Questions tagged [plumbing]
For questions about the supply and removal of water and liquid waste.
3,810
questions
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Old drain clogged with alot of ceiling spackle
The man that fixed the ceiling over our tub cleaned his tools, pan, buckets in the little tiny bathroom sink. Now the drain is clogged and the area below is too small for my husband to get into. ...
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1answer
13 views
Thermostatic mixing valve that holds water temperature at 120°F / 50°C
I've recently installed solar hot water and as expected it gets extremely hot. I would like to keep the tank as hot as possible (>180°F) and simply mix down the water to 120°F / 50°C as it's used so ...
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2answers
27 views
Water Heater - Discharge Pipe Goes Upward, How To Address
My tankless water heater (located in the basement) has the TPR valve discharge pipe traveling upwards, which is against code, and it terminates into the soil outside the house.
What is the best way ...
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13 views
I want to make sure the basement bathroom is plumbed correctly
Going to tap into the sewer line in the basement for a new 3/4 bathroom. Can I run a 4" branch to the toilet and have two 2" wye connections for the shower and vanity? Below shows the sewer location.
...
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7 views
Roof DWV vent: minimum distance from parapet?
I need to poke a hole in my flat roof (sloped, built-up roof of tar and felt) to accommodate a new vent. The vent will be 2" PVC.
Is there a minimum distance from the exterior brick wall to place ...
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0answers
15 views
Chlorinate hot water heater
I left town for a week and now have a hot water heater that's been sitting and apparently breeding bacteria resulting in an abundance of hydrogen sulfide. It stinks really bad.
I tried emptying it ...
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1answer
25 views
Hissing sound coming from toliet
last week I heard a kind of hissing sound coming from my toilet. I don't use that toilet much so I just turned off the water from the bottom and the noise stopped. Well I really can't believe this ...
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1answer
30 views
What is the purpose of a dishwasher elbow?
I am installing a dishwasher that has a 3/4-inch threaded male connection for the water line. The instructions say to buy a dishwasher elbow to connect to this piece, then connect the other side of ...
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1answer
96 views
Why were all three of my toilet bowls empty upon returning home?
Away for a week, came home to find all 3 toilet bowls dry - 2 on upper floor and 1 on lower. Each flushed and filled fine, except with a kind of clunk sound with each flush. No sign of leak anywhere ...
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1answer
38 views
Remove ABS P Trap
Related
I have an ABS p trap that doesn't seem to have any union nuts. Where my finger is pointing is the tail piece nut that I can loosen (and probably remove), but the rest of the p trap doesn't ...
2
votes
2answers
44 views
Standard height for kitchen sink drain exit from wall?
I am in the process of a kitchen remodel and now have come to the plumbing. My original kitchen had a 2-bowl sink and my new kitchen will have a 30" wide sink base with a 27" wide single bowl. There ...
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2answers
904 views
Identifying My Main Water Shutoff Valve / Setup
I've owned my first home for a few years now, but have never truly known where my main water shutoff valve was, mainly because I've never really known how to identify it. I've looked around my utility ...
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1answer
137 views
Where does water in shower plumbing go after a shower?
I’m trying to debug some funny sounds in my shower (just purchased the house containing the shower) and would like to better understand how the plumbing works. The shower is a stand-in type with no ...
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1answer
49 views
Confirming if the toilet drain is properly installed
I have a toilet drain done, but when I flush the toilet, the water is not rushing down the bowl, but rather takes time to develop the spin.
I am wondering if this is the right way to do it and use ...
23
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8answers
8k views
Why aren’t there water shutoff valves for each room?
Had an issue today with a nail going through a water supply line in a bathroom. It got me wondering if there is a practical or technical reason there aren’t typically room-specific shut offs between ...
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20 views
Has anyone tried the Moen Flo product? [closed]
I recently asked a question about making sure a pump doesn't kick back on in the event of a power outage for a rural house, but recent ads for the Moen Flo product has got me thinking in a different ...
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1answer
31 views
Move wall drainpipe to make room for garbage disposal?
