Ordering Parts For Your Plumbing Through The Mail

If you own a home, do it yourself projects undoubtedly occupy many of your weekends. Mail order plumbing makes plumbing upgrades cheaper, particularly if you plan ahead.

Ordering Parts For Your Plumbing Through The Mail

The Internet has given rise to so many new and, frankly, odd things that there seems to be no end to it. One of the hugely popular areas that have arisen is the area of home improvements. You can see practically anything online, shop for the best price and have it delivered to your door. This, of course, fits in with the American motto of give me convenience or give me death! If nothing else, you avoid the mobs at the local hardware store each weekend.

There are a vast number of sites offering mail order plumbing products. Products range from complete pieces for renovations, such as entire plumbing systems for bathrooms, kitchens and so on to more isolated components. The sites allow you to see a completed project [so you can groan later when yours doesn't look like it] and often provide detailed instructions on installation. Of course, the downside is there isn't anyone to actually talk to when your project starts to look like abstract art.

You can also order individual plumbing parts off of sites. If you do this, be careful! Matching parts you need to those on a site can be a bit sketchy. First of all, there is no guarantee the site used the correct photograph for the part. What you see may not be what you get. Second, you need to know exactly what you need including sizing and accessories. Third, you have to wait for the parts to appear. You can find tremendous pricing for non-emergency projects, but major leaks usually need immediate attention.

There are two primary reasons to shop online for your plumbing needs. First, you can click around to find the best price. Second, you can always find what you want, even if you have to hunt through a few sites. This can be particularly advantageous if you have a unique situation which none of the local stores have parts for. There is always some online store specializing in the esoteric.

If you are looking for good prices, planning ahead and know exactly what you want, give online plumbing sites a try.

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on building your own home.

Cleaning or Plumbing: You Make the Call

Most men feel that they cannot escape spring cleaning. It shouldn't be like that though. We have rights too!
As we gradually become accustomed to the fact that the spring season is upon us, we men are getting that twitch. It is the same twitch that plagues us every year when the women start mentioning spring cleaning and we start making excuses. More often than not, however, our excuses dont work and we get sucked into the frenzy like a torpedo in a giant toilet.

Now, when I say we, I am of course referring to those men that are bound to a woman. Being that I live alone, spring cleaning consists of washing my sheets. And I don't event do that myself. The people at the Laundromat are happy enough to do it in exchange for a few dollars. But that is not the point. We (again, not me) dont use Laundromats. We have our (same implication) sheets cleaned at home.

Anyways, a torpedo in a toilet is bad news. Id call a plumber. But you shouldnt! This is your chance to evade spring cleaning! You will become a plumber this spring! While everyone is making things nice and pretty, you will learn about sewage and pipes. Lead pipes! Which poison your water! Boy, isnt this exciting?

Ok, the first thing you need to know about plumbing is how water works. Water is usually a clear, odorless substance, primarily a liquid, which flows freely. However, as a plumber, this is not the water you will see. The water we will learn about is plumbing water, a dark, dirty, smelly goo, that must be forced through pipes by means of plungers and snakes (mechanical plumbers snakes, that is well deal with the other kind soon).

When dealing with water, you always want to wear gloves. I suggest strong rubber gloves with a good grip. These make it easier to remove the larger, solid pieces of water. A good beginners' plumbing exercise is to take a large bucket of plumbing water, then with your gloves remove as many solid pieces as you can. If you are good enough, you will be able to suck this water through a drinking straw. Personally, I wouldn't, though. It's just not my taste.

The next thing you must learn about is pipes. Pipes are what get clogged in order to prevent water from reaching its destination. But before you start ripping out all the pipes in your house, let me remind you that pipes also prevent water from reaching unwanted destinations, such as your brand new sofa. There is no need to practice any exercises with pipes, as the drinking straw in the previous exercise should have taught you all you need to know.

