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DIY projects-2021


rico

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2 hours ago, rico said:

Nothing wrong with calling a plumber.

 

1 hour ago, tdhoosier said:

I WILL NOT! 😎

😂 I'm pulling for you man, but as for me, I came to the conclusion after I turned 50 and hit my "peak earning years" that the plumber was far cheaper than the cost of my time and aggravation, so I started outsourcing...a lot.  I'm even tempted to hire a lawn service but felt like I needed the workout, so I'm still mowing for now.

Plumbing is probably my least favorite, but back in the late '90's when I was a young married man and had more time than money, me and my father-in-law replumbed the entire house in a weekend.  Went from copper, which was pitted and had sprung a couple of leaks, to pvc.  It was probably the least fun weekend in my life and near the end, I told my father-in-law I'd rather be whipped than do any more plumbing.  He got a good laugh, but I think he understood where I was coming from.

Copper plumbing is from the devil.  I don't know who ever decided that was a good idea.

Edited by FKIM01
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23 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

 

😂 I'm pulling for you man, but as for me, I came to the conclusion after I turned 50 and hit my "peak earning years" that the plumber was far cheaper than the cost of my time and aggravation, so I started outsourcing...a lot.  I'm even tempted to hire a lawn service but felt like I needed the workout, so I'm still mowing for now.

Plumbing is probably my least favorite, but back in the late '90's when I was a young married man and had more time than money, me and my father-in-law replumbed the entire house in a weekend.  Went from copper, which was pitted and had sprung a couple of leaks, to pvc.  It was probably the least fun weekend in my life and near the end, I told my father-in-law I'd rather be whipped than do any more plumbing.  He got a good laugh, but I think he understood where I was coming from.

Copper plumbing is from the devil.  I don't know who ever decided that was a good idea.

Lol, when I started my new job earlier this year even with more time off I've found myself paying for more than I used to. Oil changes, I'm outsourcing mowing for the rest of the year, small stuff that I'm just tired of doing. 

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55 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

 

😂Copper plumbing is from the devil.  I don't know who ever decided that was a good idea.

Tell me about it. This is what happens when your master bedroom and master bath share a wall and the copper piping get pinholes in it. There was a dresser in front of it, so it ruined the wall before we saw/smelled it...over 10K in damages...

Screenshot_20210923-124646.thumb.png.72ed6c0d01e5136aec50549f785f21b4.png

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6 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

Tell me about it. This is what happens when your master bedroom and master bath share a wall and the copper piping get pinholes in it. There was a dresser in front of it, so it ruined the wall before we saw/smelled it...over 10K in damages...

Screenshot_20210923-124646.thumb.png.72ed6c0d01e5136aec50549f785f21b4.png

Yuck.

We were fortunate.  Both pinholes were exposed in the basement where we could see them and they were in well-ventilated areas, but after I saw what could happen with copper lines, I yanked every bit of that out.  Thankfully, at the time, we were living in a single story house with one bathroom, a kitchen and a laundry room in the basement, so it was a job we could DIY in a weekend.  There was very little plumbing in the walls and we had access panels where there was.

But yeah...copper plumbing is a disaster waiting to happen.  Worse yet is copper plumbing in a concrete slab.  Never owned that, but I've heard people singing the blues about having to jackhammer the slab to make repairs.  Copper water lines encased in concrete may be the worst combination of all time.

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I'm guessing they used copper piping because of coppers antimicrobial properties. But with water treatment the way it is today no need for it. 

Luckily I'm all PVC and it's easy to access. A few years ago the little plastic ball in my water heaters heat trap broke off and ended up plugging up my toilets 1/4" supply line. Easy and cheap fix. Definitely a how the hell did that happen kinda thing. 

Edited by mrflynn03
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24 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Yuck.

We were fortunate.  Both pinholes were exposed in the basement where we could see them and they were in well-ventilated areas, but after I saw what could happen with copper lines, I yanked every bit of that out.  Thankfully, at the time, we were living in a single story house with one bathroom, a kitchen and a laundry room in the basement, so it was a job we could DIY in a weekend.  There was very little plumbing in the walls and we had access panels where there was.

But yeah...copper plumbing is a disaster waiting to happen.  Worse yet is copper plumbing in a concrete slab.  Never owned that, but I've heard people singing the blues about having to jackhammer the slab to make repairs.  Copper water lines encased in concrete may be the worst combination of all time.

The funny thing is, this house was custom built by the guy we bought it from...solid wood doors, ceramic tile, granite counters, expensive carpet...but the guys who fixed our leak said the builder had used the cheapest copper he'd ever seen...

Go figure...

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6 minutes ago, rico said:

I bet in that old house your Dad had great access to the plumbing lines?

Haha. I remember he had to do some work underneath for the bathroom. I was maybe 8 or 9. Since I was small enough I had to dig some space out and he was able to lay on his back and get close enough to plumb blind overhead. I had to hand him the tools.  I think I'm claustrophobic because of that. 

Edited by mrflynn03
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3 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I did that a couple of years back. Use to spend all day Saturdays doing this 3 acres...my guys are out there doing it right now...$80 an acre...

