Questions tagged [plumbing]
For questions about the supply and removal of water and liquid waste.
7,133
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Are all plastic compression fittings interchangeable?
I need to rework the plumbing under my kitchen double sink. Currently, it consists of one brass drain pipe along with all ABS pipe and compression joints. Can I replace the pieces I need with their ...
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Deciphering Basement Bathroom Rough-In
The original owner of our house had the layout changed from the standard design and we need some help with deciphering what's what so we can try to figure out what the new idea was that he was ...
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What is the correct height of a toilet flange relative to the finished floor?
What are the best practices or other rules such as building code regarding how to set the height of a toilet flange relative to the finished floor height?
Example of the type of flange I am referring ...
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Is a 4" double wye on a toilet drain legit?
I'm moving a basement bathtub drain and would like to tap into existing lines to accommodate a 2" upstairs laundry drain and prepare for another potential drain to accommodate an outside entrance ...
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What does the lead content statement on my reducing valve actually mean?
I just had a pressure reducing valve (Watts LF 25AUB Z3) and expansion tank (Watts PLT-12) installed by a City of Ottawa (Ontario) contractor - these items both specify NSF-61 compliance, but also ...
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How do I change a washer in an outdoor spigot where you can't remove the valve?
I've replaced washers in spigots before, but this one has me stumped. There is no nut to remove the valve from the body as far as I can see. The faucet will not shut off. Not just a drip, but a ...
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Cap galvanized water pipe
I’m looking to renovate a basement bathroom. First time for all of it.
Currently there is a shower panel installed on the wall that I’d like to throw away. I’ve bought 5/8 compression caps (just the ...
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How should I connect PVC plumbing for two sinks to old cast iron stack with two threaded tees?
Hello community,
So I have two sinks going to the one cast iron main line. Should I cut the main line and add a new single line to both sinks using no hubs? Is there a good way to just tie to the two ...
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Tapping into the external tankless water heater for outdoor shower
I have an external tankless water heater on the back wall of my home. 20 feet directly to the left is where we want to put our outdoor shower. We currently also have a cold water spigot in the same ...
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Determine the purpose of a particular stack
I'm removing a sink that's draining to a 2" PVC stack. However, it appears that there might be another sink or shower connected to the same stack. (I live in a odd-ball house with 3 bedrooms and 14 ...
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What is this fitting in my 2" stack?
What is that wide-diameter fitting in my 2" PVC stack?
It's in the way of the hardwood floor and the drywall. Can it be effectively removed?
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Toilet venting, no stack installed
I bought a home with an in law apt that has its own septic in the back of the house. The rest of the house has the plumbing and septic in the front. There is no stink pipe. I don't know how they did ...
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Need to split water line behind refrigerator to add an espresso machine
Just a quick explanation of what I'm trying to do. I'm not a plumber by any means, but I'd like to try to get this done on my own.
I have an espresso machine on the counter next to my fridge. I want ...
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Changing hot water supply and keeping cold water supply
Repiping my master bathroom shower and sink. We have a new instant hot water heater on an addition to our house 10' away. The shower and sink now run off the water heater in garage, 100' away.
I tee'...
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Joining a branch drain line at a 30 degree angle?
In order to bring a sink drain line over to the main drain line, I really need to join it in at a 30 degree angle. 45 degrees puts the wye outside the building. Searching on google for a 30 degree wye ...
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What's the effect of introducing bends into a primary-secondary heating loop?
I've been learning about primary-secondary boiler systems for my home, and have landed on a two-boiler system (two apartments), very much like Siegenthaler describes in his illuminating book and here ...
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Hot water change to cold
I experienced a diverter problem. The diverter works fine when I the hot water flow out the tub spout, but switch it to the shower and hot water will become cold after couple minutes. I switch to the ...
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Can I move a kitchen waste vent? If so what is allowed?
I an adding a large opening between my kitchen and living room just above countertop level, but realized the sink vent is there.
I want to move it ~30" away. See photos. My plan would be to use two ...
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Does the orientation of the 'Y' in the wye strainer matter?
My wye strainer is clearly marked with a direction of flow, so how to orientate it with retaliation to that is not in question.
However, the directions are unclear if I can mount so that the 'Y' ...
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Does a bathtub spout with a diverter have to be on the same side as the valve, or can I move it over to the side of the tub?
I'm putting in a shower/tub unit and we want to have the tub spout on the side of the tub in the middle. The valve unit will be in the usual place on the end of the tub, with the shower head above it....
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What's the name for this piece attached to the kitchen faucet hose?
Some time ago, I had a lot of rust and debris come into our plumbing due to some maintenance work my city did. Since then, my kitchen faucet cold water has been coming in pretty slowly. When I finally ...
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I used pex to plumb my bathroom and now have water coming out the shower head when filling the tub
If the pressure is to high at the faucet creating back pressure and I turn down the water at the main water shut off, would that reduce the the pressure enough to stop the water from coming out the ...
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Parallel Water Heaters, One Doesn't Run
I have two water heaters (different brands) running in parallel. When I run hot water in the house only one tank will drain while the other sits there full. I have manual shut off valves so if I close ...
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What is the WOG rating for valves?
I was looking into getting some ball valves for a plumbing project and I noticed that many of them have a "WOG" number. What does this mean and is it something I need to be concerned about when ...
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Oxygen permeability of PVC pipe
PVC or CPVC pipe can be used for domestic water supply. PEX is typically supplanting this role but PVC is still suitable. However, PVC seems to not be used in hydronic applications although CPVC can ...
