Warning! Shocking real life story about kitchen faucet replacement ( or why there is no
such thing as a simple job!) Not some showroom shiny parts kabuki theatre, but an
ACTUAL SINK with ACTUAL rusty flanges and rusty nuts and rusty bolts and an ACTUAL
oscillating multitool to cut them off! Probably the only such example on the ENTIRE
INTERNET! Never watch a prancing pony of pecuniary production parsimony demonstrate
a Fixit Job! For the real thing call a real FIXIT GUY!
An overdue shout out to Wayne at Lowe’s #0488! Wayne greatly expedited my
search for a basic replacement faucet last month. Almost without looking he
went to the display board-of-many-parts-and grabbed the exact supply valve
brass cap I needed. Normally this task alone could be a ten minute search
through row after row of obscure gaskets, connectors, elbows and couplings.
But he knew EXACTLY where the correct package could be found.
But the real help came when he explained the $20.00 difference between identical
packages with Faucet #A and Faucet #B. Turns out the latest, greatest generic
faucets come from the factory with supply tubes already installed. So,
paradoxically the more expensive faucet was by far the best value since
accessory supply tubes would not need to be purchased or assembled!
This kind of fine detailed assistance can only come from a guy who REALLY knows
his plumbing inventory. It made my day! Thanks Wayne!
Reminds me of the great experience I had with the Sears Craftsman Tool Warranty.
Or the Ace Hardware Vintage Replacement Valve Stem
By popular demand another trip in the Wayback Machine….
From my voluminous archives, pictures of a completely destroyed bathroom floor.
In this bathroom from the good old days witness how water seeped under the toilet
over many years and patiently consumed the various floor layers- subfloor, finish
underlayment and even tile adhesive to the point where only the pipe flange
prevented a sudden catastrophic collapse into the crawlspace below.
At the shower head, the same situation prevailed. Water leaked from pipe joints
down the bathtub edge and slowly dissolved a semi-circular section of floor until
it was unsafe to step into the bathtub!
When I stripped away all the old tile the extent of the damage was clearly visible.
No problem. Replacement subfloor and new underlayment made a sound surface
for a nice hard surface tile floor.
Modern installation techniques have changed, but the problem of rotted bathroom
floors require constant vigilance in any age!
Do not wait until your floors are as badly rotted as this floor from yesteryear!
For many years at the beginning of the month I have gotten calls from people who tell me their toilet partially empties and refills in the middle of the night.
Most of the time they want the tank drain flap replaced. Many times the tank flap is in fine shape and does not necessarily need to be replaced.
Finally, in 2005, I was able to capture on video a toilet tank emitting so much bubbling gas the tank flap could not shut.
My solution was to turn the water off and check later in the day to see if it stopped. It did. And there was no more trouble after that. But I still have no logical explanation.
So, today, from the Pottyology archives my captured video of an unsolved mystery.
What you see here is gas in the toilet tank with enough pressure to keep the tank drain flap open.
Most knowledgeable people (me included) will tell you the design of a toilet makes this type of bubbling gas pressure virtually impossible.
Any engineers with any explanations?
1968 Era Vintage Valve Stem
Ace (hardware store) really IS the place- as in legacy plumbing parts! For those situations where mere replacement of the rubber washer just does not do the job to stop the drip, drip, drip, some people (me) ride to the thrill of the chase, others say why bother?
So what are the odds replacement valve stems for a bathtub faucet installed circa 1968 are still available at the local hardware store?
Well ….. seems the odds are really pretty good!
Two local Ace Hardware outlets each had exactly one (correct) valve stem still on the shelf!
The plastic on one package was visibly yellow with age but inside the brass parts were still shiny and new, and even included a replacement valve seat!
So why bother? All other things equal, with two replacement valve stems and seats this bathtub shower valve is good for another 45 years of service!
Well worth the effort when compared to the cost and aggravation a modern replacement valve would
have been.
Wad Of Super Absorbent Material
Sooo, a few weeks ago it seemed we were up to our earlobes in 19th Century Technology here at the International Handyman Headquarters. CLICK LINK HERE
Recently, (last week especially) all roads seemed to lead to Pottyology. (Again!)
In addition to P-Traps so fragile (frag-gill-lee) they can be crushed with light pressure from a fingertip,CLICK LINK HERE we had one of our semi-annual drain clearing riots over at one of our
favorite ancient office buildings.
For your edumafication a photograph of the result when bad things happen to good toilets.
The porcelain fixture must be detached from the floor and a long metal cable inserted into the pipe underneath to clear out whatever ails the clogged plumbing.
In the picture you see a wad of super absorbent synthetic material easily purchased at pharmacies and supermarkets everywhere –which somehow traveled into the company toilet.
