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luminalflux posted:We just moved to a new house in SF and the shower is ... underwhelming. The owner put in this one and we'd like to replace it with something better - it's mounted too low and the spray is very underwhelming. Like, I know CA has a flow restriction and i've contemplated buying showerheads out of the back of a van, but this is something else. pull it off and look for the little green, orange, purple, whatever colored restrictor cartridge thingie in there and rip it out with a pair of needle nose pliers.
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Mar 23, 2021 22:56
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So apparently I have a root invasion in PVC pipe that’s under my back patio slab... Obviously I’d like to clear this out in the least invasive way possible and then manage it now that it’s known. I saw this video discussing a cutting tool (skip to 2:25 to see the tool) that can be snaked down the line to cut out the roots... then roots can be kept at bay using Rootx or similar. https://youtu.be/w03e-sYuDY4  Is this something that most/all plumbers would be able to do from a clean out or toilet pull? Is cutting + regular root management a fairly reasonable fix? testtubebaby fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Mar 23, 2021 |
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Mar 23, 2021 23:00
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generally call a plumber for a "cleanout" they'll run their sewer snake bastard through there and clear the poo poo.. that took in that YouTube seems a bit excessive. theeir tools are nowhere near as insane and probably less threatening.
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Mar 24, 2021 00:45
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Yooper posted:Success! Excavator dug down 7 feet to get to the pitless adapter. There we found the hose had popped off the pipe stub (!) that was threaded into the brass pitless. Since the ground was frozen above the line insulation all of the water was flowing into the crawlspace... Wow, you should really consider getting your well casing extended. Your jurisdiction probably as different rules than mine, but well casings *shouldn't* be buried regardless. That cap likely has a vent in it. It can allow surface water to get in there. Potentially contaminated surface water.
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Mar 24, 2021 01:35
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wesleywillis posted:Wow, you should really consider getting your well casing extended. Yes, I totally agree. When I first went to work on the well they had a 5 gallon pail inverted over it. Which now makes perfect sense... For the time being we're stripping out the landscaping and will get some grade to it. The day my well took a dump the local water softener / RO dude was out to check on my system. Unfortunately he couldn't do his job because the well took a dump. My RO system will constantly run as well as constantly dump to drain. If I close the tank valve it stops running, but still dumps to drain. There doesn't look like a lot of poo poo to work with on this thing, anything I can check?
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Mar 24, 2021 01:49
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Check.... On the RO system? Don't know. Never seen one before. I'm not even a water well guy (I drill test wells, but not drinking water wells) I just know a bunch of "best practice" type stuff re: ground water, and wells in general. But not much stuff thats specific to water wells themselves. Where are you from? Your state EPA, DNR or groundwater association might have some resources for you that may be useful to you WRT to maintenance and whatnot for your well.
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Mar 24, 2021 02:18
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I thought my well casing that was at grade was bad, yeesh. County is coming out tomorrow to verify the new height is at least 8" above grade to close out the permit.
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Mar 24, 2021 02:24
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zenintrude posted:So apparently I have a root invasion in PVC pipe that’s under my back patio slab... I've battled roots almost the entire time I've owned this home, and yeah - you can call a RotoRooter or someone else out to snake it out. A foaming root killer is probably something I should have been more on about over the years, but yeah, treating it once or twice a year after it's been mechanically cleared should help as well. My dad swears by this place: https://awrusa.com/ He had a sewer backup issue and because he was paying the $13/month or whatever they had a crew come out, tear up the yard, lay all new sewer pipe, and put it all back. Didn't cost him anything other than the monthly. I haven't used 'em myself yet but that's because I suck and only just started paying into it.
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Mar 24, 2021 03:29
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It was a long-running battle at our old house, too. In the five years we owned it, we probably had it cleared out 3 or 4 times. It was an issue before we bought it as there was a fairly new cleanout installed outside as well. Get it cleared out, and then be cognizant of what you flush down your toilet. Pretty much just water, human waste, and TP should be going down the pipes.
