And that’s how the cast iron crumbles

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There are many times when metal is better than plastic.  Unfortunately, if you have cast iron drains, this is not one of those times.  While it is true, pvc has made it impossible for us younger plumbers to ever be as manly as the plumbers of the past, it has also made the life expectancy of today’s drain systems much longer.  I guess in a way, the much lighter pvc has also made the life expectancy of the plumber a little longer as well, or at the very least saved our backs a little.  Above are some photos of a job we were on today.  The image on the far left is the reason we were called out.  The cast iron completely rotted away and had a nice size crack running up it as well.  The picture in the middle is the cobbled mess of materials we took out and replaced with pvc.  This house had cast iron, stainless steel running off the top for the vent, pvc for the bathtub that was recently renovated and copper for the sink drain. The picture below is what it now looks like.  If you have cast iron in your house, it WILL eventually go bad and rot/rust away.  Depending on the setup of your house, this could be a relatively easy job or it could be a very involved venture.  Ranch style homes with the drains exclusively in the basement are generally pretty easy to replace.  Two story homes with a bathroom on the second floor and cast iron going up a wall will test the plumbers patience, and the homeowners wallet every time.  Deteriorating cast iron drains present a two-fold problem.  The first and most obvious problem will be the leak, and we aren’t talking spring water!  The other problem is the sewer gas that will be consistently making it’s way into your home like an uninvited guest.  Sewer gas can be anywhere from unnoticeable, to annoying, to deadly.   Don’t live with leaking sewage or smelly gas, it’s only going to get worse.  By replacing the cast iron, you will avoid recurring costs for drain cleaning, and you will avoid a pretty nasty mess down the road.  Remember, it’s not IF it is going to leak, it’s WHEN.  This is one of those times when a little preventative maintenance is a good thing.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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Frogs and……….snakes? in your toilet. Proceed with caution!

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Over the past two days, I have been told of two separate stories of creatures finding their way into toilets.  Obviously, this sounds very alarming, but fear not, this is anything but ordinary.  The most common trespassers of the sacred throne are frogs and squirrels.  There have been isolated incidents of other creatures (sorry, but this does include snakes) finding their way up (or down) your plumbing system. Luckily those are about as likely to happen to you as a lightening strike, on Tuesday, in May.  As far as the frogs and squirrels go, unfortunately, those are not nearly as rare.  To determine a plan of attack, or better yet, a plan of defense, you need to identify what it is exactly that you found.  Fortunately, most of us can distinguish between a frog, squirrel, and snake.  Not so obvious, would be the classification of tree frog or ordinary frog.  Your roof, or more specifically, your plumbing roof vent will be the entry point of choice for the tree frogs and squirrels.  They will either fall in, investigate out of curiosity, or will go in search of a cooler place to hang out during a hot summer day.  Invading from the other side of your home will be the regular frogs and snakes.  Their M.O. is your sewer system.  The two main entry points for these pests would be a break in your sewer line, from deterioration or from roots, or from a clean-out that you have outside your home that may be missing a cap.  If you are on a septic system, there is a good chance you have a clean-out outside of your home.  The clean-out is the entry point to your plumbing system to put the snake(not alive kind) or rooter in case of a blockage.  If you have ever seen a frog, or you regularly see them, simply pour some rock salt into your toilet and flush.  Do this a couple of times to get a nice layer in the pipe.  This will make for an undesirable environment for the frogs and will be safe for your plumbing system.  You may also want to have a plumber put a camera down your drain line to see if you do in fact have a broken pipe that should be repaired.  This will be a double benefit, since a break point WILL be an entry point for roots, it is only a matter of time.   If it is tree frogs or squirrels, you will want to stop them from entering with some screen or mesh over your roof vents.  If you are in a cold weather climate, you may need a special fitting to put on your vent after you put the mesh on to prevent snow from accumulating and closing off the airflow.  Remember, none of this is very common, but……………….it does happen.

Happy thoughts on your next trip to the zoo, I mean bathroom. 

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Oh boy, we got a gusher!

