Repair Your Plumbing? You Can Do That!

Not to long ago my water heater went out. Just like that you think all is well then whamo a small leak appears. I was faced with a decision, fix it myself or call the plumber. Well after getting several estimates ranging from $1500 to $2500, I decided to do it myself.

It's really not that to hard to repair plumbing. In this article I will give you some pointers to help aid you in this endeavor. And hopefully spare you from the high cost of paying for a plumber. Nothing against plumbers but this project is doable.

Steps it will take:

1) As soon as you realize that the old water heater has to go start draining it. It can take several hours to drain. Remember to turn off the main water valve and open up all of the faucets to eliminate any pressure. if it's a gas unit make sure that you turn off the main gas line in the house and if it is electric turn off the breaker. Think safety first.

2) Try and purchase the same unit. This will prevent you from adding pipe and new valves.

3) Size up the job and disconnect the tank from the water pipes, gas line or the electrical connection. If it's gas you will need to disconnect the flue as well. Save all parts in order to match them up when you purchase your supplies.

4) You will need to have on hand plumbers tape, small gas torch, solder, flux, plumbing sandpaper, pipe cutter, gas tape (to seal gas line) and maybe some pipe glue. Ask the sales person at the hardware store for a more defined list.

Once you have disconnected the tank remove it from your work space. Do a thorough measurement of the remaining pipe for reference when you go to the hardware store. I will be honest with you, you might need to make a few trips back to the store. Once you get the new tank, slide it into place to line up the plumbing.

If you bought the same unit it should line right up, if you were unable, you will need to remove or add length to the existing piping. This may require you to splice together copper with plastic, don't let this scare you the hardware store will have all of the necessary parts.

If you need to add copper pipe make sure that you clean the old and new pipe by using sandpaper, inside and out. If it's not clean the solder will not flow into the joint. Another tip is to not over wrap the mail threaded pipe with tape, this can cause a leak. Twice around should be enough. Also, don't over tighten it.

This may sound complicated but trust me, if I can do it, anyone can. Just take it slow, ask questions from the hardware specialist and go online for more instructions. One last item, if you have a gas unit your county or city may require an inspection. The inspector will verify that the gas connection is right and that the angle of the flue is right. Don't take a chance with gas, make the call to have someone come out and inspect your work.

Your should be able to complete this job for $500 or so and the tools and supplies will be available for when your dishwasher goes out. Good luck.

Dennis Watson - Just helping others succeed.

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Your Home Project - Educating Yourself On Plumber Rates

As any homeowner will attest, calling in a plumber is usually done when there remains little other choice. A thrifty do-it-yourselfer will often try to fix the offending leak, flood, or jiggle in an effort to save money. But when a truly complicated problem arises or the effort at self-plumbing proves fruitless, it becomes necessary to call in the experts. And, subsequently, it becomes necessary to quickly and thoroughly educate yourself on the most current plumber rates.

Jumping headfirst into hiring the first plumber you come across in the yellow pages could easily yield disastrous results. Taking the extra steps to research plumber rates will put you in control of your situation; you?ll know what to expect and therefore know what to seek out in terms of reputable plumbers.

When researching plumber rates there are a variety of sources towards which to turn. The Internet, as always, is a valuable source of information on a variety of topics. Simply do a search for plumber rates in your area and you?ll quickly learn the lay of the land. Further, there are often chat forums where you can access customers who have likely been in your situation at one time or another. Additionally, you can often speak with professional plumbers themselves to learn the current plumber rates for a reputable service.

However, the most invaluable source for learning plumber rates in your area is the people with whom you share a community. Turn to your neighbors, friends, and friends of friends to find the most reputable and trustworthy plumbers in your area. This will also grant you the most up-to-date information about plumber rates.

One important thing to keep in mind is that low plumber rates may not always save you money in the end. More experienced plumbers will often charge plumber rates that match their level of experience. Trying to cut corners by hiring a plumber based solely on their low plumber rates may result in more trouble than it?s worth. A cheaply priced plumber may undercut his competition but there may be a reason for his prices.

However, when hiring an experienced, reputable plumber you can often bring prices down by offering to supply materials yourself. In this way, you are paying only for labor. Keep in mind, however, that there?s risk associated with this as flawed materials will not be guaranteed by the hired plumber.

Ultimately, it may make the most sense to find the best plumber you can find and pay the associated plumber rates. As is often the case, you get what you pay for. So choose wisely.

For easy to understand, in depth information about plumbing visit our ezGuide 2 Plumbing.

What Tools Do You Need As A Do-It-Yourself Plumber?

If you want to be a do-it-yourself plumber, make sure that you have following tools available to you.

Wrenches

There are many types of wrenches, but the two main types that will prove very handy for you as a do-it-yourself plumber are: adjustable wrenches and pipe wrenches.

Adjustable Wrenches

You can open or close adjustable wrenches to fit nuts, bolts of several sizes and fittings that have flat sides. You can find different sizes of adjustable wrenches that may range from 4" to 2' long. However, you, being a do-it-yourself plumber, can do with 10" to 12" handle only. They are good general-purpose-size wrenches. When you are using an adjustable wrench, make sure you have positioned it in such a way that the force applies against the fixed jaw.