Now we come to the most crucial part of our crash-course on plumbing: Stuffed toilets. This is an area of great mystery, mainly because there is no way to know what the toilet is stuffed with. There are two types of stuffed toilets, your slow-flusher and your no-flusher. The latter one is also known as the up-chucker. In the case of a slow-flusher, all thats required is a temporary fix. This can be accomplished quite simply by plunging the toilet with a plunger (rubber end down) several times.

After several fixes of a slow-flusher ($149 per incident), the toilet will most likely regress to a no-flusher. This is probably one of the most traumatic experiences for a toilet owner, and as a professional plumber, you should calm everyone down by bending over the toilet and allowing the back of your pants to drop several inches. A no-flusher can have two stages. The first stage, known as Flush One is when the water level in the toilet reaches the top of the bowl and does not fall. Not all no-flushers enter this stage; some go straight to the next stage, known as The Over-Abundance. This is when all the water in the bowl spills out over the bathroom floor, creating quite a mess (if your wife or girlfriend is still doing spring cleaning, invite them in to take care of this). In any case, your job is now to get the water back where it belongs, namely, in the pipes. This is where the plumbers snake comes in handy. Lower the coil into the toilet, turn the handle several times, and pull it out. What happens? Send me an email letting me know I have never tried this.

About the Author

Aaron currently works as a software/web developer and writes in his free time. He also runs a growing web-based discussion forum at http://www.chitchatforums.com. His personal work is on display at http://www.spetnik.com.

Plumbers Methods To Unclogging The Kitchen Sink, Tub Or Shower Drain

There are a few alternative methods to unclog the kitchen sink, tub or shower drain. If you know these methods, you can save yourself from the costly visit to your local plumber. The methods are not very complicated as people think. You can conveniently use them at your home. You just need to follow the simple steps as mentioned below.

- There are many reasons that can lead to clog in your kitchen sink, tub, or shower drain. Some of the major reasons include food, hair, or even jewelry. The best and most convenient solution for this problem is to use an environmentally safe chemical drain unclogger. You just have to pour the product down the drain, and when it is dissolved in a few minutes, flush the drain with running water.

- Check if there is any problem with the drain pop-up stopper. Sometimes it is clogged with hair and debris. Therefore, see if it is opening fully.

- If the drain pop-up stopper is clear, there might be a problem with the drainpipe. You can use a plumber's snake to clear the clog in the drainpipe. Stick it down the drain and try to dislodge the blockage by pushing it down. If it does not work, turn the snake clockwise, and once it grabs onto the clump, pull the snake up and dispose the clump.

- You can also use a wet or dry vacuum to unclog the drain. Its sucking power can be very effective for the purpose.

- Another alternative way is to use a plunger. Pull the sink strainer or pop-up stopper straight up in order to take it out. Now, run a good flow of water into it and put the plunger cup over the drain. Push it down, then pull up sharply; do it several times. Gradually, the clog will come loose and you will be able to dislodge the same. You can increase the plunger suction by stuffing a rag into the overflow drain of the kitchen sink.

- After using a plunger or a vacuum, you should run a good flow of water into the drainpipe so that the clog could be washed completely out of the pipe.

- In case of a clogged tub, there might be a problem with the trip. The trip normally collects hair that causes clogging. In order to pull out the trip and remove the hair, first remove the assembly plate by unscrewing the screws that hold it. After you have cleared the trip, put it back down and screw the screws of the assembly plate.

Some Handy Tips

- When you use a chemical to unclog the drain, do not forget to use eye protection and gloves for safety.

- Make sure whatever chemical product you use will not damage the plastic or rubber pieces in the pipes or the garbage disposal.

- When you are using a plunger, and you are unable to pull out the sink strainer or pop-up blocker, just make sure that it is open wide enough to use a plunger.

Hence, if you follow the above steps and the precious handy tips, you will find it very easy for you to unclog the kitchen sink, tub or the shower drain.