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As I was flipping through the channels early this morning, I stumbled upon the Three Stooges.  In this particular episode, they were posing as plumbers for whatever reason.  Of course they managed to get themselves into a very bad mess in typical stooge fashion. This triggered a memory of a similar situation I got myself into, that unfortunately resembled this show.  My apprentice and I were working on a job remodeling a bathroom.  When we were all done, the builder asked us if we could spin the water heater about 90 degrees so he could put a door on the room it was in.  This was a very simple task, since it had plastic pex water pipe to it and it was electric.  All we had to do was cut the water lines, spin it and hook it back up.  Just as we were getting ready to do it, I grabbed the cutters out of my helper’s hand, and for whatever reason decided  to say ”let me show you how it’s done.”  This turned out to be a bad thing to do, and an even worse thing to say. Plumbing is usually a very arrogant and competetive trade.  Without giving it a second thought, I cut right through the cold water feed.  The problem was, I had forget to turn the water off.  As I tried to stop the water with my hand (which is very difficult), I was yelling at my apprentice to go shut the water off.  Cutting into a live water line is a very bad idea, and makes for a very stressful afternoon.  Floor soaked, ego crushed, I went to the truck to gather the towels.  The worst part came when my helper informed me that he knew exactly what was going to happen, but since I felt compelled to ”strut my stuff”, he just let it happen.  This of course angered me more, that he let it happen, but I now realize he did EXACTLY what I would have done.  It is always a fun story to relive and retell, unless of course he is the narrator.   

Pride cometh before the fall.

Below is how it seemed for a few seconds until the water was shut off. 

You’ve got to respect the tool, you fool!

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One thing that never fails in this industry is the occurances of avoidable accidents.  Ironically, the vast majority of these accidents come from experienced professionals.  This is usually a result of the individual getting a little too “comfortable” with the tools, and not respecting the power that they hold.  Trying to make a deadline and stay on schedule, or trying to wrap up a job can breed impatience, and that results in accidents.   As a plumber, one of the most common tools that we use is the right angle drill, or hole hawg.  This is used mainly on new construction or remodel jobs to make the holes in the floor, joists, studs or ceilings for the pipes to go through. 

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Milwaukee right angle drill-hole hawg

This tool harnesses a lot of power, and will go threw almost anything.  Unfortunately for the poor unsuspecting newbie, they are not aware of this power.  I have witnessed many  young men thrown from ladders because they did not utilize a very simple concept, leverage.  I have also witnessed experienced coworkers fall victim to a major hand smashing or finger pinching.  

Whether we are seasoned professionals or weekend DIY’ers, we all need to slow down a bit, and remember to be safe.  I have seen far too many carpenters working with an odd number of digits.   Personally, I am not a big fan of the med center.  They never have good magazines and they always seem annoyed that you are there. 

Below is an example of what not to do with an angle grinder. 
This is a collection of mishaps from the show Home Improvement.  The reason this clip is funny to me is because I have witnessed most of these actually happen in the real world. 
The next time you are trying to tackle a project, take the time to be safe.  The last time I checked, our fingers don’t grow back and that fake terminator eye thing is not real. 

Good Luck!

Toilet bowl water level…

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  I recently got a phone call from a home owner asking me if a could increase the water level in the bowl of her 1.6 gallon toilet.  If you are a owner of a toilet with a low water level in the bowl, you know why she took the time to call me for a remedy. 
  Unfortunately, there isn’t a full bowl of water solution.  The level in the bowl is determined by the level of the trap in the toilet.  This is built in and can not be changed, any additional water will flow through the trap and the water level in the bowl will remain the same.  To keep flushes at the 1.6 gallons per flush, the manufacturers designed the toilets to have so much water in the tank and so much water in the bowl.  To find the maximum amount of water your toilet bowl can hold, take a bucket of water and slowly pour it into the bowl.  If the water level does not increase, there is nothing you can do, the laws of physics are stacked against you.  If the water level in the bowl increases to a maximum point, then you do have a couple of options.  One, you can adjust the flapper to stay open longer during the flushing process to the point of having a near “double” flush.  Doing this will increase the amount of water left in the bowl after a flush, and this gives the  bowl more water initially when the tank and bowl are being refilled.   This should cause the bowl to be filled to its maximum level.  2nd option, you could add on to the overflow tube.  Increasing  the height of the overflow tube (may only be an inch or two) will allow you to put more water in the tank.  This will add to the amount of time to fill the tank and increase the amount of water being put back into the bowl.  Once again, getting to that max water level for the bowl.  Thats all I have……….good luck.   
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Inside of toilet tank