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Mar 24, 2021 16:37
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SpartanIvy posted:Maybe to get a better view of the water heater or something? Who knows what they could have touched or moved. Also, if they changed the hoses, the new hoses that the delivery company probably used may be shorter and/or have a smaller ID, which would also impact water hammer. The cheapest hoses might only have 1/4" effective ID and only be 5' long, but you can get 3/8" and 1/2" and up to 8' also at some stores, and in combination with the arrestors should help a lot. Yooper posted:My RO system will constantly run as well as constantly dump to drain. If I close the tank valve it stops running, but still dumps to drain. There doesn't look like a lot of poo poo to work with on this thing, anything I can check? What's the pressure from your well upstream of the RO unit? This sounds like either low upstream pressure or yeah, faulty check valve. Canned Sunshine fucked around with this message at 08:05 on Mar 25, 2021 |
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Mar 25, 2021 07:57
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SourKraut posted:What's the pressure from your well upstream of the RO unit? This sounds like either low upstream pressure or yeah, faulty check valve. I've got 40/60 upstream of the system. The valve appears to be repairable, 4 screws on the top. Can I get a repair kit for these things?
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Mar 25, 2021 11:22
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brugroffil posted:It was a long-running battle at our old house, too. In the five years we owned it, we probably had it cleared out 3 or 4 times. It was an issue before we bought it as there was a fairly new cleanout installed outside as well. Get it cleared out, and then be cognizant of what you flush down your toilet. Pretty much just water, human waste, and TP should be going down the pipes. Two years ago, three days after coming home with a newborn, I got to find like two inches of backed up water in my basement. Roots had gotten into my line and clogged it. Had it snaked and all good. I was told to do it every two years, which I’m just about at now. I lived here for three years until my first issue, so I figure two years is pretty safe. Crazy that you had issues like every year. That’s pretty invasive, or your sewer is a lot shallower than mine.
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Mar 26, 2021 03:28
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Bird in a Blender posted:Two years ago, three days after coming home with a newborn, I got to find like two inches of backed up water in my basement. Roots had gotten into my line and clogged it. Had it snaked and all good. I was told to do it every two years, which I’m just about at now. I lived here for three years until my first issue, so I figure two years is pretty safe. It was deep-ish, but it ran under an area where there used to be 50+ year old evergreen hedges and then almost directly under a 50+ year old maple, they just loved to drill their roots into the pipes.
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Mar 26, 2021 19:37
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So I decided to take apart my taps to solve a few pernicious dripping problems, and instead found out my shut off valve couldn't take it. It's now dripping profusely from the stem when open (not at all when off, for now). I don't like to gently caress with water, having lived in condos or rentals my whole life. Now that I own this house and nobody lives below me I feel compelled to at least try. Will it be difficult for a complete novice to fix securely?
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Mar 30, 2021 01:48
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redbrouw posted:So I decided to take apart my taps to solve a few pernicious dripping problems, and instead found out my shut off valve couldn't take it. It's now dripping profusely from the stem when open (not at all when off, for now). Post a picture. Depending on the valve you may not need to replace it, and just need to give the packing nut a bit of a turn.
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Mar 30, 2021 01:53
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Picture of the shutoff. You can see if you can crank form a little.on the 'packing nut' E:FB
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Mar 30, 2021 01:54
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redbrouw posted:So I decided to take apart my taps to solve a few pernicious dripping problems, and instead found out my shut off valve couldn't take it. It's now dripping profusely from the stem when open (not at all when off, for now). Do you know where your main shutoff is? Does it work?  Things to know before you have a 5/8" pipe at 60 psi spraying into your house.
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Mar 30, 2021 01:55
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H110Hawk posted:Do you know where your main shutoff is? Does it work? Yep and yep.
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Mar 30, 2021 02:18
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redbrouw posted:Yep and yep. Turn this clockwise just a touch and see if it improves things:  If you overtighten it some it will make it so you can't turn the water off/operate the valve. If you overtighten it a lot you will destroy the valve. Go slow. Very small increments to see if it improves your leaking. It should not take much. We're talking like well under 20 degrees to see a difference. If you don't see one....stop....this might not be your problem or it's ready to let go.
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Mar 30, 2021 02:24
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It doesn't turn at all.. It looks tight, no thread to turn into like examples I've seen on the internet.
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Mar 30, 2021 02:36
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Stupid question maybe, but: In looking at all these "home plumbing" valves, it seems like ball valves are pretty rare. Which I find odd, because in my stint I did as an industrial maintenance mechanic, the only valves we used were ball valves and they seemed pretty drat reliable. So . . . why don't I see more of them in home plumbing?
