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So I finally got another plumber out to look at my pipes (and he seems excellent, union plumber with 39 years exp) and come up with a plan to repipe. Gonna get an estimate next week. While he was here, he asked if I ever had any weird smells from the tub drain and I said I did but figured it was some sort of weird biofilm. Turns out my tub is unvented and doesn't even have a trap. I've been smelling sewer gas. Yay.
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Jan 11, 2012 04:59
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| # ? May 26, 2024 17:26 |
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t_violet posted:So I finally got another plumber out to look at my pipes (and he seems excellent, union plumber with 39 years exp) and come up with a plan to repipe. Gonna get an estimate next week. Union plumbers will cost a poo poo ton. Its usually why union shops dont do anything small because they can't compete.
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Jan 11, 2012 05:13
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:1: read above about water hammer arrestors. Perfect - got a new fitting and no more leak. drat hot water dispensers.
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Jan 12, 2012 01:21
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Glad it worked out for ya.
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Jan 12, 2012 03:53
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Regarding my dishwasher:Rd Rash 1000cc posted:2: Could be the water line under it leaking. Just want to make sure I know what I'm dealing with before taking the dishwasher out.
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Jan 12, 2012 05:04
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Bank posted:Regarding my dishwasher: Oh it shouldnt be holding water. May be a clogged drain line but its odd how it finally leaks and not right away.
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Jan 12, 2012 05:11
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I was helping a buddy track down a leak that was dripping in his basement and we narrowed it down to one of the hot water supply lines in his kitchen. Thing is, thease are weird connectors. I was expecting usual compression fittings or something, but instead got this: Is this another kind of John Guest fitting or something else? Either way, I would guess we're just better of replacing them as opposed to screwing around with trying to reseat or tighten them.
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Jan 12, 2012 14:18
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jackyl posted:I was helping a buddy track down a leak that was dripping in his basement and we narrowed it down to one of the hot water supply lines in his kitchen. Thing is, thease are weird connectors. I was expecting usual compression fittings or something, but instead got this: Yes they are similar. I dont know if you can remove those. Try turning off the water and draining the house down. Turn off the water heater also. Just incase you siphon it. Then put a crescent wrench under it and adjust it to the size of the pipe. Then pry upwards and it may remove it.
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Jan 12, 2012 15:18
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Yes they are similar. I dont know if you can remove those. Try turning off the water and draining the house down. Turn off the water heater also. Just incase you siphon it. Thanks. I figured it was something close to that and just recommended that he buy a compression or sweat fitting so we could just get rid of that valve, whatever it is. There's a slight chance the leak is where the supply hits the sink faucets, so we tied paper towels there too, but I suspect it is these unions. It is kinda cool that you can just pull it up for a shutoff though.
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Jan 13, 2012 03:08
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jackyl posted:Thanks. I figured it was something close to that and just recommended that he buy a compression or sweat fitting so we could just get rid of that valve, whatever it is. There's a slight chance the leak is where the supply hits the sink faucets, so we tied paper towels there too, but I suspect it is these unions. Get a 1/4 turn compression angle stop. They are even better and more ridigd. I hate those ones because if the supply gets hosed up you have to replace everything and not just the angle stop.
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Jan 13, 2012 05:03
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So my toilet decided to clog up pretty much 100%. After trying an auger, chemicals, and a plunger, I took off the toilet. Turns out my pipe is completely sealed with roots. I need some ideas of how to clear this out as cheap as possible, the environment be damned. If I do end up neededing a plumber, what ballpark figure should I expect to pay?
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Jan 14, 2012 22:37
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Kung Fu Jesus posted:So my toilet decided to clog up pretty much 100%. After trying an auger, chemicals, and a plunger, I took off the toilet. Turns out my pipe is completely sealed with roots. I need some ideas of how to clear this out as cheap as possible, the environment be damned. If I do end up neededing a plumber, what ballpark figure should I expect to pay? Crawl space? roots where? I had this happen to me under the crawl space so I dug to the pipe my self (that was fun) then the plumbers connected the old clay to the new plastic waste line. Cost like $300. If they have to get the backhoe it won't be cheap
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Jan 15, 2012 00:09
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tater_salad posted:Crawl space? roots where? He is right, it wont be cheap if you have them dig up the yard. You can try renting a snake with a cutting blade but it will have to be done yearly to fix the problem.
