Diy Plumbing Advice

Inspect Before You Buy

2011-01-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

Are you planning to buy a home? If so, allow me to give you a free advice that will save you thousands of dollars.

Buying a home is for most people the biggest investment that a person will ever make in his or her life, in fact, most people get pretty scary and anxious during the days that proceeds the date to sign all the paperwork.

Because buying a home is such a great step in any one's life, those who are taking such step want to go through a great experience and not, on the other way around, however, when buying a home, the future homeowner must be well prepared for everything that comes with the new title of ownership.

Most homeowners when buying a new home, rely on the experts to take care of all the procedures and, for the most part, the professionals do great in performing their duties but, not everything is perfect.

Allow me to talk about one particular item, in fact, it is one of the most important item when purchasing a home. It is called "home inspection".

Home Inspection:

If I am not mistaken, most of you will ask, what is so important about home inspection? By law everyone must have their home inspection prior to purchase a given property, so what to be concerned about it?

It is true that everyone or almost everyone has a home inspection done in their present or future home, however, what most people don't know is that nearly 100% of all home inspections are done very superficially, meaning that, most inspectors don't really investigate the most important points of the inspection correctly and accurately.

Before, I move on, let's think about the vital points of an inspection. What are the most important point of an inspection?
1 - Plumbing
2 - Electrical
3 - Infrastructure of the Home
4 - Foundation
5 - Roofing
6 - Everything else in the surrounding area (inside & outside)

What are the most overlooked areas during a home inspection? The areas that are not visible, such as: electrical and plumbing.

What is the cost to repair or replace a home plumbing system? Depending on the size of the project, it care vary from a couple of thousand of dollars up to $15K or even $20K. So, why during the process of purchasing a home, the future homeowner is not educated by his or her real estate agent, the present homeowner or the home inspection?

In part, it is because most of them don't really know the importance of performing a detailed inspection in such areas of the home. Secondly, those people probably know the existence of a bad problem but, they don't want you to know because of the cost involved to repair it and, thirdly, they probably don't know how such an inspection can be done.

So, how to inspect your home plumbing system?

I will give you an answer for that but, I will also give you an valuable advice but, it is up to you whether you will follow it or not. I have saved thousands of dollars to friends of mine and clients alike and, I am not charging you for anything, so, if you think that it is worth it, keep reading.

1 - If you are planning to buying a home, make sure that, you have all the drain plumbing of the house inspected by a professional drain company.

2 - Do not sign any contract before that is done, in fact, request the present homeowner to pay for such inspection, it will cost a couple of hundred dollars but, it will be well worth it, otherwise, you will likely find yourself in the middle of a big problem, a very expensive one.

3 - Drain inspection are done by state of the art technology, major drain companies perform drain inspection with color video camera and, in case that find a problem, they can record it on a DVD and, if you want, they can even locate the problem with a couple more hundred dollars.

4 - Once the drains are fully inspected and, if any problem is detected and located, the drain company can provide you with a accurate bid to repair the problem and, with a bid on your hands, you can go back to the current homeowner and, re-negotiate your proposal.

There are a lot more into this topic but, for now, the above information should be enough to open your eyes before buying a home.

PS: Home plumbing inspection should be performed in every home, it does not matter the age of the home.

Good luck

For more information, please, visit my website at: http://www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com/

Diy Plumbing Advice: Tips On Frozen Water Lines

2010-11-25T12:17:00.000-08:00

Diy Plumbing Advice: Tips On Frozen Water Lines

Tips On Frozen Water Lines

2010-11-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

Warning: Before performing any work, make to be properly dressed and equipped with the required material, tools and safety accessories.

Remember, if decide to use any electrical thawing method, be sure to be using rubber gloves and proper shoes to avoid risk of electrocuting yourself.

Thawing Frozen Pipe (Water Lines):

1 - Shut off the main water line to the house.

2 - Locate the faucet that is directly connected to the frozen pipe and open it to allow drainage.

