General Plumbing Archives - Page 3 of 10

Prevent a Plumbing Disaster

May 23, 2016 By BobsPlumbingVideos Leave a Comment

After months and months of procrastination and having second thoughts about it, I’ve finally decided to release my home plumbing inspection process called “The No Brainer Home Plumbing Inspection Checklist” I recorded this series which is a combination of video tutorials, screen capture tutorials and a keynote presentation by me back in late 2015. Why did I wait so long? The true answer is I didn’t think there would be a demand for it, but hey that’s not for me to decide after all I’m the guy you call when the shit hits the fan.

What I’ve done is to replicate the procedure I use for my own service agreement plumbing clients. I will once annually perform this walk thru inspection in their homes looking for small signs of trouble which could potentially turn into a plumbing emergency if left unattended. Generally speaking, if this is a first-time inspection I will always find a multitude of problems brewing that my clients weren’t even aware of.

The goal for me is to find small problems and take care of them before they get out of hand ultimately saving my clients money. This was the thought in creating the “No Brainer Home Plumbing Inspection Checklist” If I could show you where and what to look for, you could then call your plumber and have him take care of the small things before they get out of hand.

When a plumbing emergency takes place, it places a huge financial burden on most of the families I service. A burst water heater, washing machine hose or plastic water connector is all it takes to ruin the family vacation you’ve been saving for all year long. In addition, what most families don’t realize is that their homeowner’s insurance policy is NOT going to cover the plumbers bill. They’ll only pay for the damages caused by the faulty plumbing, the plumbers bill is coming out of your pocket!

Throughout my career, I’ve identified two types of homeowners: Pro-Active or Re-Active, the latter would rather wait until a problem occurs before tending to it. If this is you, “The No Brainer Home Plumbing Inspection Checklist” is definitely not for you. On the other hand, if you are the Pro-Active type who cares about your home and finds value in preventative maintenance, then I encourage you to check out “The No Brainer Home Plumbing Inspection Checklist” You could just end up preventing a plumbing disaster and salvage the annual family vacation.

HAPPY PLUMBING, Bob

Prevent a Disaster Now!

Frost Proof SillCock? Maybe!

May 23, 2016 By BobsPlumbingVideos Leave a Comment

So everyone is intrigued with the frost proof sillcock, WHY? I know,I know, I’m just a grumpy old time plumber who’s not open to the new modern way of doing things. That’s somewhat true, but the fact still remains if these frost proof valves are not installed correctly, you still run the risk of BURST water line due to a FREEZE UP. How? Well, the bottom line is this. If you don’t pitch them downward away from the water source, the water will remain inside the cavity and at the first sub-freezing temperatures will cause them to fail! I’ve been installing outside hose lines longer than I care to remember and I’ve been doing it successfully without using expensive frost proof sill-cocks. I guess there is a place for them to be used in commercial applications,but for the average homeowner, I don’t think you need them.

The key to installing an outside hose line is this, Install a good quality ball type shut-off valve inside the house just before the water line exits the home and pitch them downward away from the waters source. When winter time rolls around, shut off the ball valve and open the outside faucet to drain out the remaining water inside the line. Pretty simple! But wait, what if the line is pitched backward towards the water source? It happens all the time here in New York City and when it does I simply install another hose bib inside the home to drain the water out of the line. Again when winter time rolls around I shut off the inside ball valve and open both the inside and out hose bib’s ensuring there is no more water sitting in the line.

An aid in helping the water drain successfully out of the line is to use a shut-off valve with a side inlet air vent port which will relieve any vacuum. I personally don’t use them, but they are available should you want them. The key to successfully preventing an outside hose line from an annual freeze up is to shut them off in the first place! I get called in every year from the same customers who simply forgot to shut off the water supply to their outside hose lines and I even equip them with BIG ORANGE GLOW TAGS with the words SHUT IN WINTER! Go figure!

I was called in this past week because a customer had a leak coming thru his foundation wall from his frost proof sillcock. He didn’t shut off the inside water supply valve because he thought he was protected with his fancy frost-proof valve. What he didn’t realize was that the washer inside the valve failed and the entire valve was back pitched which allowed water to fill the valve cavity. Upon the first freezing temperatures, the valve body split open leaking water through the foundation wall into his basement.

Check out the video where I show you the exact valve I pulled out of his house and believe it or not he wanted an exact replacement! I reminded him he would be well advised to shut-off the inside water supply valve to prevent this from happening again. By the way, I tagged the valve, you think he’ll read it? Anyway thanks as always for stopping by and if you enjoy my videos please give me a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel. Regards, HAPPY PLUMBING. Bob

Bobs Plumbing Tools for Homeowners

January 7, 2016 By BobsPlumbingVideos Leave a Comment

In today’s blog post and video I’m going to show your the plumbing tools that I have in my plumbers toolbox.