One of my rules for buying a house. Never have a yard bigger than you're willing to mow. 

Growing up had 1 1/2 acres. Anytime the rider broke down guess who had to push mow. This guy. 

Edited by mrflynn03
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18 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

I'm guessing they used copper piping because of coppers antimicrobial properties. But with water treatment the way it is today no need for it. 

Luckily I'm all PVC and it's easy to access. A few years ago the little plastic ball in my water heaters heat trap broke off and ended up plugging up my toilets 1/4" supply line. Easy and cheap fix. Definitely a how the hell did that happen kinda thing. 

What I was told is that sweat copper joints did not leak and copper pipe is easy to bend.  I guess they didn't anticipate the pinhole issue.

15 minutes ago, rico said:

Didn't they used to use galvanized?

Yeah. definitely and I'm sure it was less prone to pinholes, but more prone to joints leaking and near impossible to bend creating the need for more potentially leaky joints.  We had some galvanized as well even though it was mostly copper.  Other than the incoming main, I pulled all of that out as well.

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3 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

What I was told is that sweat copper joints did not leak and copper pipe is easy to bend.  I guess they didn't anticipate the pinhole issue.

Yeah. definitely and I'm sure it was less prone to pinholes, but more prone to joints leaking and near impossible to bend creating the need for more potentially leaky joints.  We had some galvanized as well even though it was mostly copper.  Other than the incoming main, I pulled all of that out as well.

Galvanized also had the problem with scale building up reducing water pressure. Guess it was better than the lead piping it replaced. 

 

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8 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

One of my rules for buying a house. Never have a yard bigger than you're willing to mow. 

Growing up had 1 1/2 acres. Anytime the rider broke down guess who had to push mow. This guy. 

Past 60 it's "Never have a yard bigger than you're willing to PAY to have mowed."

😉

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I was probably a weird kid. My dad had a few maintenance jobs and included me in all kinds of projects growing up. My Grandpa done some hvac/plumbing work. And I watched Bob Vilas this old house and Old Yankee workshop. My step-dad had a subscription to a DIY magazine I read every month. 

Saved me alot of money I guess. 

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18 minutes ago, mrflynn03 said:

I was probably a weird kid. My dad had a few maintenance jobs and included me in all kinds of projects growing up. My Grandpa done some hvac/plumbing work. And I watched Bob Vilas this old house and Old Yankee workshop. My step-dad had a subscription to a DIY magazine I read every month. 

Saved me alot of money I guess. 

I now know who to call

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32 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

What I was told is that sweat copper joints did not leak and copper pipe is easy to bend.  I guess they didn't anticipate the pinhole issue.

Yeah. definitely and I'm sure it was less prone to pinholes, but more prone to joints leaking and near impossible to bend creating the need for more potentially leaky joints.  We had some galvanized as well even though it was mostly copper.  Other than the incoming main, I pulled all of that out as well.

I remember helping my Dad replace galvanized with copper. Learned how to sweat pipes on that project! 
Now a days I’m a big fan of SharkBites.

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2 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

I remember helping my Dad replace galvanized with copper. Learned how to sweat pipes on that project! 
Now a days I’m a big fan of SharkBites.

Yeah, I think Pex was pretty new to the market when we built in 2010, but from what I've seen since then, I'd definitely do a Pex system today.

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42 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Yeah, I think Pex was pretty new to the market when we built in 2010, but from what I've seen since then, I'd definitely do a Pex system today.

That is what I got in my old house now.  The first thing I did when I moved in was to change the plumbing lines.

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8 hours ago, tdhoosier said:

Anybody out there good with toilets? I can't find the solution to this problem and it's killing me. And I'm going to lose the battle with my wife....who insists on calling a plumber if I don't figure it out soon. 

I have an in-ground sprinkling system and the toilet keeps running whenever it's on. Even if the sprinklers shut off, the toilet will continue to run until we shut the water valve off for a second and turn it back on. 

I replaced the flapper a few months ago and there are no leaks. 

That said, even when the sprinklers aren't on and the toilet shuts off, I've noticed something peculiar. The float comes up, but the water keeps running until it fills up the overflow tube. When it eventually stops the water level is up to the tip of the overflow tube. I checked other toilets in my house and the water level is a 1/2" below the overflow tube. 

Again, the float is up. I even adjusted it to come up sooner. I don't believe this is a float issue. 

Another note, this problem started when the neighborhood had a sudden drop in water pressure caused by a leaking pipe. 

Any ideas? 

Does your irrigation system have a back flow preventer?

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21 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Clapping.gif.59df4b49374703b1ca52923909db00c2.gif

I think you're on to something here...

Normally, I’m not a plumbing guy either, but I’m in the middle of planning/designing an irrigation system to install next spring. 
 

Honestly, I’m not even quite sure if or how that might cause issues with plumbing in other areas, but it seems to fit. I have learned that irrigation systems use an imperial buttload of pressure, and something that would keep the channel between the sprinkler main and the house might cause issues. 

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