Owen Walcher writes for the Best Plumber Resource which provides plumbing tips to consumer and helps people find quality plumbers in Illinois

Plumbing Design: Why it is Important

Your plumbing design for your home is very important. You need to be sure that everything is connected properly, and is going to the right place. What happens when you do not have a good design is something you will not want to experience. If you are building a new home, be sure that you hire a professional that will make sure that all of this is taken care of and you will not have to worry about it. The plumbing professional will ensure that all is connected, tightly, and you will have the plumbing that you need for the most efficient use of your water as well.

When you have a poor plumbing design, you might be experiencing things such as the kitchen sink gurgling when your washing machine drains, your toilet and bath tub might even be backing up as well. This is something you will not want to experience, not only will you have to call your plumber, you will have a mess to clean up that might be rather large. To prevent all of this, you need to make sure that your design is one that will work from the beginning. You will not want to get your house built to later find out that you have these problems because of the design, then it will be too late to change it and do anything about it.

When you hire a plumber to take care of your pluming design, make sure that you get a professional that has a great reputation for doing his job. When you do this, you can be sure that you will get the best design possible for your home, and the plumber will do a good job with what he has to work with. Talk to your plumber as well, and cover all of your options. If you do not know what your plumber is talking about when he is talking about the plumbing, ask him to show you. You want to understand how your plumbing is set up in case you ever decide to remodel, you will know what is going on.

Taking care in who you hire to do your plumbing will have a huge effect on your plumbing design. Do not just hire anyone to do this job, and if you do not know what you are doing, you should not be doing it yourself. You will be glad that you let a professional take care of this and did not tackle the job yourself when you have no idea what you are doing. Any professional plumber that is good at what they do should be able to give you a good design. Make sure that you check references before you just hire anyone, and you will be happy that you checked them out first.

Carl has been a professional plumber in a company he owns for more than 10 years not only is he experience in unclogging just about anything but also an expert in installing plumbing fixtures and installing new water lines. Carl will give you some helpful tips on plumbing installation when you visit http://www.alliedesolutions.com

Plumbing Noises: Noisy Water Pipes

Q: Since we have been on higher water pressure from a new source, we are getting more noise in the pipes. Not banging or clunking, just more water moving through the system faster, kind of a "rushing" noise. The pipe into the house is plastic, then hooks into copper pipe. The noise reverberates down the whole line, and since the pipe is strapped to the floor joists, it makes the noise under the kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom. I know about having a foot or so of capped pipe going up from a line to trap air and cushion the noise of "on" and "off" clunking, but this has me stumped. I am at the point now where I am about ready to rip the strapping off and putting foam around the pipes before I strap them back up. Before I spend the money on this, I thought I would check with you to see if that is what I need to do, or can you suggest something else ? Thanks very much.

A: A reduction of 1.5:1 (typically 3/4" to 1/2" is commonly used to increase or maintain water pressure throughout a house. The theory is that, given constant supply pressure, restricting volume will increase velocity. Released pressure at a fixture will be compensated for by this increased velocity.

I expect your hot and cold supply pipes are 1/2 inch diameter. What diameter is the plastic feed? If the reduction is greater than 1.5:1 it's quite likely that the velocity is great enough to cause noise in the pipe.

Check that all the shut-off valves (below the sinks etc.) are completely open. They too, can cause turbulence/noise by restricting water flow. Also, check all the pipes to see if there are any crushed or dented sections.

Foam wrap is a great for insulating purposes, but perhaps a little too soft for noise damping (it would crush flat). By all means, wrap the pipes, but use denser rubber for vibration pads. Extra bracing (for clamping to) might also help.

Alternative: Before you start pulling out nails, check the water velocity at your fixtures, and if it is extremely high, a pressure reducing valve can be installed on the supply line.

Gil Strachan is a professional home inspector, representing Electrospec Home Inspection Services in east-central Ontario, Canada since 1994. Visit http://www.allaroundthehouse.com to learn more about home inspections.