Bob's Original Tool Bucket! — Bob’s Original Tool Bucket!

Everyone’s asking me, Bob what kind of tool bag is that your using? So to answer some of these questions I thought I’d put together this video showing you exactly what I use on a daily basis in my plumbing practice. Back in the day when I was a helper, the plumbing mechanic carried his tools in a home made wooden box. Bulky? Yes but it served it’s purpose. As time evolved we eventually graduated to a metal tool bucket which was more convenient, but most times the item you were looking for ended up in the bottom. We’d dump it out to find what we were looking for and threw everything back in the bucket and repeated the process. Eventually the five gallon plastic buckets replaced the metal ones and you could buy one of those liners with the individual pockets to organize your tools. I used these for quite a while, but inevitably would be looking for a small tool which caused me to dump the whole bucket. Enough!

Enter the Veto-ProPac line of tools bags. I found these online years ago and bought one for my personal use. At the time they only made a closed top version, but they were so well made that I thought how could I adapt these to use as my primary plumbing tool bag. Well lucky for me (and a whole group of professional tradesman) the company introduced their O.T. (open top) version of their original tool bags.The bag in this video was actually given to me years ago as a Christmas gift and I thought this could work as my primary tool bag. This is their O.T. (open top) X.L. (extra large) bag which I use as my primary everyday tools bag. These bags are so well made that these are the only tool bags I will use and I own approx nine different versions. Pricey? yes, but well worth the investment. I’ll leave a link at the end of this post.

As you can see in the video I manage to pack a lot of stuff into this bag, with the exception of myhacksaw which is clamped to the side of the bag. I’ve reached out to the company to possibly produce a bag specifically for plumbers and they’ve been very receptive to the idea. They do currently make a O.T. (open Top) X.X.L. (extra large) bag, but I can tell you these get very heavy to lug around, so make sure you really need all that stuff before you commit to purchasing one of these. As you can see on the bench, I fit quite a bit more that you can see initially when the bag is upright. This is my everyday plumbing service bag, and for me it works. Do you as a homeowner need all these tools to perform base home plumbing repair? Absolutely not!

I’ve laid out for you what I consider to be a bare basic list of tools you’ll need if you want to tackle basic home plumbing repairs. I like to call it Bob’s Basic Tools (BBT) for home plumbing repair. Now some may say it ‘s not enough while others say it’s to much, but after 35 plus years in the game of plumbing service and repair, I feel these are the basic tools you’re going to need to get the job done.Check out the entire video and tell me what you think! If you think I missed something or need to add something, I’d love to hear from you. You can always reach me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com. I look forward to seeing you in my next video, until next time HAPPY PLUMBING!

Here’s the link to my Veto ProPac O.T.X.L. – http://amzn.to/1Dm1K99

What is Plumbers Putty & When Should I Use It?

September 16, 2014 By BobsPlumbingVideos Leave a Comment

Never heard of plumbers putty? So what is plumbers putty exactly?

Plumber’s putty іѕ аn adhesive / sealant thаt іѕ used fоr sealing various plumbing jobs.

It іѕ extremely convenient tо uѕе fоr а variety оf purposes, аnd саn even be used by а layman. Most often, one wоuld uѕе іt tо seal thе space bеtwееn faucets аnd counter-tops, оr when setting sink and tub drains.

It іѕ а watertight material whісh makes іt аn excellent choice аѕ а sealant fоr thеѕе purposes. Aраrt frоm thе aforementioned uѕе, thеrе аrе many оthеr uses оf plumber’s putty.
Bесаuѕе іt’s аn adhesive / sealant, plumber’s putty finds іtѕ uѕе іn numerous plumbing jobs.

It іѕ hоwеvеr, extremely soft, аnd thеrеfоrе ѕhоuld nоt bе used іn areas whеrе high water pressure occurs. It іѕ still watertight, and bесаuѕе іt’s ѕо soft, іt саn bе easily removed bеfоrе іt dries.

Plumber’s putty has а clay base, аnd consists оf linseed oil. Sоmе mау consist оf fish oils, talc, аnd limestone. check out ѕоmе оf іtѕ uses.

Thе prime uѕе оf plumber’s putty іѕ tо create a seal between a faucet and a kitchen counter-top.

Bесаuѕе оf іtѕ oil content it’s best used on formica countertops and should be avoided on granite and marble as it will stain those surfaces. If you do have a granite or marble countertop you should look to use a water based silicone sealent.