Pipe Wrenches

Pipe wrenches are useful when it comes to gripping and turning threaded pipes and pipe fittings. Their adjustable and toothed jaws are specially designed for the purpose. These wrenches are available in various sizes that can range from 12" to 18" in length. Larger wrenches are suitable to fit larger pipes. In pipe wrenches also, make sure while using it, you are applying the force against the permanent jaw, and not the adjustable one.

Pliers

A do-it-yourself plumber must have the following pliers available to him/her.

Rib-joint Pliers

These tools are very handy when it comes to turning pipes, nuts, and fittings. You can adjust the size of its jaw by sliding the pivot along the slot and engaging it at various positions. This way, you can use it to firmly grip objects of various sizes.

Locking Pliers

You can use these pliers for clamping actions. You can use these tools to lock a bolt or a pipe. You can also adjust the size of the grip by using the knurled screw mounted in one handle.

Screwdrivers

Screwdrivers are multipurpose tools. Whether it is changing faucet washers or dissembling plumbing related appliances, these tools come in handy. You must have various sizes and types of screwdrivers available to you. It is better if you have two or three sizes of each standard. If you have a 4-in-1 driver, it can be very useful for you. Make sure that the drivers fit closely in the screw's head, otherwise both the screw and the tip of the driver can be mangled.

Pipe Cutters

A few types of pipe cutters are also very handy for the purpose. There are pipe cutters that you can use to cut copper or steel pipes. Their sharp cutting wheels and adjustable jaw are specially designed for such purposes. Another type is a plastic tubing cutter that you can use to cut rigid and flexible plastic tubing like sprinkle pipes.

Measuring Tape

Sometimes, you need to measure runs of pipe. In such cases, measuring tapes come very handy. When it comes to measuring tapes, a retractable steel tape is the best choice for you. Moreover, it is better if you have a 25-footer measure tape, as you can easily extend its blade for several feet without any support.

Drain Clearing Plumbing Tools

When you face the problem of clogged drains, drain-clearing tools can be very useful for you. Some of the drain-clearing tools include drain augers, toilet augers, hydraulic blow bags, and toilet and sink plungers, etc.

These tools are essential for do-it-yourself plumbing jobs. They are very useful and can make your work much easier.

Owen Walcher writes for the a Find A Plumber Site which provides plumbing tips to consumer and helps people find quality plumbers in California.

What is Plumbing Consulting?

In just about every important thing we do in our lives, we look to find authorities that understand the intricacies of what we want to accomplish. If we want to build a building, we turn to an architect. For advice on how to grow a business we seek out marketing experts. It only makes sense that if we have a major project that involves plumbing, we would go for plumbing consulting.

Not often understood as the profession within a profession that it is, plumbing consulting is a task that is only undertaken by the most knowledgeable of persons in the plumbing field. There is not really a school to go to or a degree that can be obtained in the certification of plumbing consulting. Rather, proficiency in plumbing consulting is a result of years of training, practical experience, and good old-fashioned common sense.

In addition to requiring years of experience, consulting can be a highly lucrative choice of career. Because the cumulative knowledge of a plumbing consultant goes far beyond that of a typical plumber, a person who chooses to go into the field can be a great asset to any building project. Whether the project is the reworking of a plumbing network for an existing structure or creating a brand new one for a new one, competent consulting can result in huge net savings. Local municipalities may find plumbing consulting to be helpful as well. A professional consultant can save time and money when it comes to laying out new water systems or adding to an existing one.

Of course, it is fairly easy for anyone to claim to be proficient in plumbing consulting. Before hiring someone for your building project, check their credentials with your local and state plumbing associations. Make sure to get references and follow up on them. Verify their certification. Remember, a true professional will not only be happy to provide you with the information to do this, but will insist that you check them out before they contract with you.

Hazman is the owner of Plumbing Consulting, Do visit us to learn more about Plumbing, Plumbing Consulting, Plumbing Design, Plumbing Installation and Plumbing Supplies

Never Rely on Your Plumbing Expectations

We in the 21st Century living in a developed Country are totally, totally spoiled. Just ask anyone who lives in a developing Country.

Better still; try living in one yourself for some time rather than just passing through as a tourist living in 5 star luxuries.

It was 20 years ago that I lived in Malaysia for 3 years. I loved living in Georgetown on Penang Island. The people were beautiful, the scenery breathtaking and the food from the Mukan stall’s delicious and cheap.

Some of the backstreets though where the poorer people lived and survived were not always so delectable or pleasant. The open “Mony drains” were either so deep you would think they were dug out by a miner, or so shallow they were virtually useless. Mony drains were short for monsoon drains due to the tropical downpours that came through every 3 months as the monsoon passed over on its way south then on its way north again.

Now this is where I really appreciated plumbing. We, of course, being among the blessed elite, had ‘normal’ plumbing in our house with running water.