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Stinking water from ONE faucet
We have just built a house with a new > 35 ft deep well. The water tested clear of bacteria and sulfur, etc. We have ONE faucet out of 10 sinks in the whole house that stinks. It is ONLY the cold ...
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How do you rough in a floor drain (not shower) for a new concrete slab?
I need to install floor drains in a new building that will have a concrete slab floor. The drains need to be a kind that is trapped and vented. There seems to be many options to choose from for floor ...
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Metal straps okay for hanging PVC pipe
We have a PVC outlet pipe in our basement for water from the sump pump to be pumped outside. It was previously hung from the joists using white, plastic straps. Last night a few of them broke, so I ...
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What is the proper method to install a "close" metal pipe nipple?
A close pipe nipple is designed so that when it is installed there is very little or no gap between the two fittings which attach to either end.
What is the proper method to install one of these? ...
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Any Issue Adding Garden Hose Bib To Soft Water Side of Water Loop?
I recently replaced a water softener unit at my house. I wanted to add a hose outlet for soft water to rinse off the car. I was wondering if there are any code issues with adding a garden hose bib via ...
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Should I replace my trunk-and-branch setup with a PEX manifold?
My house is plumbed using PEX trunk-and-branch, with the main 3/4 line coming in, splitting off to 3/4" to the hot water tank, and then a 1/2" trunk that all the other branch supplies tee off from. ...
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Replacing Refrigerator Piping
I'm looking to do a little DIY project where I replace the refrigeration lines of my mini-fridge with some clear PVC piping to show what's going on inside. I haven't verified the PVC will withstand ...
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Need to cut copper pipe after removing push pull valve and replacing with sharkbite?
I'm working on replacing a kitchen sink faucet, home is 5 years old, and all of the valves are push/pull and plastic attached to 1/2" copper (I'm assuming that's the standard from online research). I ...
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Pressure testing downspout and shower nipples
I installed my shower system, which consists of a mixing valve with two ins(C+H) and two outs (downpout+shower), everything except mounting the actual shower head and downspout. The reason I left ...
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Water hammer for all faucets
This issue I am having is little different than " How do I fix "water hammer" problem asked a few years ago.
1 The problem I am having started a month ago after living in this house for 10 years ...
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Buried hose through PVC to outdoor hose bibb
The big picture.
I'm looking to install an outdoor hose bibb in my driveway. At present, the way I get water to this location is by running a 50 ft length of hose from an outdoor hose bibb in the ...
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What are my kitchen sink's drain pipes made of, and how should I seal connections?
I'm going to attempt to replace my sink drain pipes (highlighted in red below) in addition to replacing my sink basket.
I have a question about the pipes: can someone confirm the material of these ...
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After replacing pressure tank water stops completely for several minutes at a time
I just installed a new well tank, replaced all with new parts,made sure the air was set on the new tank at 28 as the instructions said to do ,I have a 30/50 switch . Never had this problem until we ...
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Kitchen sink overflow pipe too long?
Some plumbing work was recently done in my building, and as part of this they changed some pipes under the sink. Ever since I have noticed that the drains tend to smell, particularly when draining the ...
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noisy pipes in wall
Problem
We live in a condo and have a problem with noisy (whistling / shrieking / whooshing) pipes in our bedroom wall. We've identified one or two fixtures in the building that are the source of the ...
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What is the correct material to sheath pex pipe under a slab?
It's recommended in my area (due to rocky soil) to install a sheath or channel under the slab for the pour, then slide the PEX into the sheathes afterwards during the rough. This also allows the PEX ...
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What do I need to remove and replace this recessed faucet aerator?
I've got a bathroom sink faucet with a recessed (cache) aerator that needs to be cleaned or replaced, but seems to require a special tool to remove it. There is no obvious branding on the faucet, so ...
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Well Pressure Greater than 100 psi to pressure tank
My signature 2000 pressure tank has a collapsed bladder and the pump runs with all water usage. Two days ago the pressure suddenly increased a lot and now the pressure switch gauge is pegged @ 100psi (...
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Vintage help: How to install a 1902 pedestal sink
My wife found this gorgeous vintage china Trenton Potteries sink she'd like to install in a bathroom. It's big (32"X 22") and we're trying to figure out how to support it. It has no holes in the back ...
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ensure that new faucet fits the pipe
I need to purchase a new faucet for kitchen. The house is pretty old, built in 1994, so I'd like to make sure that the new faucet will fit in pipes exactly. What do I have to pay attention at when ...
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Tee vs. wye for drainage?
When should I use a tee and when should I use a wye for drainage? Does using a "long sweep" tee alter the situation?
Example (sanitary) tee:
Example wye:
Example long sweep tee:
(Note - a long ...
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Where to place an aquastat that is external to the hot water tank?
If you need to retrofit an aquastat to a heating system what is the best way to do so?
i.e., in some hot water tanks or even boilers there may be a purpose-made port specifically to accept a "well" ...
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Can polyalloy (plastic) pex fittings be used with both styles of attachment rings?
Some pex fittings are made of a type of durable plastic known as polyalloy. Examples:
These fittings appear to be plastic equivalents of their brass counterparts.
In general is it permissible to ...
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New kitchen sink - not draining properly - could it be the way plumber connected pipes?
A plumber just installed my kitchen sink, however, it is not draining properly - it will overflow after just a few seconds. Im thinking there isnt enough pressure forcing the water down due to the ...
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What type of valve optimizes water pressure in new low-flow showerheads?
We are installing a shower with a handheld and a fixed showerhead fed by 1/2 inch pipe. Available valve systems are either:
A single function thermostatic valve, rated at 10.0 gpm, with separate ...