Now some of you may think it impossible for one little tiny wad of this stuff to clog a four inch drain.
You would be correct.
The one you see is the one that did not get away. There were at least half a dozen of her little buddies packed so tightly into a four inch pipe that the cable actually bored through and punctured this one in the middle of the clog.
Once the tension was broken the rest of the gang just scampered off into the city sewer lines.
Folks, the only manufactured material that should go into a toilet is bathroom tissue.
Really.
Anything else will just gunk up the works.
Amazing but true! Another tale from the Pottyology Files!
Under-sink drain pipes can hold water and stay intact for weeks or even months with only the thinnest metal plate at a completely corroded soft spot.!
Eggshell thin, the soft spot can be crushed with light pressure from a finger!
More Pottyology!
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>>>>>>>>>>>>Update 06/03/12: The design I like the most and have used the longest is apparently still available at Grainger: CLICK THIS LINK OR THIS LINK for two different sizes!<<<<<<<<
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So I am in the market for a water powered drain bladder to clean a four inch rain downspout.
Naturally I want a design similar to the bladder I have used to clear sinks successfully for many years.
It features a nozzle with stop valve closed by a compression spring which opens the valve at the appropriate pressure.
This generates a nice steady percussive pressure which is remarkably efficient clearing clogs
My first stop: the big box lumber supply store.
They have a rubber gizmo with a high pressure jet hole, but no metal nozzle.
Okay, I believe in innovation, maybe this will do the job.
Wrong. I can not even get the bladder to expand to seal the pipe.
Off I go to the hardware store. They have essentially the same design.
Okay,what I really need is the giant canvas bladder deal the sewer rooter guys used a few weeks ago.
Off I go to the Mom-and-Pop plumbing supply.
They have only the rubber gizmo as sold by the big box lumber supply and the hardware store.
But I am nothing if not tenacious.
The super big box official plumbing supply is bound to have what I need.
Wow! They do! It looks EXACTLY like the canvas thing the sewer rooter guys used!
And it costs $$$$$$$$. Did I say it costs $$$$$?
I meant it costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!
But I get one.
YIKES! IT DOES NOT WORK AS WELL AS EITHER OF THE OTHER TWO! Nada. Zip.
I hope it is defective. Stay tuned. I will report back tomorrow.
Update:
Today, the Sales Guy at the super big box official plumbing supply and I tried to figure out if my Drain Flusher was defective or suffering from operator error or what.
We took it to the loading dock and hooked up a hose and doggone if it worked substantially better than when I tried yesterday (in two different locations).
Whether it was the "powerful jet action" promised on the package seemed doubtful to both of us, but it certainly was not the weak pressure I videotaped here at the house.
Before we foul up his inventory, I said I would talk to the company- General Wire Spring in PA- and see what they said.
Stay tuned. The saga continues.
Update 10/12/10
The replacement arrived from the factory as promised and within just two or three days. I eagerly opened the package and connected it to the garden hose to try it out. Deja Vu all over again. It worked no better than the first one. I will make a video and post soon. Bottom line as per the package: the super powerful jet action is no more powerful than the garden hose to which it is attached. A brass hose nozzle boosts the spray more than this canvas bag gizmo. Anyone with comments or suggestions is welcome to post in the remarks section.
Seven Pipes to avoid-three gas lines and four water lines
Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be plumbers!
I was called to deal with some bathroom problems at a local office and the Sewer Rooter Guys arrived to help
untangle everything.
Observe what they found. What you see in this picture is a total of seven pipes ABOVE the broken cast iron drain pipe behind the building.
Three of the pipes are gas lines and four are water lines.
The paint locator marks could not begin to do justice to this forest of metal two feet underground, but they helped.
For best results everything was dug by hand with greatest care to avoid damage to any of the lines.
A good time was had by all.
Cracked Cast Iron Pipe Click Thumbnail for Hi Resolution Image
Aficionados of the Curiosity Bin may be as baffled by this tale as I am!
This vintage cast iron pipe was securely tucked away behind a vertical plaster and lath plumbing chase for at least 80 years (the last time walls were finished with wooden lath strips) if not longer.
Under no stress from standing water or other harsh environmental conditions it is possible to believe this fine
piece of 19th Century style technology would easily remain in service pretty much forever.
And yet,a few years back, a crack along the length of the pipe developed and broke through and there ensued a spectacular mess every time anyone flushed the upstairs toilet.
Why would such a thing happen in a protected undisturbed space? Who knows?
Suffice to say it took many hours of demolition, replacement and repair to restore the pipe and wall to
to prelapserian perfection.
A curiosity indeed!
Kattermann's Handyman Blog 