It саn аlѕо bе used tо seal self-rimming stainless steel kitchen sinks tо countertops. Apply thе putty оn thе base оf thе sink edge, аnd place іt іn thе space created tо fit thе sink. Uѕе pressure as you tighten the hold down clips on the sink and when the excess putty squeezes out, just trim it with a non-metallic putty knife.

Just like setting sinks, I use putty to set sink drains, tub drains, faucets and even use it on the bolts that secure a toilet tank to a bowl.

It’s insurance that I guarantee will avoid future leaks. One word of caution is when setting a stainless steel sink or working on a stainless steel counter-top, use plumbers putty specifically designed for use with stainless steel.

A lot оf people аrе concerned аbоut thе uѕе оf plumber’s putty vѕ. silicone. I personally feel thе former іѕ always а better option whеn compared tо thе lаttеr. On thе оthеr hand, bесаuѕе plumber’s putty stains marble аnd granite surfaces, уоu mау opt to use the water based silicone which seals considerably wеll.

Plumbers putty is much more forgiving іf уоu wish tо reverse а plumbing job уоu mау have done wrong, thе putty tends to remain pliable making іt possible to correct a mistake. A lot оf people аlѕо confuse plumber’s putty wіth Teflon tape.

In effect, Teflon tape іѕ used tо seal pipes frоm thе outside, аnd іѕ а good option fоr pipes thаt receive heavy pressure. Bесаuѕе plumber’s putty remains pliable, іt іѕ nоt а good choice fоr pipes thаt receive heavy pressure.

Aѕ mentioned earlier, plumber’s putty іѕ а great choice for the professional plumber as well as the weekend do-it-yourself plumber,аѕ іt іѕ very easy tо uѕе. If уоu still have questions, speak tо thе sales people іn thе plumbing supply or home center уоu frequent tо find оut whеthеr іt wіll bе suitable fоr thе purpose уоu want tо uѕе іt fоr.

Thеу ѕhоuld bе аblе tо answer уоur questions аnd give уоu а fair idea оf whеthеr оr nоt іt wіll bе useful. You can also shoot an e-mail to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com and I’ll be happy to help!

HAPPY PLUMBING!

Emergency Plumbing Prevention

August 12, 2014 By BobsPlumbingVideos Leave a Comment

Your Plumbing Systems

Just as the human body and family car need periodic examinations and check-ups, so does your homes plumbing systems.

Most people wouldn’t think of driving thousands of miles without checking the condition of their vehicle. Unlike the family car however, your plumbing systems doesn’t have warning lights to alert you of potential problems.

Ironically, this is the most often used system in your home and it undergoes the most wear and tear.

Homeowners insurance policies normally include fire, flood, liability, etc. coverage. But they don’t protect one of the most important items in your home: Your Plumbing Systems!

Ask yourself what it would be like not being able to use your toilet, bathtub, sinks, water heater, dishwasher or washing machine?

What Is Emergency Plumbing Prevention?

Simply put it’s a through annual visual inspection of all your homes plumbing systems which should include: faucets, fixtures (sinks & toilets), shut-off valves, drains, water heater, and all exposed piping throughout your home.

In my plumbing business I actually perform these annual inspections for my own customers and document a detailed checklist of each room to point out the weak spots.

I’ll recommend what needs immediate attention, and also point out areas what might need attention in the future. Although many home owners see this practice as having little value, they often change their mind when that overlooked repair turns into an emergency in the middle of the night.

Now their faced with calling one of those after hours emergency plumbing companies which will take advantage that opportunity when it happens.

Are you aware that 99% of all plumbing emergencies can be avoided!

When I complete a service call and offer to perform a whole house plumbing inspection, sadly most homeowners choose to decline this service out of fear that I’ll try to sell them something.

They’ll often tell me that they looked things over and everything is fine and are anxious to get me out of the house. What I’ve found over the years is that most homeowners don’t have the technical expertise to make themselves aware of a potential plumbing problem that could turn into a plumbing emergency.

I’ve pointed out some problems for customers that required immediate attention at which point they declined the repair. A few weeks later that minor repair turned into a plumbing emergency after which I get a phone call saying why didn’t I fix it when I was their. That’s when I show them a copy of the declined repair with their signature. GO FIGURE!

By not taking advantage of a simple visual annual plumbing systems inspection you can probably look forward to: higher water bills, pre-mature faucet, fixture and water heater replacement, higher costs for necessary plumbing repair and replacements and most important, not being able to get your regular plumber when that emergency occurs!

Don’t fall victim to one of those after hours emergency plumbing companies, ask your plumber to perform a through inspection of your homes plumbing systems today. If by some chance he gets a dazed and confused look on his face, I would seriously consider finding a new plumber.

If you have any questions or concersns about anything I covered today you can always reach me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

HAPPY PLUMBING!