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.

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

How Do You Install Your Own Plumbing And Drainage System?

The first thing that you will need to consider when undertaking any DIY plumbing and drainage are the regulations issued by your Local Authority or State Department covering these.

If you are altering your existing drainage, or installing a new drainage system you must always inform the local Building Control Department at your local council offices. You will almost certainly need to present detailed plans of the work that you intend to undertake and it will need to be inspected as the work progresses making sure that it complies with local building regulations. If you are simply replacing damaged sections, in most circumstances they do not need to be informed. However, if in any doubt – check it out. A simply phone call should suffice.

To begin with we will take a look at drainage systems.

These can be described as Foul Water systems and Surface Water systems. Foul water is anything that comes from bathrooms, kitchens, utility rooms, car washing areas etc. Waste from these sources must always go to your foul water drain system.

Surface water is basically rainwater. This can discharged into a soakaway, watercourse, surface water sewer or, particularly in older properties, into the foul water drainage system. In a combined system, the rainwater pipes are discharged into the foul water drains via gully traps which stop foul air escaping from the drains. However, modern systems are designed to keep the foul water and the surface water apart. It is extremely important to ensure that you do not connect foul water to a surface water drainage system. If you are unsure about the drainage system around your house get advice from the Building Control Department before you start any work.

Remember – If in doubt – check it out!

Planning

Before you begin, you will need to plan the route of the waste pipes. The main things to consider when planning the route of a waste or soil pipe are to keep the route as straight and short as you can. You must avoid making your pipe runs too steep. A soil pipe is normally laid to a fall of 1:40. This won’t seem very much but it is plenty. The rule of thumb for pipe laying is ‘a touch on the bubble’. This means that the bubble on the spirit level has moved to the higher end, but part of the bubble is still contained between the level lines on the spirit level. Remember - this is only a ‘rule of thumb guide. You can calculate the fall of a drain over a distance using a surveyor’s site level. If you do not have one of these available, establish a datum point and use a hosepipe filled with water to establish levels and calculate the fall from the datum this way. (If a hosepipe is filled with water, the level of the water will equal out at each end, measure to the trench floor from the end away from the datum to enable your calculations.)

Your local authority will be able to give you the recommended falls for pipework. Putting in drainage:

Preparing the trench:

When installing your drain trench, you will need to make sure that you do not impair the stability of the building. If you are laying a drain run parallel to the building, you must ensure that any foundations are not undermined.

Do not dig the trench too long before laying the pipe when installing a new drainage system. Make sure that you get the pipes laid as quickly as possible and then backfill the trench as soon as the system has been inspected and tested. The trench may need to be supported depending on the depth and soil conditions. Do not take any risks. If in doubt – add support to the trench to prevent it from collapsing. Keep the trench as narrow as possible, but allow room to work in the trench - say the width of the pipe plus 150mm (6”) on each side. The base of the trench should be clean and even and free from protruding stones or bricks etc. You may need to import a suitable material for the base of the trench if the existing material is unsuitable. Your local inspector will advise you.

Never use bricks and/or other hard materials to support the pipe in the trench. This will damage the pipe and must never be used as temporary or permanent support. The bedding should be properly compacted with hollows made to accommodate the joints in the pipes. You will need to provide a continuous and uniform support for the complete length of the pipe. Once the laid pipes have been inspected, granular material should be evenly backfilled and compacted to a depth of at least 100mm above the pipe. 10 mm shingle has often been used as a backfill material as, not only is it a uniform medium but is also a visual warning to anyone excavating in the area of the drains that there are drainage pipes immediately below. Above the granular backfill material, the original dug material can be used to completely backfill the trench. This should be compacted in 300mm layers. Be sure not use heavy compactors until there is at least 300mm of cover. Light vibratory tampers could be used sensibly to help with the compaction.

You will need to protect any part of the drain system that is less than 600mm below a garden. This is because of potential damage from garden activities and gardening tools. A 50mm layer of lean concrete laid 100mm above the pipe will be adequate to do this. However you could use preformed concrete slabs as an alternative.

It is important that all parts of your drainage system are designed so that all parts of the pipework are accessible to a set of drain rods. Therefore, a run of drains should be as straight as possible between two points. As a general rule, any change in direction of the pipework should be provided with an inspection chamber to allow rodding access. This will also apply to changes in gradient, all drain junctions that are inaccessible to a set of drain rods, changes in pipe diameter and at the head of each run of drain. Where a junction between two drains does not have a manhole, access should be sited on the branch drain within 12 metres of the junction.

DIY plumbing and drainage is certainly within the bounds of most DIY enthusiasts. However, you must remember that it is important to follow local building control regulations and, as always, it is ‘hard graft’!

Remember if in doubt – check it out!

Whilst the author endeavors to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this article, you are reminded that this is only a guide and you should always check with local professional before undertaking any work based herein.

After many years working in the construction industry, Phil now teaches in the UK. He has written many articles for web sites like Householders Guide and http://ukhomeonline.co.uk. His wide knowledge of the Construction Industry and Housing Markets makes him a popular author on how to install drainage.

Questions To Ask Your Plumber

 

Hiring a plumber is not as easy as just picking up a phone book and picking one. You need to make sure that you get a qualified plumbing contractor and not some hack. To increase your odds of choosing a good plumber there are some questions that you should ask. Keep reading this article to learn what those questions are.

The first question that you should ask is, "How long have you been a plumber?" This is an important question because if a plumber has been in business for a long time they are more likely to be good. Every plumber has to get started at some time though so If they haven't been in business long you shouldn't automatically rule them out. Just take it into consideration.

The next question you should ask is, "Are you insured?" If they are insured this means that you and your home is protected in the case of an unfortunate incident. If they are not insured then they are just not very professional and you should pass on using them.

A third question to ask is, "Do you offer a written guarantee?" A qualified cleaner will have no problem backing up their work with a written estimate. If they will not offer you a guarantee you should be immediately concerned about their quality.

One last question you should ask is, "Do you have any references?" Id you are doing a large extensive plumbing job you should ask for references. IF they can not provide you at least a few good references it is a bad sign. Once you get the list of references be sure to actually call them. You might be surprised how many companies give out bogus references or give out names of people who weren't even happy with the work.

Hiring a plumber does not have to be a stressful experience if you simply do your research and take a little time. It is not a decision you should rush into. Good luck.

Learn how to find plumbers at the authors website on plumbing and plumbers