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Morpheus posted:Every now and then when using water in certain parts of a recently-purchased house (built 1989, but has been worked on since), I hear a steady tapping noise that sounds like a drop falling onto something - like, when using my guest bathroom on the second floor, I hear this tap/drop noise coming from the wall between the first floor bathroom and washing machine room (directly below). It starts off happening every few seconds, then slows down over the course of a minute or so before stopping. I haven't noticed any water damage or discoloration or anything like that. Any idea what could be causing that, and is it something I should be worried about? See if it's happening with only the hot water running. You probably have copper pipes, and they're expanding as the hot water heats them. Where they are clamped tightly to framing, or passing through subfloor or framing, they'll bump/slide and make that noise. You don't hear the contraction (usually) because the rate is slower when cooling down. I re-plumbed my house (with copper) & I have a few areas that do this. It does sound like water dripping.
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Dec 19, 2023 18:39
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NZAmoeba posted:Oh poo poo, I have a different problem Jesus christ, that valve is a year younger than god. It's been a pack of time since I've seen a wooden handle on a valve. That valve is leaking at (the very least) the packing nut. Trying to tighten it will likely increase the leak rate. Putting a strap wrench on the handle will result in that handle exploding like a 50-year-old Oreo. You should replace that valve, so you'll need access to it. All you can do is dismantle the wood around it as carefully as you can, taking pictures as you go, so that you might be able to reassemble it wen the plumbing is done. Sorry. e: looking at the photos again: I would remove the base shoe (that's the quarter-round between the top of the rad cover, and the wall); I suspect that with that removed, you may be able to lift off the cover. It may be fastened down in some way, so tug carefully until you get a sense of what's holding it & where. e2: Unless you can find evidence of nails or fasteners holding it down, it may actually slide straight out. Might be pegged at the front, so try lifting it and pulling out. It was added after the sides were built. If the builder was a total rear end in a top hat he nailed it down & then put the base shoe over the nails. So you probably have to pull it in any case. It'll probably break - the thinner trim is, the tougher it is to finesse it off - but with a flatbar and patience you may be able to save it. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Jan 22, 2024 |
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Jan 22, 2024 04:43
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bltzn posted:Dumb question: That's how that particular style (i.e.(cheapest) of flush-valve systems operate. There is no chain. I mean, unless while you were away, the toilet pixies swapped out your highfalutin' factory flush mechanism with that there 2-year-old+ low-rent Danco Mansfield rig PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Jan 23, 2024 |
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Jan 23, 2024 00:03
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bltzn posted:Hmm any idea why it's suddenly so difficult to push the handle? As in valve needs a lot of force to open. It's a plastic tower riding on a tube. Crap could be stuck in there, or it's just old. Sometimes, when we go away for a while & come home, we suddenly notice stuff doesn't operate quite the way it should. Failures and wear are gradual, and we becaome accustomed; often we will not notice them until there is a break in routine.
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Jan 23, 2024 15:26
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Seconding sump pump. That's what it sounds like, although the quality of the sound can vary depending on where you are in the house in relation to the sump pump/crock. If you can observe (even by sound alone) the action of the sump pump from the vicinity of your crawlspace I'd do that.
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Jan 26, 2024 22:08
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The joint either wasn't cemeted, or wasn't properly cleaned prior to cementing. I would remove the trap assembly and make sure that' nothing is deformed or cracked. Before removing it however, use a sharpie/marker to mark off exactly how these parts are assembled in relation to one another. Then remove and see if you can twist that joint apart. If you can, clean the mating surfaces with alcohol & then PVC pipe dope (prep) and then reassemble with PVC cement to you previously-made marks. NOTE: Alcohol & prep may obliterate the marks, so extend them well beyond the mating points. You can refresh them when you're ready to glue/reassemble
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Jan 29, 2024 20:47
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It should be threaded on to the drain at the underside of the sink and where it drops into the drain exit to the soil line (i.e. the trap itself can be glued, but the other ends should be threaded). If the other connections are glued, you gonna be sawin' In such case, saw it out & get a new trap. This time, get a PVC trap set with unions that are threaded on one side so you can remove it in the future.
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Jan 29, 2024 21:37
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bltzn posted:Thanks! Dribble in PVC cement...but it likely won't hold because of the presence of water in the joint. Wrapping it in electrical tape will slow it down; still keep a bucket under it under it.
