018 01:09
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devicenull posted:Uh, beer and destruction are not mutually exclusive. Nothing goes together like alcohol and power tools.
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May 25, 2018 23:30
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My house has a hose bib (I think that’s the correct name) in the garage that will occasionally squirt water up on the wall that it’s on. I believe it’s got holes on it for freeze protection but I think the valve is busted or something. It looks like they soldered the hose bib right into the 0.5” copper pipe. So anyways, should I just cut the copper tube and put a shark bite 0.5” to threaded connector and get a normal hose bib connector? Is is there a better way? Also I briefly rotated the copper tube about 1/3rd when trying to unthread the hose bib until I realized it was soldered. I didn’t notice any water damage or anything so I’m going to assume I didn’t break something?
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May 28, 2018 03:28
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If there's no visible damage, you probably twisted it inside the wall.
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May 28, 2018 04:13
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Ok so to start, I did the smart thing and have a plumber coming on Tuesday to snake every loving pipe in this loving old shithead house. I moved into this house, it was built in the 50's and had all the original brass plumbing. It was technically up to code, but all the original shutoffs had corroded to the point that they couldn't be turned off. So I had plumbers in here for two days 2 weeks ago, replacing all the shutoffs, old valves, moving all the washer/dryer hookups, new water heater, the whole 9 yards. They also replaced this old utility sink in the basement. Basically the day after all this, I started having sewer problems, i.e. the only thing they didn't touch so it's not a labor warranty issue. The utility sink filled up if flushed the (original 50's) toilet, to the point where the sewer main access in the basement was pressurized and leaking sewage from the cap threads  and the utility sink was filling up with sewage  But that was last week, I have been dumping Drano and pipe corrosion treatments into all the sinks for days. Now the utility sink fills with stuff from the kitchen sink ( I found small bits of chopped spinach) and there's little bits of hair (shower?) and tiny chunks of paint and rusty metal (?), instead of tiny turds and bits of toilet paper. So I guess it's an improvement. It's a slow clog so it does eventually drain the sink. I plungered the utility sink and I can hear the air bubbles gurgling in the pipe going to the kitchen sink, so I think the clog is further down the line between the utility sink and the city sewer access.It's weirdly intermittent too. Two weeks ago the main sewer line was pressurized, but yesterday I dropped a championship deuce, no backups, no problem. Today, the kitchen sink and toilet back up into the utility sink, but only water and not nearly the same volume as last week. There's also this weird pulsing of the water level in the utility sink's drain, it changes by like 2 inches up and down as the drain clears. Weird. Is there anything else that I can do to clear the clog? The plumbing company thinks it might be roots growing into the main sewer line, there used to be a weeping willow in the front yard years ago, so they want to use a special drill to clear out any roots. Home Depot sells big bottles of overnight lye treatment that sounds more like a nuclear option. Or, should I try to open one of the pipe access plugs and hope the clog is within reach of my 6' auger? red19fire fucked around with this message at 01:44 on Jun 9, 2018 |
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Jun 8, 2018 23:51
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Your best bet is to get your main line cleaned out like you are planning on tuesday. The clog is probably not close enough to reach with a 6' auger, and they will not want you to have placed chemicals into the drain as it can splash onto the drain machine operator.
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Jun 9, 2018 12:16
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I have a toilet shut off valve that's leaking, however it looks like it'll be a pain in the rear end to replace. It's a on a chrome pipe that's soldered onto a copper pipe, and it seems like the whole assembly is one piece. There's no packing nut to tighten and I can't see a way to get to the guts of the valve to replace anything internally, so it seems like the only option is to replace it. I have a torch and solder, but I haven't done much plumbing soldering, and I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I get it off but break something and I have to keep my water off for a few days while I wait for a plumber to come fix it. Is this easily doable with a high chance of success, or should I just pay a professional to handle it? Is this something that will be a few hundred bucks or less to do? There's a toilet on the other side of that wall with the exact same valve - should the plumber replace that one while they're at it?   