Ultra Modern Toilets and Ultra Gross Toilets

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Outhouse

Boy, have we come a looooong way from “back in the day”.  Since all of us take our modern conveniences for granted, I think we should take a moment to reflect on how things used to be. Believe it or not, many moons ago, there was a time when the height or color of a toilet, or the gallons used per flush, was not a concern.  Actually, our ancestors were much “greener” than we are today.  Until very recently, our unfortunate relatives from long ago used ZERO gallons with each flush.   There was also not much else falling down those fabulous holes, until the Sears catalogs started being published.  Ask your grandparents, toilet paper was expensive. 

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Toilet with elevated cistern

During the Roman Empire, apparantly people were not embarrassed or ashamed of anything.  They liked to sit on their stone thrones, and then they liked to bathe together.  The medievel times were a little better with respect to privacy, but far worse with respect to hygiene.  During the dark ages, they would enjoy a nice private stall, but unfortunately this was done from an elevated position and a “free fall” was part of the process.  This may have served a purpose.  The “pile” eventually must be moved, and this setup would make that easier.  The Romans solved this by placing thier toilet camps over rivers.  This was a brilliant idea, but it was not such a great thing for the people living downstream.  The term “downriver” was around much earlier than Detroit. 

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Chamber Pot

Now, if you thought all of that was bad, I have not yet mentioned quite possibly the worst period of time to have to relieve yourself.  The chamber pot was the receptical of choice once we moved out of castles and away from rivers.  Actually, the chamber pot probably wasn’t too bad for the user, it was the poor unsuspecting fellows outside that suffered.  The chamber pot was kept under the bed, primaraly used at night.  It was typical to just throw the contents out of the windows either that night or the next morning.  This is where the custom came to be that the man should always walk closest to the street, and the woman walk close to the building.  In those days, most windows hung out away from the building slightly.  The woman would be safer from a dousing close to the building.  Think about that guys, next time you don’t want to open the car door for a woman.  At least you don’t have to walk street side to protect her from the unthinkable.

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Thomas Crapper is credited with improving the design of the modern toilet.  Among his patents, is the floating ballcock.  This is the device in your tank that stops the water from filling once the water gets to a certain level.  Pictured at left is a Japanese “ultra modern toilet”.  I am not sure how it works, where you sit or what you do.  One can only wonder if Crapper would be impressed or disappointed with such a design.  Also, if you are thinking that this may interest you, I will need your car as a down payment, and then we will talk.
If you havn’t used a public restroom toilet in more than 10 years, this is for you. 

Best Wishes!

Tankless Water Heaters: Saving you hundreds?

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Lately, there seems to be a lot of hype, propoganda, confusion, and misinformation surrounding the ever popular tankless water heater.  Let me begin by saying that I am not going to purposely bash the units, (I actually think they are pretty cool), I am simply going to try and separate the facts from fiction.  This discussion will only pertain to gas fired models, as electric units will struggle to meet the demands of the average size family (mom, dad, 2.4 children).  Not to mention, most homes would require a service upgrade to accomodate a large enough heater. 

Let’s get straight to the top of most peoples minds:  Do you save a lot of money with a tankless water heater.  The answer may surprise you, and it is not really staright forward either.  Well, what is “a lot” of money.  An average family may save about $70-$100 per year versus a standard tank type. Not a lot, but the savings are there.  Now, let’s start factoring everything else into the equation.  The cost of the unit itself (for a good brand and model) will run between $500-$1000 more than a tank type.  Now, factor in all the additional labor that will be involved.  The gas feed line will need to be increased substantially, and the vent will need to be redone.  Labor will be at least $750 more than just having your tank type swapped out.  Also, a tankless will require yearly maintenance to remove the scale and calcium buildup on the inside of the burners to ensure it will be working to capacity.  This will be at least $75.  If you add all of this up, it doesn’t take too much thought to realize it is going to take you A LONG time to recoup that $70-$100 per year that you were saving.  The life expectancy of most units is about 20 years.  You may NEVER recoup the costs. 