"The Home Reference Book"
You can probably find a home inspection for a little less than what we ask, but you probably won't find the Home Reference Book. A $60 value, this solutions-oriented reference tool comes free with every inspection we perform.
It's the first tool you should have around the house!

Help! - I Need a Plumber

 

Finding good plumbers in the UK is difficult. Need a plumber in an emergency and you’ve got a real problem.

There’s lots of articles available on selecting plumbers. We’ve all heard the advice - get quotes, follow up references and ask friends and families for referrals. All good stuff but it makes it sound as if people needing a plumber have a choice available to them.

This really misunderstands the issue which the average householder faces. Yes we do want to find a great plumber, that knowledgeable, polite, punctual, reasonably priced paragon of virtue but before we get that far, we have to find a plumber who is prepared to do business with us.

If you need a plumber in an emergency, you’ll either find the ones which have priced themselves out of the market and so are often available – Mr or Mrs “It’ll cost you!” or their more reasonably priced cousin Dave “Quickest I could get to you is next Wednesday.” Not great if you have a leak and it’s now Sunday.

Indeed the position is not much better if you are planning routine work such as having a boiler serviced or a bathroom installed. Getting a quote can be a challenge – getting the work started much more difficult.

Now, according to recent reports, the position should be easing.

Over the past few years, the press has run stories about a shortage of plumbers. In 2003, the British Plumbing Employer’s Council estimated that the plumbing industry would need to recruit 29,000 new entrants over the next 5 years. This led to reports of City workers leaving their jobs in the hope of earning £70,000 a year as a plumber.

More recently, however, there are accounts of workers with plumbing experience from Eastern Europe filling vacancies on building sites and a surplus of trainees trying to find jobs.

For the householder, this should mean that finding a good plumber who is available is much easier. The logic is fine but plumbers who are available for work are still an elusive breed. So if you have water pouring through the ceiling or your new bathroom arrives next Wednesday, read on for Hot Hints on tracking down a plumber.

Hot Hints for Finding a Plumber

 

• Asking for recommendations from family and friends is always a good first port of call.
• Check out one of the internet directories on-line – you can search for plumbers close to you and the better guides give the plumbers the space to provide details of their experience and specialist skills. Remember to mention the directory when you call – some have arrangements where the plumbers offer a discount.
• Look in your local parish magazine. Often the plumbers who advertise there live close by – in an emergency someone who is just down the road may well be quicker, cheaper and, more importantly, willing to turn out.
• Try your local paper. Some plumbers will advertise in the classified ads all year round, others will appear only when they are not busy – increasing your chance of finding someone who says “yes”.
• Ring your local letting agent – letting agents usually have a team of tradesmen and women who are set up to respond quickly to problems faced by tenants of the agent. Their plumber may be willing to help you.
• Call your plumbing supply shop – the staff get to know the regulars really well and are likely to be able to suggest someone who is not only good but who is available to take on your job.
• Plan in advance, every time, a friend has plumbing work done ask them who did it and if they were any good. Keep details of the recommended plumbers. Then, when the leak or blockage occurs you know who to ‘phone straight away.

 

Once you’ve found a possible plumber, do take steps to check them out. In reality, plumbers are no more likely to be rogues or cowboys than anyone else and most are extremely professional and hardworking. But erring on the side of caution is probably wise.

Take particular care if you are employing a plumber to carry out gas work. Check that your plumber is registered with CORGI. Registration numbers can be checked on CORGI’s website - www.corgi-gas-safety.com. Operatives working for a registered installer will also carry a card which can be checked by a householder.

Good luck finding your ideal plumber. If you find a really great plumber in your area, please do let me know via my website.

Caroline Blatchford is the founder of Local Service Guide which helps people to find the local services which they need in the UK. Whether you need a plumber, a restaurant or a letting agent, go to http://www.LocalServiceGuide.com