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Jan 15, 2012 03:43
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:He is right, it wont be cheap if you have them dig up the yard. You can try renting a snake with a cutting blade but it will have to be done yearly to fix the problem. Speaking of snaking yearly, I need to do this because I have 3 trees between my house and the city line. Is this something I can do myself? I've always paid the plumbers to do it because I don't want to kill my clay pipe? I also don't have the experience to know what to feel for. Any tips for doing it myself?
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Jan 15, 2012 13:45
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tater_salad posted:Speaking of snaking yearly, I need to do this because I have 3 trees between my house and the city line. Instead of doing it yearly just replace it with abs pipe. Ive honestly never snaked through clay but I know most snake companies have a disclosure that says if they break a pipe with there snake they arent liable.
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Jan 15, 2012 19:01
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tater_salad posted:Crawl space? roots where? I don't know where it comes into the house. My house is on a slab. But I can see the roots right in the hole in the floor when I remove the toilet. My biggest fear is that my house is fairly new, built in 01 or 03. So I'm sure its got pvc or whatever is used these days. So I likely have a crack somewhere. With a slab foundation, I'm worried its going to cost me thousands to fix. What about chemicals to kill the roots?
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Jan 15, 2012 19:39
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Instead of doing it yearly just replace it with abs pipe. That requires a backhoe and I don't plan on staying at this house forever, so at $135 a year it isn't worth it.
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Jan 15, 2012 20:00
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I suppose this is a plumbing question and not an HVAC one. The humidifier on my furnace is old, made by a company that has been bought and sold 5 times in the past 15 years. I had to replace the leaking solenoid valve on it last year, which was a bitch because I couldn't find a drop-in replacement. My old solenoid had 1/4" FIP holes on either side, and all of the new solenoids have 1/4" male compression on either side. So I had to improvise. The reason the old valve had female holes was because of the the brass parts on either side of the valve. The most important part of the supply-side fittings was something strange that I've never seen before. It was a brass 1/4" MIP coupler with a tiny nylon pinhole emitter on one end, and a mesh filter inserted inside the coupler. At first when I tried to swap out the valves, I noticed that a 1/4" line full on wastes too much water down the humidifier drain and the flow was WAY more than the old solenoid with its mystery part. I'm guessing it was some type of pressure reducer? A year ago when I swapped valves, I managed to piece together enough fittings to reuse that mystery part and all was good. Well, I forgot to put that mesh filter back in. That part clogged yesterday and I made the pinhole too big cleaning it out. Right now I just have the valve for that branch turned down to a trickle. So I got 2 questions: 1. What the hell is that part called? 2. Where can I get a replacement? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 22:18
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tater_salad posted:That requires a backhoe and I don't plan on staying at this house forever, so at $135 a year it isn't worth it. Ya that makes sense , You can try snaking yourself, most likely its a straight shot then if no one else has had a problem. Don't try to snake further once you clear the leak so you don't mess up the leak. kid sinister posted:I suppose this is a plumbing question and not an HVAC one. The humidifier on my furnace is old, made by a company that has been bought and sold 5 times in the past 15 years. I had to replace the leaking solenoid valve on it last year, which was a bitch because I couldn't find a drop-in replacement. My old solenoid had 1/4" FIP holes on either side, and all of the new solenoids have 1/4" male compression on either side. So I had to improvise. 1- Can I get a picture of the valve it may give me a better idea 2- n/a yet
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Jan 16, 2012 05:01
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tater_salad posted:That requires a backhoe and I don't plan on staying at this house forever, so at $135 a year it isn't worth it. I should elaborate.Once you clear the leak dont push further because you may break through a fitting. Thoug this is a temporary fix but it will solve your problems for now.