My kitchen sink is almost centered over the wall drainpipe and there seems to be no way to arrange any connections to make room for the garbage disposal. Before I give up and learn to live without, ...
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2answers
49 views
What are the requirements for a bathtub or steam shower in a bedroom?
We live in a suburb of Minneapolis. Our master bedroom has a decent amount of unused space. My wife really wants a steam shower. Rather than remodeling an existing bathroom, I've started thinking ...
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1answer
33 views
Intermittent cold water from the hot faucet
Why would cold water run from the hot water faucet (for about a minute), after the hot water was already flowing? This happened in two washrooms, at different sides of the house, but not at any other ...
12
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2answers
2k views
How can this older-style irrigation tee be replaced?
This reducer tee had a right-angle piece break off inside of it for a feeder line.
I tried cutting the black broken piece inside of the reducer section without success. I'm used to schedule-40 PVC, ...
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2answers
58 views
Can you repair a kinked copper pipe?
I have a copper water pipe which has a mild kink in it, very similar to this photo, not even quite as severe:
It is hard copper.
The kink itself is not causing any problems but in the future I may ...
0
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1answer
22 views
Plumbing Faucet: Water Pressure vs Water Flow Difference
They always say water flow (Gallons per Minute) and water pressure (Weight force) are two different things. Say I have a faucet with 1.8 GPM Aerator.
1) If I increase water pressure in my home, ...
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1answer
42 views
How to check PEX pipe for embrittlement
As a part of a larger job, I have a plumber replacing water lines. He is going to use PEX. I read that sunlight exposure causes PEX to become brittle very quickly (on the order of a couple of weeks). ...
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3answers
26 views
Adapting 1/2 hose to sink
Im building a simple low pressure foot pump operated sink. What adaptor should I be looking for to go from typical (USA) male faucet threads to 1/2 hose barb?
I'm new to plumbing and have found ...
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0answers
25 views
Leaky shower arm
At the “V” in this connection, is a tightening toggle. It’s as tight as possible, but continues to leak. What to do?
Thanks
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1answer
55 views
Water shut off to bathroom sink: valve not working and I do not have ready access to main water supply
I did something dumb today and I'm panicking. I tried to replace the bathroomfaucet to surprise my husband (mission accomplished on the surprised part) because it was one of his tasks before we (and ...
0
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1answer
82 views
Why do my bathroom sinks smell like death?
Whenever I turn on my bathroom sinks for more than 5 seconds, I can hear gurgling in the walls, and shortly after, a terrible smell fills the bathroom. Is this a problem with my vent lines?
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vote
1answer
59 views
Well pressure drops when pump turns on
Our well pump switch works fine, kicking in at about 30 psi. As soon as the switch turns on, the water pressure immediately drops off the scale and stays down for about 10 seconds. At that point, the ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Shower valve identification
I am trying to buy replacement handles for an old shower. It’s a 3-handle with 4 spline hot/cold and a 17 spline diverter.
I’m a bit in over my head here (no bathing puns intended) and I don’t know ...
2
votes
2answers
79 views
Trying to change a faucet, there's a piece of metal that prevent me to use a basin wrench… What to do?
There is this kind of tube that prevent me to use any kind of wrench to unscrew the nut in it. But without unscrewing it, I cannot get the faucet out of its place at all.
Is there a simple trick, or ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How to make attic easier to traverse?
My attic is a maze of wires, air ducts and PVC water pipes. I went just one room over from the attic entrance and it took me a solid 30 minutes just to go there and back. Would it be unreasonable to ...
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vote
4answers
132 views
Automatically trip breaker in power outage
Is there a way to trip a breaker, or otherwise kill the connection to an appliance during a power outage that doesn't automatically turn back on when power is restored?
Background: home in the north ...
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1answer
34 views
AC unit dripping onto crawl space vapor barrier
I just bought a house whose crawlspace looks like it was partially converted to being sealed off. Basically, they put down a vapor barrier and closed off the vents, but didn't finish the job. On top ...