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Mar 30, 2021 02:45
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Idk, all of em in my house and the last couple places I lived were all ball valves. Anecdotal however.
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Mar 30, 2021 03:06
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Zarin posted:Stupid question maybe, but: I've replaced gate valves with ball valves all over my house. Including the whole house supply 3/4" shutoff. They cost quite a bit more than a gate valve, and since they are relative newcomers to home plumbing (as opposed to various iterations of gate valves being around for the better part of 400-years) , you'll be seeing lots of gate valves in older homes for quite a few years yet.
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Mar 30, 2021 05:22
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redbrouw posted:It doesn't turn at all.. It looks tight, no thread to turn into like examples I've seen on the internet. The picture is quite dark. Is there a smaller nut above that up the valve stem? If so that should be it. If not, it's possible that valve isn't adjustable but it sure looks rebuildable. If you can find the kit and/or the same valve (look for stampings on the case to ID it) you may be able to disassemble it while the body remains soldered in and throw in the new parts.
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Mar 30, 2021 13:43
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Is there a concensus on PEX or Sharkbite? I've got access to the crimp style PEX tools, but the Sharkbite style looks attractive for the ease of assembly. Internet seems to be in two polar camps on the issue, love em or hate em.
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Mar 30, 2021 14:05
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Uponor Pex > Crimp Ring Pex > Shark bite Sharkbite should be a short term solution, not something you plumb your house with. That doesn't stop people from doing it, however.
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Mar 30, 2021 16:11
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Where does good ol fashioned copper sweating fall in the continuum
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Mar 30, 2021 16:17
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As far as fittings and connections go it's superior to crimp ring Pex and I would say equal to or superior to uponor if done well. The big issue with sweating copper is the variability from installation quality. Good sweated joints are great, but poorly sweated joints can be popped apart by hand if they're bad enough and it's really hard to see the difference prior to them failing. Uponor is hard to do incorrectly and so the end results are much more uniform across plumbers.
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Mar 30, 2021 16:39
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brugroffil posted:Where does good ol fashioned copper sweating fall in the continuum
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Mar 30, 2021 16:41
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Nitrox posted:PEX is a 30 year old technology, copper is over 100. It hasn't lived long enough to compare Starved rodents don't chew copper. They've dealt with this in Australia recently. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Mar 30, 2021 |
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Mar 30, 2021 23:08
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kid sinister posted:Starved rodents don't chew PEX. What? I think you have that backwards.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:13
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kid sinister posted:Starved rodents chew. What's that have to do with one pipe over another?
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Mar 30, 2021 23:14
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Motronic posted:What? I think you have that backwards. Caught me before the edit.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:14
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kid sinister posted:Caught me before the edit. Ahh, then we're on the same page.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:15
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I had a leaky toilet that is only 7 years old and I successfully replaced the wax ring with my wife and we are still married. That is all.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:15
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H110Hawk posted:What's that have to do with one pipe over another? Metal is harder on rodent teeth, so they prefer plastic. Again, Australia had a BIG problem with this very recently. They have a plague of sorts right now, so the mice have eaten everything there is to eat, made babies, now there's nothing to eat. Now they'll try anything that's remotely chewable, like plastic. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Mar 30, 2021 |
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Mar 30, 2021 23:15
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kid sinister posted:Metal is harder on rodent teeth, so they prefer plastic. Again, Australia had a BIG problem with this very recently. They have a plague of sorts right now, so the mice have eaten everything there is to eat, made babies, now there's nothing to eat. Now they'll try anything that's remotely chewable, like plastic. I made a joke.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:32
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But seriously.....Pex does have the advantages of ease of installation, cheap, easy to manifold if that's your thing, etc. The other one that you should NEVER EVER need or count on is that it survives freezing really well. Maybe not the rest of your plumbing system.....but it does pretty great as evidenced by a bunch of dumb stuff I've done in my old barn. If I were building new I'd still go copper unless there was some very compelling install challenge that couldn't be solved without great expense otherwise.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:38
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Motronic posted:The picture is quite dark. Is there a smaller nut above that up the valve stem? If so that should be it. No such luck.
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Mar 30, 2021 23:53
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redbrouw posted:No such luck. That that and your other pics to the local hardware store and find the oldest dude that works there. See if he can match that up, because I think you can still "rebuild" that rather than replacing if you can find the parts/a new valve to take them out of.
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Mar 31, 2021 00:01
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