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Jan 30, 2024 15:41
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KillHour posted:My toilet is out for delivery and it's literally all I can think about No test-rides in the driveway, c'mon now
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Feb 14, 2024 19:52
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Fill valve lustin' to burst out in song. Make sure it's clear of crud/not sticking & probably just replace it.
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Feb 15, 2024 06:09
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Top connectors rusted out due to galvanic corrosion. Water has been running down inside the jacket & soaked/rusted everything. Whatever it’s replaced with you need to isolate the copper /brass from the steel to prevent recurrence
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Feb 18, 2024 18:29
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Motronic posted:Everything about that install makes me uncomfortable. It's just a series of red flags that need to be looked into more closely. It’s a low-rent expansion tank! Plumbers hate this weird trick!!
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Feb 18, 2024 18:35
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theHUNGERian posted:My toilet tank fills up with water, water flow stops for 2 seconds, then it starts running at a very slow rate and continues. I found this very helpful video, but I cannot seem to twist anything off on my valve. Make certain that it isn't the flapper valve that's leaking. Shut off the supply to the commode and check it over time to see if the water level drops.
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Mar 8, 2024 04:39
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Motronic posted:Nothing there is to code or inspected. Come on. I just have no words about that "install". WHEEEE!
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Mar 11, 2024 20:00
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God I remember removing the 4" cast-iron house trap from my friend's house (used a cast cutter) when she had a serious clog there. It was packed with Q-Tips. I trooped her down to the basement while the line was still open and funky and showed why you don't do this.
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Mar 20, 2024 16:23
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There is no such thing as too much detail
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Mar 24, 2024 03:33
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Get upon the roof and run a snake down it. Or hire a plumber to do it.
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Mar 30, 2024 16:46
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Travic posted:Just more input. I have information telling me to change the pipes immediately and I have people telling me to leave them. I know little about plumbing so I'm checking around to learn what's up. I'm sorry if I've stepped on some toes. I think you'll find the reason for such a pithy response (by the plumber) to your serious concern has to do with anyone writing an estimate is not going to be able to do so without x-ray vision, they will have to make educated guesses about where your lines run, and if yours is a home with bathrooms/wet rooms on multiple levels it can get tricky. They may get into the job and find for example, that they'll have to tear your kitchen apart or otherwise render your home uninhabitable for a spell. In short it can take a considerable amount of effort just to produce anything close to a reasonable estimate (hours that they shouldn't be billing you for towards a job they may not get) and if they guess wrong, the customer will probably be unhappy about the sudden ballooning of the estimate and/or have to leave their house for a week. As someone who has been in that situation (trying to write a repair estimate when a lot of the potential scope is hidden) I tend to err on the side of caution, which means estimating to open walls & ceilings in (what may turn out to be) unnecessarily wide swaths to try & capture the runs/mechanicals/other possibly wet areas that need to be addressed or temporarily removed to make repairs. Keep in mind that a plumber probably won't put back the walls, paint, wallpaper, tiles etc, you have to hire someone else for that. So most jobbers want to avoid getting into those situations. It will be expensive unless you do it yourselves. Travic posted:1,900 square foot home. Two story. The two bathrooms are stacked straight on top of each other and there is a line to the kitchen. Pipes go to a crawlspace under the house. That's going to cost a ton. Working in crawlspaces sucks even with PEX. They'll be tearing up the lower bathroom & kitchen. Travic posted:That is pretty much what the plumbers said. "We have to rip out the walls regardless, so wait until a break damages them." If the pipe leaks and causes damage, that's a covered loss for the water damage, and access to repair the leak (but not to actually repair it). The downsides to this: - insurance won't pay to re-plumb your house - your insurer will be overjoyed to find that you have polybutylene pipe in your house, and will express that joy with either a hefty premium increase or a threat to cancel unless you replace it all. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Mar 31, 2024 |
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Mar 31, 2024 14:22
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Travic posted:Ok thank you. So please forgive my ignorance, but it sounds like you might agree with the other plumbers recommendation? It's going to be a gigantic expensive job so just wait until I have to replace the drywall anyway to get it done? Or am I misunderstanding and should just bite the bullet and get it fixed? You may have difficulty getting a plumber to give you an accurate estimate. I'd try to get at least three bids while things remain dry. It may take a while, but unless you have competent & confident friends & family to tackle this, you have few alternatives. The plumber's response is somewhat ignorant because it won't go everywhere all at once, and where the drywall does go, there's no guarantee that it will even be anywhere near a run. On the other hand, if it leaks, you'll be desperate rather than now, when you can maintain a clear head. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Mar 31, 2024 |
