51
OK I am going to answer this like you are in the US. It doesn't differ much but to give a baseline.
To sum it up - This is F'ing crazy as hell, unsanitary, and not code.
So it looks like there is a basin siphoned off from the foundation that drains to a sump pump and the pump pushes water to... who the hell knows (it doesn't matter).
Issues:
If ...
49
Since the pole is so thick and there's only one of them, it could have been the base of a satellite dish - like one of the old 8' dishes (big, not sure of exact measurements).
The height is about right for that, and it's kinda short for a clothesline.
It filling with water is just from the rain. I've never seen anything plumbing or well related that looks ...
47
1 inch pipe used to have an inside diameter of 1 inch.
As the fittings attached to the outside, the OD had to stay the same for compatibility with the old stuff. The manufacturers fiddled with the wall and the matching of the actual measurements with the named size was abandoned just as it had been at the sawmill.
44
It is highly likely that that piping arrangement is made that way to facilitate the installation of a water softener. A water softener will have a need to accept a pipe with incoming hard water and another for the outflow of conditioned water to the rest of the residence.
When a water softener is installed the U shaped fittings at the bottom of those two ...
35
When I had to do this for our basement I used an "Inside Pipe Cutter", a fancy bit that fits into your standard drill. Looks something like this:
You chuck it in your drill, put the blade at the height you want on the interior of the pipe, and run the drill, cutting through the sidewalls. Won't be 100% perfectly straight unless you have a very ...
30
It is a drain cleanout. You can try turning it clockwise to see if it tightens enough to stop the leak. If not, have a bucket or pan to catch any spillage, turn it counter clockwise, remove the plug, clean it off and the inside of the pipe. Wrap some Teflon tape around it and screw it back on.
28
My approach would be to turn off the water heater and the cold supply.
Then open a hot tap below, or as close to the area of the leak, to drain the hot pipe.
Then be prepared to catch the remaining water when you cut the pipe around the leak.
Supplement:
One can get “ice clamps” that can be used to isolate either side of the leak but can be fun if the ...
28
That valve is for a different type of piping system called CPVC and the sizes and fittings are different. The difference is deliberate because CPVC is rated for hot water whereas regular PVC is not; they don't want people to accidentally (or deliberately, to save money) install regular PVC pipe or fittings on a hot water system.
Look at the valve label.
27
That looks like a gas line or black iron pipe.
The shutoff valve is typical of gas it may be loose below
I would use caution if you smell gas it could be leaking.
If you have a gas service it could be for a heater that was planned and not used or one that was removed. A soapy water solution dribbled on the threads and valve to check for leaks is a good idea. ...
26
Even though 811 ignored them doesn't mean they are not a private utility. It is possible they are natural gas or waterlines, or were an electrical conduit however they are most likely just pipes driven into the ground as support for a past fence.
To rule out private utilities you can call an HVAC contractor licensed in PA to work on gas (most installers and ...
26
Tape it.
You are not proposing this kludge as a permanent fix. That's good.
The wrap-tape products are good for an emergency bodge, and that's what you are proposing, on a temporary basis. The problem with them is when they manage to stop the leak and then folks decide not to call the plumber (or do the plumbing themselves, whichever) after all.
I would also ...
25
Most likely an abandoned fireplace chimney, if evidence supports the theory that the bathroom under that area has been added recently. Otherwise they may have re routed a bathroom exhaust fan into it. Take the cage off and look down it with a flashlight.
24
Either you glued them correctly (I prefer "cleaner, then primer, then glue" for the most reliable connections) or you'll need to re-glue them after the joints fail.
Nothing you add to the outside will change that.
You do need to paint or otherwise cover them to prevent damage from the UV in sunlight, since you mention that they are above-ground.
...
23
My vote is that it is for a clothes line/rack. Water is just accumulated over the years from rain.
Example 1:
Example 2:
23
It's true that, so long as the exit is lower than the entrance, water will find its way through the pipe even if there are low points in the path. However, as others have noted, debris could accumulate in those low points. So the answer to your specific questions "does it need to be continuously sloped" is a squishy "yes.. unless you're ...