The difference was that this water was released into our outside “mony drain” that ran around our house and into a larger drain which ran into a larger drain etc until it ran out to where ever was the great meeting place for all mony drains.

Every week our wonderful, cheerful gardener came with his tin of ‘goodies’, hard scrubbing brush and scrubbed our drains for us.

There was one outside tap for use in the garden and it was located at the front of our house. On this tap we had a long hose that reached around the back of our house. Yes, you’re right, Nothing unusual about that.

We lived in a cul-de-sac with 3 houses. The last house had a really beautiful garden with a very attractive spirit house out the back. If I had been an ancestor, I would have been honoured to have lived there but I was a neighbour instead.

But as neighbours, we had a problem that went beyond different languages.

Their gardener raked the leaves off their perfect lawn and burned them in front of our house. Often long after our Amah Devi had put the washing on the line to dry.

Because it ‘got smoked,’ she used to bring it in and re-do it, which really wasn’t remotely fair.

We asked nicely, we asked again, and again and again. We spoke with the owner of the house, his wife, the mother-in-law grandmother, the gardener many, many times. We even had a solicitor write a letter to them in Bahasa requesting that they stop causing us this problem.

But they continued to light the fire to burn the leaves directly out the front of our house.

This particular day I came back from walking the kids to the school bus and they were out the front about to light the fire again. I approached them and asked them not to and pointed to the washing hanging on our line. It was the grandmother and the gardener and she was telling the gardener to ignore me and light the fire. He continued to hesitate because he was a kind hearted man and knew he was causing extra work for Devi.

I pointed to the tap in front of our house and went and got the hose. I turned the tap on full-bore, kinked the hose to hold the water back and hauled it through the front gate to where the fire was now burning.

I unkinked the hose expecting to see the usual gush of water sprout forth and it went drip…drip…drip…

I couldn’t help myself. I burst out laughing and laughing and the grandmother joined in. The gardener didn’t quite know what to do but his grin said it all.

The grandmother came over and gave me a kindly pat on the arm, told the gardener to put the fire out and whatever else she said but we never had a fire lit there again.

Now that was probably the only time in my life I have been grateful for bad plumbing. jan@constructingprofits.com http://www.constructingprofits.com Showing contractors how to make more money ~ working fewer hours

My Plumber - What a Salesman!

It all started with a leaking shower faucet, one of those mixer types with no markings or available seal kits from my local home products store. In the 17 years since we had built our home, I had no occasion to call a plumber until now. I opened the Yellow Pages to find a qualified, local plumbing house. There were quite a variety listed but one caught my eye right away, not because of some fancy ad, but because of their phone number, which was displayed in a larger font next to their relatively small logo. It read 732-DRIP.

I did my due diligence and called three plumbing outfits, seeking pricing on my needed repair. It was once again, back to the folks with the unusual phone number. They were the ones that I would hire.

The plumber arrived early the next morning right on time. He was a bit younger than I had expected, but had everything he needed as he had already been advised by the home office as to the nature of my repair. He was neat, clean and friendly. His van had their now familiar logo and phone number painted on the sides. He also had them embroidered on his new looking coveralls.

He introduced himself with a smile and a handshake as I invited him in. Paul and I chit-chatted for just a minute, as I bragged about my plumbing prowess but relative inability to properly identify the needed parts. He chuckled and asked for the whereabouts of the problem shower faucet. I offered him a cup of coffee which he graciously accepted on his way up the stairs, being so very careful not to bang his toolbox or spill the coffee. I showed him the shower stall and let him go about his business.

Paul came downstairs about 20 minutes later with the faulty, 17 year-old parts in hand. He also handed me the empty parts container so that I would know what to order from him if we had need of additional parts for the two other faucets located in the other bathrooms. He explained exactly what he did and reminded me of their unconditional two-year warranty. I gladly signed his work order and handed him his payment. He shook my hand and handed me a refrigerator magnet as well as several business cards. He asked me to please keep him in mind for other repairs that might come up as well as if I would pass his business card to some of our neighbors. With that, he was on his way.

Nobody likes to pay for home repairs. A few people may tackle the job on their own, but most will call in an expert. Paul is indeed that expert. He is also quite the salesman for his company. He did everything right, including fixing my shower problem. I’ll never need to consult the phone book for a plumber again. He is an impressive young man and his company should be proud of him. In fact, they are!

You see, I called their office after he left to commend this young plumber on his professionalism and skills. I reported to the owner that Paul was on time and well prepared. He was neat and clean, dressed in a company uniform. I commented on his handshake, friendliness, careful nature and warm smile. I told this company owner of his employees’ commanding knowledge of the project at hand as well as his review of the job and reminder of their impressive warranty. Paul made it easy for me to order additional parts without incurring the cost of another service call and asked for referrals before he left. He was all too aware that the other homes in our neighborhood were approximately the same age.

All in all, quite an impressive salesman… especially for a plumber!

Daniel Sitter, author of both the popular e-book, Learning For Profit, and the highly anticipated book, Superior Selling Skills, has extensive experience in sales, training, marketing and personal development over a successful 25 year career. http://www.learningforprofit.com/