3 - If your home has galvanized or copper pipes, use the boiling water method. You do that by wrapping towels or rags around the pipe and pouring boiling water over the towels. You start this process from the faucet to the frozen pipe section. Repeat the process for at least 10 to 15 minutes.

4 - You can also use hair dryer to heat up the frozen pipe, just follow the same process as step 4 but, if does it work, then, use the next method.

5 - Heat lamp is a good alternative method, it might take a little bit longer but, if you know the location of the frozen pipe, then, it might work effectively.

PS: The above method can only be applicable it the frozen pipe is located inside the house, but if the problem is outside, you will have to contact a local company to do the work.

PS: Also, if your outside water line is frozen and, the line is made of plastic, then, thawing the frozen line becomes an almost impossible task, this is due to the fact that, most companies use the electrical method to thaw the line but, it can only be used in metal pipes (copper or galvanized pipes).

Information provided here, it is provided as is and, you use it at your own risk.

Tips On Frozen Drain Pipes

2010-11-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

You have frozen pipes and, you don't know what to do about it?

If your home drain pipes are frozen, here are a few instructions that you should probably try, it might work but, if it not, then, contact a professional.

Instructions 1:

1- Turn up the temperature in the room where the frozen pipe is located. As the room warms up, so will the piping system of that location and, with that, it should help to melt the ice from a frozen drain.
2 - Pour a tablespoon of salt down in the drain and wait for about 15 to 20 minutes.
3 - Run hot water into the drain for a couple of minutes, this should work but, if the drain doesn't work...
4 - If the pipe is exposed, heat up the drain pipe using a hair dryer. As you are heating up the pipe, slowly keep moving the dryer up and down so that, it can warm up the whole extension of the pipe.
5 - With a cable machine, cable the drain frozen pipe slowly, the machine should have enough horse-power to make through the blockage. If you don't feel comfortable in doing that, hire a professional to have the job done.

Instructions 2:

Here is a different approach in how to thaw a frozen pipe.

1 - Find the area where the drain frozen pipe is located. Determine the tools and materials that you will need and, as well as, the access to the location.

2 - Turn off the water to the area or the whole house. You will want to prevent any unnecessary mess or water leakage. Besides, additional water will only make the frozen section of the pipe harder to thaw out.

3 - With a hair dryer heat up the exposed pipes and slowly move the dryer over the frozen section until it starts melting the ice.

4 - If the dryer doesn't work, then, wrap the frozen pipe in a warm cloth or a grounded, water resistant heating pad.

5 - If the pipe is not exposed but, you've determined the frozen pipe is location, use an electric lamp or a heat lamp to shine up the wall or floor area where the pipe is located.

6 - But if you have no idea where the frozen pipe is located, then, the best option is to increase the ambient temperature for the whole house and wait for a few hours if the problem persist, consider hiring a professional to take over the problem.

The above guidelines is intended to be tried on drain frozen pipes only but, remember, the information here provided is for educational purpose only, if you decided to follow the guidelines here provided, you do so, at your own risk.

Always consult a professional before attempting anything that you lack of experience of.

Frozen Pipe

2010-11-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

If you live in the northern hemisphere, your winter has already started or it is about to do so and, with that comes the problem with frozen pipes.

Thawing frozen pipe becomes in high demand this time of the year and, with that, I would like to share with you some important advices of how to fix frozen pipes.

Why Pipe Freezing Happens Every Year?

The majority of pipe freezing happens in part due to two typical problems: Poor Pipe Insulation and Shallow Pipe Installation with the frozen line.

How To Repair The Problem?

Insulation Problem:

Frozen pipe that is exposed to the cold should be properly insulated from the cold, that's the only way to prevent it from freezing again.

How to do that? Go to your local store, like Home Depot or Lowe's and buy insulation materials and install it around the pipe system, this should be an easy task but, if you think you can't do that, then, you should hire a professional to do that.