22
Yes, us old-timers have used this trick for decades. My father showed it to me in the 1980s. I did just a few months ago when swapping a water heater. The idea is that you plug the pipe with a gob of bread, do your repair as the bread blocks and absorbs the trickle of water, and later it softens and dissolves, flowing down the pipe. You want to use just the ...
21
Given all the ideas, the obvious solution would seem to be don't use sand.
Instead, fill the bottom pipe with cement. Or fill it mostly with gravel with a few inches of cement or silicone sealant to hold the gravel in place.
20
Looks like minor leaks, compounded by mixing galvanized pipe and copper/bronze valve without using dielectric couplings between dissimilar metals.
Honestly, any plumber installing NEW galvanized pipes (rather than just making repairs to existing) in the past 5 years is doubtful. If you really want threaded pipe, stainless is available and lead-free, which ...
18
There are different grades and types of copper pipe that you of course should be aware of. However I think your question is whether copper pipe is really a commodity type product - whether there's a difference between products of the same grade / type made by various manufacturers and sold by various retailers and wholesalers.
This is a common question ...
18
Though a photo might help, from your description, this is most likely a drain, as you surmised, meant to take the flow from the water heater, should the over-pressure valve pop open or leak, and condensation from the air conditioner that has not evaporated.
Since this drain receives little or no water on a regular basis, it could be blocked somewhere down ...
17
I would switch it out for a flush cleanout plug and paint it to match as close as possible. You should not cover or hide it because it is probably for sewer clean-out purposes.
16
You only have to replace the wax ring if the toilet leaks. It's wise to replace it whenever you remove the toilet, though. It's not a matter of age, but the fact that a wax ring is intended to be a single-use item. They squish into place when you set a toilet, and that can't happen very well more than once.
It's certainly possible that you achieved a ...
16
April 13, 2016
Purpose: There is some disagreement as to whether boiling water can be poured down a residential kitchen sink without damaging the drain pipe. It might be assumed that if the pipe drains quickly, the amount of time necessary to cause damage would be greater than the actual time that the boiling water would be present in any particular ...
16
This could be part of a larger yard drainage system. It could let water from the screened end of the pipe drain out into some buried drain field. It could also drain onto a deep buried french drain construction consisting of a sizeable hole that was filled with crushed rock or similar.
The fact that the part of the pipe that has the screen is working its ...
16
If you are in a climate where the water can freeze it is a definite problem.
If not, there is still the potential for debris and sediment to settle in the low sections and eventually clog the pipe.
15
You have to pull the wire out. Period.
What you're looking at here is the conduit wiring method. It's actually a very excellent way to run wiring, but I gather it's completely alien and unfamiliar to you.
The gist is that you build the pipe route, then you run the wires through it, in that order. The wires can be any color and size you want.
Now, Code ...
answered Oct 5 '19 at 6:30
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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15
I'd be tempted to poke that large white fitting on a piece of flexi hose with a stick o see if it's really a trap that is meant to be screwed to the bottom of the bath drain. It's hard to tell for sure, but that long dip tube on the plug hole fitment looks like it's meant to be screwed into something and my betting is that the 'something' fell off when ...
15
What I would do ( have done) is replace the elbow with a "T" and add a valve to be opened in winter . Presumably the valve will be below grade and will need something like a sprinkler valve box. I have a few similar drain valves in my sprinkler system.
14
Looks like a rain gutter or sump pump outlet. Place a noisy device directed into it and walk around and listen.
You could probably bury the white pipe and just leave the grille exposed, flush with the lawn.
14
Your best bet would be the correctly sized metal screw. Not a bolt, but a screw. Some of them are self drilling/tapping (these are commonly referred to as simply "self-tapping" in the US). They will drill their own hole and tap their own threads all in one step. If you can't find the right sized metal screw, you can get a self-tapper a little bigger than ...
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