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Jan 16, 2012 08:10
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:1- Can I get a picture of the valve it may give me a better idea Here you go. The first picture is the entire pour spout that goes from the solenoid to the top tray of the humidifier. I didn't include anything for scale, but the mystery part is 1 inch long. Again, on the original solenoid valve, those fittings screwed into the supply side of the solenoid. I added a coupling on the end so I could attach the pour spout. edit: Nevermind, I solved my own problem. I had to work backwards from the evaporator pad, but I figured out that my humidifier isn't really a ComfortMaker. It's a re-badged General model 709, which I can get parts for still! The mystery part along with its entrance fitting called an "orifice assembly". kid sinister fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Jan 17, 2012 |
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Jan 16, 2012 19:15
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It can't be said too many times how great the American Standard Cadet 3 is. We have the compact version of it, since we have a house built in the 50s with a tiny bathroom. This toilet is the cat's pajamas. I would dare say the flush is quite luxurious.
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Jan 17, 2012 03:37
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It's burgin' time! 
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I heart bacon posted:It can't be said too many times how great the American Standard Cadet 3 is. We have the compact version of it, since we have a house built in the 50s with a tiny bathroom. This toilet is the cat's pajamas. I would dare say the flush is quite luxurious. Did you get the 1.6 or 1.28 gpf version? I have had a couple plumbers recommend the Cadet 3 as well but one said to avoid the 1.28 gpf as he felt it was underpowered.
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Jan 17, 2012 15:54
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After reading reviews I replaced an old Mansfield with one of these awhile back, and for the money, this thing's been awesome: http://www.lowes.com/pd_104502-8832...archQueryType=1
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Jan 17, 2012 16:25
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Jared592 posted:After reading reviews I replaced an old Mansfield with one of these awhile back, and for the money, this thing's been awesome: Never used one of those but I am with others when saying the cadet 3 is the best. Though I've only used the 1.6 not the 1.28.
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Jan 18, 2012 04:35
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Never used one of those but I am with others when saying the cadet 3 is the best. ...but do they come in solid gold?
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Jan 18, 2012 07:12
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kid sinister posted:...but do they come in solid gold? No, do you have a toilet that does?
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Jan 18, 2012 15:15
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:No, do you have a toilet that does? No, mine's in silver. 
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Jan 18, 2012 17:10
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MH Knights posted:Did you get the 1.6 or 1.28 gpf version? I have had a couple plumbers recommend the Cadet 3 as well but one said to avoid the 1.28 gpf as he felt it was underpowered. Crap... I don't remember. I would assume it's the 1.6 since it's a fairly powerful.
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Jan 19, 2012 01:54
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Oh, gently caress me. I got back home from dinner and some errands about fifteen minutes ago and found that the toilet in our guest bathroom has been running for at least four hours, and probably longer than that. Our home is on a septic system - am I in for it, or is one day of running toilet not enough to screw us out of a working septic system?
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Jan 19, 2012 02:36
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Chachi posted:Oh, gently caress me. I got back home from dinner and some errands about fifteen minutes ago and found that the toilet in our guest bathroom has been running for at least four hours, and probably longer than that. Our home is on a septic system - am I in for it, or is one day of running toilet not enough to screw us out of a working septic system? I believe the drain field should take care of it. With your septic do you ever flush yeast to help it. I beleive its yeast that will help it eat poo poo ( no pun intended). I've heard with a proper septic tank you should never have to pump it.
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Jan 19, 2012 04:32
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Oh something else I'll talk about, If you have a closed loop system on your water heater. It is recommended to have an expansion tank. Closed loop systems are systems that are behind a pressure reducing valve, a back flow preventer. Or anything that works as a check valve. When water heats up it expands, You may notice a burst of pressure when you open your sinks faucet. This is a sign that you should install a expansion tank. When you install them put a ball valve with a boiler drain and then the expansion tank. You want to install the tank 2 PSI below normal operating pressure or it may cause your T.P valve to weap. You can install it on the hot and cold side. Its recommended to install on the cold side of the water heater so you dont waste energy. If you have hot water sitting in the tank , it will lose its heat and its another gallon you will have to pass for you to get hot water at your tap.