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Jun 10, 2018 18:55
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Erwin posted:I have a toilet shut off valve that's leaking, however it looks like it'll be a pain in the rear end to replace. It's a on a chrome pipe that's soldered onto a copper pipe, and it seems like the whole assembly is one piece. There's no packing nut to tighten and I can't see a way to get to the guts of the valve to replace anything internally, so it seems like the only option is to replace it. I have a torch and solder, but I haven't done much plumbing soldering, and I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I get it off but break something and I have to keep my water off for a few days while I wait for a plumber to come fix it. Where exactly is it leaking from? My (not professional) opinion is it's probably the toilet or hose leaking (given the green corrosion on top of the nut there). If that's the case, a new supply line might help (or worst case, new toilet valve... although if it were me I'd just replace the toilet. If your shutoff works, a new toilet is like a 30 minute job). I would probably wrap a towel right around the nut there, and see if the leaks continue or the towel absorbs them. If the towel gets them, its probably not the valve. Replacing that valve would involve unsoldering the current chrome piece from the old one, and soldering a new one on. It's not too difficult, although if you somehow accidentally unsolder the copper within the wall your job just got a whole lot harder and more destructive.
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Jun 12, 2018 02:02
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So we have a couple of out door spigots that are not frost proof, and have inconveniently located shutoff valves. In addition, our existing hot water heater is vented naturally (no fan) through an existing flue running through the center of the house. I really want to move the hot water heater and have it use a fan to exhaust out the rear of the house to free up space in the utility area. Finally, I want to put a whole home filter in to easily feed the kitchen, fridge dispenser, and (in the future) a bar. With all of these changes, I was also thinking I might replace the copper with PEX. Having individual shutoff valves at a manifold would be awesome, and I can run it through basement floor joists. Considering I want to finish part of the basement in the future, removing pipes from the bottom of the joists would make life a lot easier. My questions are: 1) Am I dumb as hell for wanting to do this? 2) Can I reuse my existing expansion tank? 3) Where should I place that expansion tank? 4) Are crimp fittings okay? Here's a diagram of what I'm wanting to do. Note that the expansion tank is not in here because I'm just not sure the best place to locate it. In addition, I'm basing the order of the incoming water line from memory. I could have the order of the meter, backflow valve, regulator, and shutoff valve wrong. 
30 TO 50 FERAL HOG fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Jun 12, 2018 |
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Jun 12, 2018 16:22
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NEED MORE MILK posted:So we have a couple of out door spigots that are not frost proof, and have inconveniently located shutoff valves. In addition, our existing hot water heater is vented naturally (no fan) through an existing flue running through the center of the house. I really want to move the hot water heater and have it use a fan to exhaust out the rear of the house to free up space in the utility area. Finally, I want to put a whole home filter in to easily feed the kitchen, fridge dispenser, and (in the future) a bar. I have no opinions here other then you want way more valves around your filter. You want to be able to completely bypass the filter just by turning valves, so that when it starts leaking you're not without water until you can fix it.
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Jun 13, 2018 03:54
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devicenull posted:I have no opinions here other then you want way more valves around your filter. You want to be able to completely bypass the filter just by turning valves, so that when it starts leaking you're not without water until you can fix it. Look up water softener bypasses, same idea.
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Jun 13, 2018 05:17
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Okay cool. Didn't think about that. It looks like the filter actually comes with a bypass valve, but I might actually use a three valve bypass so that I can also install a sediment filter.
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Jun 13, 2018 15:15
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Speaking of filters and softeners, my city water is super hard. I am tempted to build a two or three stage filter like this just for washing my car. Could I do something similar for the entire house and maintain water pressure? What’s the recommended direction? Both filter and softener?
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Jun 13, 2018 21:22
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Boner Wad posted:Speaking of filters and softeners, my city water is super hard. I'd just go with a softener and maybe a carbon filter, D-Ionyzed water would be hard on pipes I'd imagine.