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0answers
39 views
Tricky washing machine waste problem
first time on this forum but I could use some washing machine waste advice.
My brother and I are redecorating our entire house, including the rather small kitchen. We'd like to move the washing ...
0
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3answers
132 views
Any idea what this is?
We have this in the washer dryer area of our Mother-In-Law. When we moved in no washer dryer was present. I sort of suspect it's some sort of drain hookup because there is no drain. Does anyone know?
...
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1answer
22 views
UK - Leak on inlet on toilet cistern - New Parts
few videos and reading the instructions figured replacing the innards on the old flush system we had/ just broke was within my means but I've hit a roadblock.
Currently having a leak from the inlet. ...
0
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1answer
24 views
Hot Water Water Hammer When Cutting Off Cold Supply
The house is 3 years old. This just started to happen. When you cut off any cold water supply the inlet line to the water heater knocks or water hammers.
The first attempt I cut the water off at the ...
0
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1answer
29 views
(How) Can I reuse this PVC 4-way
Some contractors broke my irrigation system and I'm in the process of repairing it. One of the connections to a PVC 4-way junction had a piece of schedule-40 PVC broken off inside it. As luck would ...
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0answers
27 views
hot water coming from cold faucets in one building only,
We have 5 buildings roughly with 18 - 21 units each. (a-e). the apartments have 2 boilers that heat up the complex. they are located in the same room next to building A.. building A is getting warm to ...
2
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4answers
757 views
How to remove rebar passing through an inaccessible pipe
My maintenance crew recently discovered that someone drove a rebar through a sewer pipe during construction. Obviously this causes problems. The rebar in nearly dead center of the pipe which is ...
0
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2answers
27 views
Insulation foam inside PVC sleeve for silcock
I just installed an outdoor silcock outside my basement. To avoid direct contact with the brick in the hole I drilled in a foot thick brick wall, I put a 1-1/4" PVC pipe and then the silcock inside it ...
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2answers
42 views
Installing expansion tank at washing machine valve?
I own a condo with a terribly cramped water heater closet (it sits underneath the air handler with about 6 inches of clearance). I need an expansion tank, but it really will not fit in that closet (...
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1answer
72 views
Is MAPP gas actually hotter?
My hardware store sells both MAPP and propane torches. The MAPP torches claim to burn hotter. I was curious how much, so I took a look online. By this table, propane burns in air at 1967 C, while ...
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1answer
35 views
Sink Angle Valve: Fully Open or closed Tiny Bit
I have a bathroom sink with angled faucet shutoff valves (they are around quarter turns). I closed them for repairs yesterday. After repairs,
(1) should I leave the valves Fully Open,
(2) or "Open ...
0
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1answer
34 views
Bead of water remains around bathroom sink drain
Like a previous writer, I too have a bead of water around the entire perimeter of the waste seat at the bottom of the sink bowl after normal draining with new bathroom faucet/drain combo I have ...
0
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1answer
27 views
Noise from water pipes, bad PRV?
For the last month or so I have had an issue with a loud pulsating sound coming from the water pipes. I’m not sure that it is water hammer, it happens when I flush the toilets mainly. I’ve tried ...
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1answer
64 views
Water heater busted
Water heater busted this morning, after a couple of hours the water was turned off at the main in the yard.
Now how can I cap off the hot water heater in order to still have water in the house, I can'...
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3answers
63 views
Do braided stainless steel hoses with surface corrosion require replacement?
I'd be grateful if someone would resolve some conflicting advice I've been given on this topic.
Some argue that the braiding does not contribute to the pressure rating of these hoses, and that ...
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0answers
49 views
How do I know if a pipe is a gas pipe
Hi we have a pipe where we want to take the wall out and put French doors in but are unsure what the pipe is and whether we are able to move it or get rid of it
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2answers
45 views
Dirty Dishwasher water flows back into dishwasher
Attached a video demonstrating the symptom, and pictures of the setup. Video starts just before the Drain Cycle ends. Once it ends, air slowly enters from the disposal-end, pushing all the water ...