It might cost you a few hundreds of dollars but, it might save thousands by preventing a larger scale damage to your home.

Freezing Line:

If your water line or sewer line was installed within the freezing line, chances are that you will always have to deal with frozen pipe. The only to fix such a problem is by replacing the lines and, re-installing them below the freezing line of your area.

Most places consider the freezing line to be below 36", so, if your frozen pipe is under three feet, than, you will likely have to re-do the whole line, please, consult a local professional for further explanation of your particular problem.

Replacing water line of sewer line is not an easy task, in fact, it must be done by professionals only. Please, visit my website for further information on replacing lines, please click http://www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com/sewer-repair.html

Leaking Faucet

2010-11-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

You have a leaking faucet and you don't know what to do?

Faucet leaks is one of the plumbing problems that should never be ignored because it can end up being very costly if nothing is done about it.

Why should you fix the leaking faucet?

Just like any water leak, a faucet leak will waste tremendous amount of water which also result in increase on the water bill.

Another potential problem that could happen is water damage in your home. How can that happen? Well, let's say that, you have a slow sink drain or a plug drain and, you leave home for an extended period of time without fixing the leaking faucet, what could possible happen?

Even though, most water leaks or drips seems to be very insignificant, the reality is that, if the water does not drain, the sink would eventually overflow, which would then cause the water to run on the floor and through the walls.

Most water damage are result of water leaks from a plumbing fixture or pipes inside the home, so, why not repair a leaking faucet as soon as you discovered the problem?

Diy Plumbing vs. Calling an Expert:

Most people are intimidated to fix plumbing problems and, believe me, some plumbing projects should only be done by experts because, it could end up being a nightmare. It could get really complicated specially if you don't know what you really are doing.

How to repair a leaking faucet?

Repairing leaks in general can be easy but, can also be a bit challenging and the same applies to leaking faucet.

The advantage of dealing with faucet leaks is that, most of the plumbing is pretty much exposed, therefore, you can quickly identify the source of the leak and, then determined whether it is fixable or not.

In fact, before fixing the faucet, diagnose the problem to determine if fixing it will resolve the issue or if replacing for a new one is the best option.

Whether you decide to repair or replace the faucet, be prepared to spend between 1 to 2 hours doing the job.

The job is very hard work and very physical demanding, this is because you will have to put yourself in a tight spot under the sink and, if you don't like being in situation like that, you might as well contract a professional to do the work.

If you repair the leaking faucet yourself, you will save around $300 to $500 dollars and could be more depending how fancy you want your faucet to be.

For clear direction to fix a leaking faucet click here: http://www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com/leaking-faucets.html but, if you want to replace your faucet click here: http://www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com/bathroom-faucet.html

If this article was helpful, please, leave your comments and, please, refer this site to your friends.

Thank you for your input.

Running Toilet

2010-10-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

I have a running toilet and, I don't know how to repair it!

Running water inside the toilet is a very common problem that happens as the toilet gets old or if parts inside the tank gets old and defective.

Fortunately, it is one of the easiest plumbing problems that can be fixed just by anyone.

If you have a running toilet, please,do not wait to fix it, do not procrastinate, otherwise, it might turn out to be a very costly problem. Why?

Have you heard the phrase "money down the drain", in this case, you will literally be dumping money down the drain. If you don't address the problem, you will have a bad surprise when time comes to pay your water bill.

Besides the water bill increase, there's also the safety part of it.

Allow me to share a real story with you: A few years ago, when I was still working in the field, I received a call from a customer. When I got there, the customer stated that she had been having a running toilet for a few days, but she didn't care to repair the problem right away because she thought that the running water inside the toilet bowl was not severe at that point.

A couple of days later, the toilet got plugged in the middle of the night and, they didn't care to fix it until the next day. Next morning, when they woke up, they noticed water all over the floor, the water had gone through the floor and the ceiling of the garage which caused a lot of damage to their home.