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Mar 31, 2024 19:17
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I haven't pulled permits for any work at my house, ever. I did pull permits to build my garage in 2004 but only because it was too big to miss on a drive-by, and I was spending too much time effort & money to risk having to tear it down. No, it won't void your warranty. Rheem or AO Smith is fine
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Mar 31, 2024 20:53
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knuthgrush posted:Took me a bit to find an appropriate place to ask this so please shuffle me out if I'm lost. This is not an April 1st joke: I have a cursed toilet... Open the lid and see how high the water level is in the tank. Its probably right at & (due to the miracle of surface tension) slightly above the overflow tube. It doesn't take much movement to shake the floor enough to distirb the surface tension ineough to let water drain down the tube. The float drops, and triggers the float to add water. My guess is that this is an older home, and the floors deflect & shake when you walk on them. This can be very difficult to detect, unless (like my house) you have tchotchkes all of the place that rock & knock into each other & the walls when I walk around. So take a tall glass of water, put it on the tank, and walk into the bath, & see if it's disturbed. Lower the float level a bit so the water level is at least 1/8" below the overflow tube. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Apr 2, 2024 |
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Apr 2, 2024 01:32
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knuthgrush posted:Door opens Inward but this happens when I close the door, not when it is opened. Of course it's concrete slab  Ignore everything I saidCan you move the toilet at all? or is is well-fixed to the floor? I'd then replace the fill valve assembly as noted.
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Apr 2, 2024 14:34
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I'm still intrigued. Get the tank to fill half-way, shut off the full valve, put the lid back on, then see if it does it on a partial fill.
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Apr 3, 2024 23:39
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knuthgrush posted:well i replaced the valve before i saw this and problem solved. maybe something was loose? Probably the fill valve seal was going in a weirdly specific way that leaked a little if you looked at it funny. Houses - especially old houses - are weird.
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Apr 4, 2024 23:01
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Xenix posted:We had a sewer backup a week ago between the clean out in front of my house and the street. I couldn't clear it with a manual snake and we needed to be able to use water that day and no rental places were open, so I called roto rooter to snake it. Apparently that service comes with an included video survey of the line afterwards. I finally had it done and I found out I have old clay pipe once the ABS stuff ends at the clean out. While there were some offsets and some root intrusion, the pipe looked pretty good otherwise. The guy who videod the thing tried to hard sell me on them doing the fix via pipe bursting, telling me he was convinced it was going to collapse at any time. With such a hard sell, I suspect the pricing, which looked outrageous, is, in fact, outrageous. Roto-Rooter has become an emergency water mitigation/mission creep nightmare, for some years now. They used to be decent franchises for drain clearing & basic plumbing - a bit pricey, but reliable. Ever since they discovered the cash cow that is water mitigation and 'mold prevention' (scam) services, they've become increasingly rapacious and pushy about up-selling, and their charges are outrageous. They're still pricey but generally OK for line clearing, just resist the aggressive push to up-sell (which is very, very difficult for some folks). Running a camera in the line is the next step ONLY after some issue has been encountered when they score out a line, like the head getting snagged, or chunks of pipe coming out on the withdraw. Before doing a pipe re-line: they need to provide you a copy of the video since they charged you for it, and determine exactly why they think it's needed. And absolutely, get at least two other bids. Lastly, check your homeowner's insurance and see if you have something called "service line" coverage. It'll be an endorsement, Coverage should be $5K or $10K, and it covers the expense up to those limits for digging up & replacing a failed line that caused water damage in your home (hint: it doesn't have to be much of any damage; it can be anything affected by the plumbing escape). PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Apr 30, 2024 |
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Apr 30, 2024 15:00
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Squashy Nipples posted:How important is it to bevel the cut ends of PVC pipe? The glue package says it's important, but I don't see anyone doing it in Youtube videos. I use a piece of emory paper (for shining copper pipe) or 100-grit sandpaper to clean my PVC cuts, Just wrap it over the inside & outside, and run your hand around the end of the pipe a couple times. Cleans off anything loose & puts a slight bevel on it. I'm mostly concerned with removing any loose bits
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May 1, 2024 02:34
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 22:04 |
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My experience with aftermarket aerators is that they usually come with a wide array of adapters to get it to fit almost any application. Source: I like having a swivel-head unit that can switch between spray & aerator. Never had a problem finding one that works.
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May 6, 2024 23:32
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