Off The Cuff - Plumbers
Plumbers, God Love 'Em - © Kent Fletcher
November 8, 2006
A couple of days ago I was told there was a leak in the bathroom at the far end of the house. I went down and inspected and sho' nuff, there was a leak. The carpet was wet around the toilet, and the el cheapo paneling was bowing. I had stuff to do Monday and Tuesday, so by the time I got around to it today, the same carpet was soaked.
This loo is just wide enough for a person to sit, no fun and games allowed. Got to feeling around under the tank and there was definitely a drip there. So it was off to the races, draining the tank, fixin' the filler-upper so the water couldn't return to the tank, mopping the tank out, and finally turning the water off, all the way at the other end of the house. No, no ball valve below the tank, although that would have been easier than running back and forth to the turn off.
I determined a new valve was needed so it was off to the hardware store. I got the prescribed items and returned to the job at hand. Upon further inspection of the problem, only then did I determine the valve thingy didn't need replacing, just the flow pipe into the tank needed tightening. So now I have an extra valve and flapper on hand, just in case something happens down the road. You never know when you'll need something like that in the middle of the night, or on Christmas Day, or whenever no one is open, say around midnight, perhaps.
I did the dirty, adding a little silicone to the connection, tightened 'er up, turned the water on. Nope, that didn't work, I was still getting a leak from the bottom of the tank. Back to the turnoff at the other end of the house, and then back to the tank problem, draining it, fixin' the valve to stop the flow of water, mopping out again. Booorrrring!
About the time I thought I had the flow pipe firmly seated to the valve in the tank, the other end of the line that connects to the water line broke off. A clean break, too. Good old PVC. When it gets old, it gets brittle, and it won't take much flexing to break it. So, back to the hardware store to get the proper connections. Copper to brass to PVC. A wonderful innovation, don't you think? NOT!
The supplies cost me around three bucks, which was loose change. So back at the house, I spliced all this stuff in, did the PVC gluing - that stuff will either get you drunker than a skunk, or simply take your breath away. Turned the water back on lightly, passed by the computer, decided to stop to check my email, and a loud scream from the other end of the house. "Where's the turnoff switch, there's been an explosion in the bathroom!"
Luckily I was only steps away from the valve. When I returned to the bathroom, sho' nuff', water all over the place. The fill pipe had again slipped its joint and had soaked the room. I did another adjustment on the thing, and turned the water back on lightly. Finally, there was no leak at the tank, but there was now a leak in the pipe at the baseboard. Turned the water off one more time. Looking at the problem I saw the pipe itself was cracked along with the T joint. I had already used the available PVC I had, so yet another trip to the hardware store. I got a few extra joints for a total of another three bucks.
I had to rip out the entire section of PVC, about four feet worth, including the prior repairs. If only I had done all this to begin with. I've found out, however, through trial and error and sometimes expensive trials and errors, that when I run into something that has been jury-rigged, it is easier in the long run to simply replace the whole danged thing, and usually cheaper, too.
Long story short, be nice to that plumber you call on when you've got something going awry, something beyond your ability, or just something you simply don't have time for. If you are one to tackle it yourself, take a full assessment, get the parts you think you'll need, and go for it. Just don't call me for advice.
November 8, 2006
A couple of days ago I was told there was a leak in the bathroom at the far end of the house. I went down and inspected and sho' nuff, there was a leak. The carpet was wet around the toilet, and the el cheapo paneling was bowing. I had stuff to do Monday and Tuesday, so by the time I got around to it today, the same carpet was soaked.
This loo is just wide enough for a person to sit, no fun and games allowed. Got to feeling around under the tank and there was definitely a drip there. So it was off to the races, draining the tank, fixin' the filler-upper so the water couldn't return to the tank, mopping the tank out, and finally turning the water off, all the way at the other end of the house. No, no ball valve below the tank, although that would have been easier than running back and forth to the turn off.
I determined a new valve was needed so it was off to the hardware store. I got the prescribed items and returned to the job at hand. Upon further inspection of the problem, only then did I determine the valve thingy didn't need replacing, just the flow pipe into the tank needed tightening. So now I have an extra valve and flapper on hand, just in case something happens down the road. You never know when you'll need something like that in the middle of the night, or on Christmas Day, or whenever no one is open, say around midnight, perhaps.
I did the dirty, adding a little silicone to the connection, tightened 'er up, turned the water on. Nope, that didn't work, I was still getting a leak from the bottom of the tank. Back to the turnoff at the other end of the house, and then back to the tank problem, draining it, fixin' the valve to stop the flow of water, mopping out again. Booorrrring!
About the time I thought I had the flow pipe firmly seated to the valve in the tank, the other end of the line that connects to the water line broke off. A clean break, too. Good old PVC. When it gets old, it gets brittle, and it won't take much flexing to break it. So, back to the hardware store to get the proper connections. Copper to brass to PVC. A wonderful innovation, don't you think? NOT!
The supplies cost me around three bucks, which was loose change. So back at the house, I spliced all this stuff in, did the PVC gluing - that stuff will either get you drunker than a skunk, or simply take your breath away. Turned the water back on lightly, passed by the computer, decided to stop to check my email, and a loud scream from the other end of the house. "Where's the turnoff switch, there's been an explosion in the bathroom!"
Luckily I was only steps away from the valve. When I returned to the bathroom, sho' nuff', water all over the place. The fill pipe had again slipped its joint and had soaked the room. I did another adjustment on the thing, and turned the water back on lightly. Finally, there was no leak at the tank, but there was now a leak in the pipe at the baseboard. Turned the water off one more time. Looking at the problem I saw the pipe itself was cracked along with the T joint. I had already used the available PVC I had, so yet another trip to the hardware store. I got a few extra joints for a total of another three bucks.
I had to rip out the entire section of PVC, about four feet worth, including the prior repairs. If only I had done all this to begin with. I've found out, however, through trial and error and sometimes expensive trials and errors, that when I run into something that has been jury-rigged, it is easier in the long run to simply replace the whole danged thing, and usually cheaper, too.
Long story short, be nice to that plumber you call on when you've got something going awry, something beyond your ability, or just something you simply don't have time for. If you are one to tackle it yourself, take a full assessment, get the parts you think you'll need, and go for it. Just don't call me for advice.
posted by Fletch @ 5:27 PM
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