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Jun 16, 2018 15:07
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Turd Herder posted:I'd just go with a softener and maybe a carbon filter, D-Ionyzed water would be hard on pipes I'd imagine. Oh man, I didn’t realize that deionized water was that bad for pipes. Any recommendations on softener systems that might be better than another?
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Jun 17, 2018 03:21
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Boner Wad posted:Oh man, I didn’t realize that deionized water was that bad for pipes. Any Fleck, autotrol softeners are good. Kinetico are over priced i think. Have local dealers give you a quote.
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Jun 17, 2018 05:29
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A couple years ago I needed to replace mine and I'm glad someone recommended a simple Fleck at the time. There were options out there going closer to $2k installed that had computers that would measure water usage and adjust how often it ran to save salt, and that all sounded good, but I had a new Fleck installed for $550 and it just works. There was a $20 upgrade option for an electronic display but I decided to keep it simple. The basic operations of a water softener haven't changed and you don't necessarily have to have a bunch of tech stuff thrown on top of it.
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Jun 18, 2018 21:30
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Frohike999 posted:A couple years ago I needed to replace mine and I'm glad someone recommended a simple Fleck at the time. There were options out there going closer to $2k installed that had computers that would measure water usage and adjust how often it ran to save salt, and that all sounded good, but I had a new Fleck installed for $550 and it just works. There was a $20 upgrade option for an electronic display but I decided to keep it simple. The basic operations of a water softener haven't changed and you don't necessarily have to have a bunch of tech stuff thrown on top of it. This guy gets it. If only they could remember how to design & build cars this way.
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Jun 19, 2018 02:33
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Quick/weird question for plumbers (other tradespeople feel free to chime in!) I've recently applied for an apprenticeship program at a local plumbers & steamfitters union. Assuming all goes well with orientation/exams, the next round would be a panel interview... What is appropriate attire for said interview? A frequent answer on various trade-specific forums seems to be "clean button-down shirt, new jeans, new boots," and there also seems to be a current of thought that the "lol just wear a suit" wisdom of basically every other job field would completely gently caress you over and make you look like an out-of-place pretentious soft-handed doofus. Also common advice: button-down, khakis, dress shoes? (TIES?!) Thoughts? (P.S. if there's a better place for this in another forum/thread, feel free to redirect me, but I figured this was as good a place as any to start.) Teketeketeketeke fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Jun 19, 2018 |
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Jun 19, 2018 04:28
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Teketeketeketeke posted:Quick/weird question for plumbers (other tradespeople feel free to chime in!) I always say go for a suit. If the reject you purely because you were overdressed, then you probably weren't going to get it anyway.
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Jun 19, 2018 10:01
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Yes, wear a suit. Specifically, one like this, except get some proper footwear: For real though if you low-key go as Mario for your interview, I think you deserve any job in the field you want.
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Jun 19, 2018 15:36
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My shower is leaking pretty bad, about a drop a second. We had a plumber take a look at it a couple years ago and he said the type of fixtures is uses are old and they don't really make handles for them anymore, and that they aren't easy to replace. We've been using redneck vice-grips as handles since. I think it is time to replace them. I haven't done much plumbing, but I am not completely new at this stuff. I replaced out toilet and sink fixture. That's about the extent of my skill. How hard would it be to replace these things? I assume I have to knock holes in the tiles and replace them from the other side? Thankfully, the other side is the laundry room.
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Jun 20, 2018 13:57
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How hard is it to replace this thing that I’m not showing you?
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Jun 20, 2018 17:34
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The Dregs posted:My shower is leaking pretty bad, about a drop a second. We had a plumber take a look at it a couple years ago and he said the type of fixtures is uses are old and they don't really make handles for them anymore, and that they aren't easy to replace. We've been using redneck vice-grips as handles since. I think it is time to replace them. I haven't done much plumbing, but I am not completely new at this stuff. I replaced out toilet and sink fixture. That's about the extent of my skill. Sweating pipe and tile work are the hard parts compared to changing out a sink or toilet. If you can do those you're set.