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Jan 19, 2012 05:01
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:I believe the drain field should take care of it. With your septic do you ever flush yeast to help it. I beleive its yeast that will help it eat poo poo ( no pun intended). I've heard with a proper septic tank you should never have to pump it. That's a relief. I was about ready to tear my hair out because the soil over the drain field was pretty wet, but after what you said I'm willing to believe that's just because of the rain we had last night. Guess I'll just practice some water austerity for a couple of days and try to let the field work 
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Jan 19, 2012 05:48
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:... If you have hot water sitting in the tank , it will lose its heat and its another gallon you will have to pass for you to get hot water at your tap. What's your opinion on recirculating pumps in residential settings? Seems like it'd save energy and water if it's a moderately long way (~85-100') from your hot water heater to your faucet.
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Jan 19, 2012 19:04
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:What's your opinion on recirculating pumps in residential settings? Seems like it'd save energy and water if it's a moderately long way (~85-100') from your hot water heater to your faucet. Energy savings if done correctly can be benificial. One of the biggest problem I see people do is under size the piping for the pump. I'd recommend a 3/4 line or 1 inch depending on the pump you use. Due to the fact that the turbulence in the smaller pipe causes pin hole leaks. One cool system is http://www.switch2o.com. They have an On demand water system. Most systems work on a time and just recirc the water weather its being used or not. This works on light switches and sense the temperature of the water in the pipe.
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Jan 20, 2012 01:56
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t_violet posted:So I finally got another plumber out to look at my pipes (and he seems excellent, union plumber with 39 years exp) and come up with a plan to repipe. Gonna get an estimate next week. OK, just an update on my plumber situation for those that like to read about house repairs. I got a quote of $1500 for all the work (basically my tax refund, yay). That's to replace the galvanized steel from the meter to the back of the house including trenching, repipe all that mess I pictured before and tuck it under the house (in pex), fix a small gas leak on my hot water heater, and install a P-trap on the tub to stop the sewer gas. Gonna wait on repiping the rest of the house and putting in a S-trap and vent until I do the big bathroom remodel in a couple of years and take up the floor and walls. Also, the electrician came by and verified that my panel is already properly grounded so I don't need to upgrade that. (I just had the whole thing replace for $$ in the fall so that was a relief). Anyway, the price seems really reasonable for this amount of work and I have a ton of confidence in this guy, very knowledgeable and willing to talk about the pro and cons of pex all day long.
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Jan 20, 2012 05:04
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t_violet posted:OK, just an update on my plumber situation for those that like to read about house repairs. Sounds good so far but in what code is an S trap legal?
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Jan 20, 2012 05:15
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:Sounds good so far but in what code is an S trap legal? I misremembered. We talked about the various traps and how I'm not bringing everything up to current code yet, just improving what I have until the bigger upgrade. Do unvented P-traps work? He's either going to put in an unvented P-trap or an S-trap as a short term measure but now I've confused myself on which.
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Jan 20, 2012 06:24
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t_violet posted:I misremembered. We talked about the various traps and how I'm not bringing everything up to current code yet, just improving what I have until the bigger upgrade. Do unvented P-traps work? He's either going to put in an unvented P-trap or an S-trap as a short term measure but now I've confused myself on which. if its just temp it may work. If it doesnt he can always put in a strudder vent.
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Jan 20, 2012 15:18
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Besides my fcuked up toilet, I have a minor issue with my hot water that you might give me insight on. In my shower, when I turn it on, I let it run a few minutes to heat up. Most days, it gets nice and hot. Other days, its just luke warm. No one else is using water at the same time as me. I shower basically around the same time every day. The water heater is set to the same temp 24 hours a day. Its gas heat and probably 8-9 years old. Any ideas?
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Jan 24, 2012 04:48
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