Since I am writing from Michigan, I will also point out another achilles heal for these units.  You must first understand how they operate.  To get the water hotter, an internal diaphragm must close slightly to slow the water down so that it stays in the burner longer.  This is what determines the gallons per minute output.  Tankless water heaters are all about the “rise” of the water temp.  The colder the incoming water, the more the diaphragm must constrict to allow it to heat, thereby leading to less gallons per minute output you will recieve.  Back to Michigan, our incoming water is VERY cold (in case you just moved here…… from the MOON).  Tankless heaters do not deliver the same gallons per minute output in the north as they do in the south.  The better brands will still be able to satisfy most families most of the time, but there may be times they cannot.  Two tankless heaters running in tandem is also an option, but remember our little math equation.  If you happen to live in the south, you could always mount in on the outside of the house. 

OK OK OK, so you are still convinced they are the way to go.  They do have some nice benefits.  The main advantage to a tankless is that you will never run out of hot water.  Yes, I am aware this can easily trump all of the disadvantages.  Some models even have an internal recirculating pump built right inside so that you don’t have to wait for hot water either.  Remember, tankless hot water does not mean instant hot water.  You will still have cold water sitting in your lines that will need to be emptied.  A giant soaking bathtub, a carwash shower with multiple body sprays and shower heads, or twice the normal size family with 4.8 children (yes, i’m aware that the family isn’t twice the size, only the amount of children is). would all benefit from endless hot water. 

If you are looking to ride the green wave, and simply want to save natural resources, then a tankless is the way to go.  Keep in mind though, a tank type does not really use that much more gas to keep it at temperature.  Insulation built into the tanks is vastly superior to what it used to be.  They also make models with extra thick insulation.

Tankless models are very nice, don’t get me wrong.  I just felt that too many people have been misinformed by the actual savings they will  produce.  They are efficient, but not necessarily economical.  

Best Wishes! 

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Inside of a tankless water heater

Water Heater Explosion.

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plugged T&P valve

T & P valve
Recently, I came across a very dangerous situation, one that I think needs to be addressed. A capped or plugged T&P valve is one of the worst “band aid” fixes you could ever do in your house.  Doing so creates the grounds for a potential bomb, or missile in your basement!  Although rare, the threat of a water heater explosion is very real. 

The T&P valve, or temperature and pressure relief valve, is one of the most important safety devices in your home.  If the temperature rises above 210 degrees Fahrenheit or the pressure exceeds 150 psi, the valve will open and relieve the pressure inside the tank.  In doing so, a small amount of water will also be dispensed onto the floor.  Unfortunately, many people mistake this for a leak or a water heater failure, when in fact, it may simply be doing what it is designed to do.  If you ever see water on your floor around this area, you should call a plumber right away.  The valve may be failing, in which case it should be replaced, or you may have excessive pressure in your tank which should be tested for.  If you happen to have a pressure reducing valve installed on your main water line, you should pay special attention to this.  A pressure reducing valve creates a closed system in your home, and will not allow for thermal expansion. If you have one of these, AND your T&P valve drips occasionally, you may need a thermal expansion tank installed. 


Now that you know what it looks like, and what it does, take the time to check it and make sure yours IS NOT CAPPED OR PLUGGED and that it works properly.  You can lift the little handle on it like the picture shows.  Sometimes you may need to let the handle snap back down to reseat it properly.  If it continues to leak a little, it either has some debris in it or the spring is failing.  You can try and open it a few times to remove any debris.  If this does not take care of it, call a plumber and have it replaced.  Make sure there is a relief tube extending to the floor in case the heater must discharge.  This is to prevent accidental scalding.  Also, you should not have threads on the bottom of the relief tube.  This will ensure that a cap cannot be screwed onto the bottom. 

Good Luck!