So, if you have a running toilet, I hope that by reading this article, it will prompt you to take action and address this simple problem at once.

Please, visit my website for free guidelines in how to repair a running toilet, just click here: http://www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com/toilet-flapper.html

Leaking Toilet

2010-10-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Do You Have a Leaking Toilet? How to Diagnose the Problem?

If you have a leaking toilet, you definitely need to repair it as soon as possible. If you don't repair it, the water will cause damage to your bathroom wood floor and, if the toilet is located on the second floor, the water can also cause damage in the ceiling, drywall and mold will build up around the wood frame and so on.

Detecting the Source of the Leak:

How to diagnose the source of a leaking toilet? This task is fairly simple, there's three or four possible location where the leak will come from.

The leaking might be between the toilet tank bowl and the tank, between the supply line and the tank or between the floor and the toilet base and, maybe between the supply line and the angle stop valve.

The best way to determine the source of the leak is to do the following:

Dry the floor around the toilet, dry around the tank and bowl, dry around the supply and the tank and the angle stop valve.

Once everything is dry, put several pieces of paper towel around the toilet base, under the angle stop valve and under the tank if possible.

Then Flush the toilet once and, with a flashlight carefully inspect everything slowly, as you flush the toilet, you should be able to determine if water is coming through the base, as the tank is filling up, you should be able to determine if the water is coming from between the tank and bowl and the same applies to the angle stop valve and the supply line.

Once you determine that, please, visit my website by clicking here, this link will take you to the page that will tell everything that you need to do to repair your leaking toilet, good luck.

If you like this article, please, leave your comments. Thank you!

Clogged Shower Drain

2010-10-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Most clogged shower drain can be removed with a minimum of hassle and mess. For that, you need a few simple tools and common sense to the the job done right.

Main causes for a clogged shower drain:

The most common causes of a shower drain clog are: human hair buildup, shampoo, soap and grease build up.

How easy is it to unclog a shower drain?

Depending of the age of the home, the shower drain can be one of the easiest drains to work with. Why is that? Well, let's say that your home is 45 years old and your plumbing system is made of cast iron or galvanize pipes.

If this your case, then, you might have a serious problem. It could be a problem because most drains have a p-trap attached to it, this p-trap holds water to prevent sewer gas from coming inside the house, however, if the p-trap is made of cast iron or galvanize pipe, the inner diameter of the trap is smaller than most modern p-traps, consequently, if the drain gets clogged beyond the p-trap, chances are that you will have a hard time to cable through the p-trap.

If the p-trap on the clogged shower drain is made of plastic (ABS), then, your job will be a lot easier and quicker to unplug the drain.

Steps to unclog the drain:

1 - Remove the screen cover from the drain and, remove any visible debris that you find inside the drain, including hair and soap scum, run water to test the drain. More the 50% of the time, the clog is right in the trap, but if it doesn't work, move to step 2.

2 - Buy a plunger designed to work with flat drains, then, plunge the drain a couple of times, if the water doesn't drain, then, the blockage might be further and it might be a little bit more serious, go to step 3.

3 - Buy or rent a hand cable machine, once, you have removed the screen cover, you slowly feed the cable inside the drain, until you find resistance or you unclog the drain. Test the drain with running water to see if it is working. If still doesn't work, go to step 4.

4 - At this point, you should consider hiring a professional or please, visit my website for general plumbing articles: http://www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com/

The information provided here, it is provided as is and, if you decided to use it to solve your plumbing problems, you do so, at your own risk.

Diy Plumbing Advice

2010-10-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

On this blog I will be posting information on diy plumbing advice, this will be covering the latest news in how diy plumbing advice will help you save money with your home plumbing system. If you are interested in learning important plumbing tips and how to fix things for yourself while saving money, please, check back often as I feel that my information could be of great use to you and your home.

You can also check my website for great plumbing articles at: www.diy-plumbing-and-drain.com