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Jun 20, 2018 17:52
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The Dregs posted:My shower is leaking pretty bad, about a drop a second. We had a plumber take a look at it a couple years ago and he said the type of fixtures is uses are old and they don't really make handles for them anymore, and that they aren't easy to replace. We've been using redneck vice-grips as handles since. I think it is time to replace them. I haven't done much plumbing, but I am not completely new at this stuff. I replaced out toilet and sink fixture. That's about the extent of my skill. Did he actually attempt to remove the valves, or did he just nope out? I mean yeah there is the possibility that it breaks off, but if you go in accepting that cutting the wall is one option, it's worth trying to fix. He may have been fearful of something breaking, then he gets blamed for it and either you don't want to pay for the bigger repair bill or want a major discount.
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Jun 20, 2018 23:39
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The Dregs posted:My shower is leaking pretty bad, about a drop a second. We had a plumber take a look at it a couple years ago and he said the type of fixtures is uses are old and they don't really make handles for them anymore, and that they aren't easy to replace. We've been using redneck vice-grips as handles since. I think it is time to replace them. I haven't done much plumbing, but I am not completely new at this stuff. I replaced out toilet and sink fixture. That's about the extent of my skill. That's a bunch of bullshit. You can get parts going WAY back. Post pictures.
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Jun 21, 2018 00:56
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eBay has parts for literally everything. Either NOS or someone with a machine shop in their garage turning them out by hand. Nothing is truly ever unavailable anymore thanks to the internet.
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Jun 21, 2018 05:22
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SpartanIvy posted:eBay has parts for literally everything. Either NOS or someone with a machine shop in their garage turning them out by hand. Nothing is truly ever unavailable anymore thanks to the internet. Here is one of the fixtures. Sorry I didn't post this before, I fugured they were pretty standard. It had ridges on it for (I assume) attaching to the handles. But, they're pretty much worn away. The leak is getting worse too! 
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Jun 21, 2018 15:06
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Do you have an example of the handle to take a picture of? Is there another one in the house somewhere?
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Jun 21, 2018 16:13
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Also it's impossible to match the valve with just that picture. The actual valve is behind the cover you've taken a picture of. It may only be visible after tearing into the wall. I ask to see the handle because it might give a clue on who made the valve or what type it is.
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Jun 21, 2018 16:17
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No, sorry. I had the other ones replaced years ago. I don't mind tearing out the wall there, if it isn't hard/expensive to replace the fixtures.
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Jun 21, 2018 16:57
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SpartanIvy posted:Also it's impossible to match the valve with just that picture. The actual valve is behind the cover you've taken a picture of. It may only be visible after tearing into the wall. What are you talking about??? He can just turn off the water, take the other stem out and match it. Well, he might have to get the opposite threaded one if the handles turn different directions to close. Some hot and cold valves are like that. Dregs, you don't need to tear open your walls just yet. Originally, you probably just needed a new stem washer, but your vice grips destroyed the splines on that stem so it can't take a handle now. You'll need a new stem. Turn off the water and take out the other stem. Basically, it goes: 1. Turn off water 2. Take off handle 3. Remove escutcheon 4. Unscrew packing nut/bonnet 5. Set handle without its screw back on stem 6. Turn handle to unscrew stem out of valve Once you got it out, take it to the store. Find handles that fit and possibly a matching stem. Be prepared to turn to the internet for a new stem though. The reason you should find handles that fit is because they're manufacturer specific. That can really help narrow down who makes your stem. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Jun 22, 2018 |
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Jun 21, 2018 18:23
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kid sinister posted:What are you talking about??? He can just turn off the water, take the other stem out and match it. Well, he might have to get the opposite threaded one if the handles turn different directions to close. Some hot and cold valves are like that. You're probably right. I'm imagining the whole valve needs to be replaced.
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Jun 21, 2018 18:28
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And replacing these stems will fix the leak as well? All of your instructions don't make sense to me, but they give me a place to start. Thanks!
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Jun 21, 2018 21:32
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Where is it leaking? Is it dripping down the spout or coming out the handle? Or both?
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Jun 22, 2018 02:20
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