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Real Life Plumbing Advice for People Who Don't Want To Call A Plumber

When To Use a Plastic Ferrule

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Back in the good old days coming up into the trade, every faucet or toilet I installed was with solid pipe. For faucets we would reduce the 1/2″ water supply lines to 1/4″ using reducing couplings and then we would choose from varying lengths of 1/4″ brass tailpieces to make the connection into the faucet. For toilets there was generally 3/8″ brass riser pipe which fit into the male shank of the toilet fill valve a.k.a. (ballcock). We would use the female nut supplied with the fill valve and make the connection using some ball wick.

Slowly the chrome plated copper basin and toilet supply tubes made their way into the market which frankly made life so much easier. I still use them today depending on job circumstances, but boy have times changed! Walk into any home center or plumbing supply house and ask for the parts to connect your toilet or faucet and you’ll more than likely get a flexible stainless steel supply tube. Hey that’s progress I guess and truth be told I’ll use them again depending on the job circumstances.

What I won’t use is those braided nylon water supply tubes I see all over the home centers. They are just one big accident waiting to happen and I’ve seen my fair share of them blow right out of their crimp points causing some serious water damage. DON’T USE THEM! . Enter the P.E.X. style water supply tube which to me is something a handyman might use (no offense guys) and truth is I would use them before using one of those braided plastic supply tubes.

The key in using the P.E.X. style supply tubes is to use the plastic ferrule that’s generally supplied with the tube. All to often I’ll come onto a job perhaps to install a new faucet and I discover the last guy used the metal brass ferrule designed to be use with the copper supply tubes. News Bulletin Friends! That metal ring will cut into the tube and maybe not cause a leak instantly but down the road someone is going to be the unfortunate victim of a leaking supply tube and it’ll most likely happen when they’re not home!

Take a look at the video and if you have any concerns or questions concerning P.E.X. style water supply tubes. I’d love to hear from you, I can always be reached at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING,

Bob

How To Connect Kitchen & Bathroom Drains.

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In two previous videos “How To Connect a “P” Trap To a Kitchen Sink” and “How To Cut Out a Rotted Waste Nipple” I showed you some options on how to make the transition from the “P” Trap over to the actual sink drain. In this updated video I illustrate some more methods and materials on how to get from the drain line exiting the wall to the trap and onto to actual fixture drain.

I received a number of e-mails from followers who were still unsure of how to go about it, so I hope this will clarify the procedure a little better. To demonstrate for kitchen sink drains which are typically 2″ in diameter I mounted a pipe flange to my board simply to hold the pipe in place. The flange is not something you would see in actual field conditions, you would simply see a piece of pipe exiting the wall.

With all the modern materials available today, you’re no longer limited to one or two options anymore. Back in the day you pretty much would have to cut out and remove the leaking drain line which was very labor intensive. That’s no longer the case and you now have endless possibilities. Whether it be galvanized steel, cast iron, P.V.C or A.B.S., their is literally and connection method for each of the fore mentioned.

The one thing I think that’s important when performing these repairs is you should try and bring the fixture trap a.k.a. “P” trap as close as possible to the fixture drain. I often see the trap right up against the wall followed by crazy configurations of waste tubing connecting the drain. That waste tubing is made of very light gauge metal and in a short period of time will rot and inevitably have to be replaced.

Check out the video from start to finish and if you’re still unsure about something send your inquiry’s and photos over to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

I’d love to hear from you!
HAPPY PLUMBING!.

How a Pop-Up Assembly Works

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So your basic lavatory pop-up waste assembly is not so mysterious after all. Let’s take a look at how a pup-up assembly works.

A simple invention designed to keep the water inside of your lavatory to shave or perhaps wash your face. Most of the ones I have installed are similar in design with the exception being that the material was either plastic or solid brass construction.

The one featured in the video is of solid brass construction which has always been a reliable unit, fact is, I prefer brass pop-up’s to the plastic versions.

Simply put they just work better and last longer. As you can see it’s a pretty simple concept, pull up on the lift rod and the stopper goes down. Push down on the lift rod and the stopper goes back up.

For me, the most important part of the installation is that in addition to placing a ring of plumbers putty around the chrome flange before you place it into the sink, I also place a ring of putty on the beveled washer that seals the bottom of the pop-up against the bottom of the sink.

This is one step that although in theory is not required, can save you from having to disassemble the unit and doing it all over again. Trust me I speak from experience, if I have to make a return trip for a nuisance leak, it costs me money! Not to mention the inconvenience to my customer.

The other point I’d like to make is that when I set up my lift rods, I always make sure my stopper ends up being in the fully open position when my lift rod is pushed completely down.

I often see that when the lift rod is fully down, the stopper is only partially up which causes the water to pool in the sink which is just a nuisance.

Before you set your rods, make sure the stopper is in the fully up position and you can’t miss.

Check out the video and if there is something I missed, please drop me a line at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Install a Basic Kitchen Deck Faucet – Part 2

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If you haven’t watched video 1 of this 2 part video series then watch it here:
How To Install a Basic Kitchen Faucet – Part 1

Let’s continue to install the basic kitchen deck faucet in the concluding part of this video series.

So now that you have removed the old faucet, it’s time to prep the new one. The faucet in this video has a hard plastic deck gasket but you still have to use plumber’s putty for a completely water tight seal.

As I mention in the video, in the past, I covered the entire bottom of the faucet with plumber’s putty, and there is nothing wrong with that if you so desire, but I found that by running a bead of putty around the entire edge of the faucet gets me the same result.

The important component is that you want it to squeeze and fan out beyond the faucet body to ensure a watertight seal.

If you are planning on installing a spray hose attachment, now would be the time to screw the male end of the hose into the faucet before you place it onto the sink.

String the hose in through the center hole and then you can bring it up through the fourth hole in the sink if so equipped.

An important tip here is that you’ll have to remove the spray head from the hose before you do this which is pretty simple to do and again,

I’ll cover that in future videos.

Now it’s a matter of tightening the locknuts, followed by connecting your hot and cold water supply tubes, turning on the water and you’re done.

Don’t forget to clean the excess putty from around the faucet, for this I generally use a wooden toothpick to keep from scratching anything.

You also want to remove the aerator and flush out any debris that may have accumulated in the installation process.

Get a little glass cleaner, shine that puppy up and you just saved yourself a boat load of cash by doing it yourself. Job Well Done!!!

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Install a Basic Kitchen Faucet – Part 1

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Welcome to this 2 part video series which will teach you how to install a basic kitchen deck faucet. This is the first video in this series.

I guess by now you realize that I do a good deal of my videos on my workbench to demonstrate the steps one must take before deciding to take on a plumbing repair or replacement.

With the exception of the of the grit, grime, roaches, spiders and yes the occasional frozen locknut, the steps are all the same and I feel I can present that to you much better on the bench top.

Don’t get me wrong, I will be taking you on the jobsite for certain jobs and or repairs but for this video we’re back on the bench top.

This video is all about installing a basic kitchen deck faucet and the process to remove the old one.

Although the faucet in the video does come equipped for a hose and spray attachment, I’m not featuring it other than to point out screwing in the hose before you mount the faucet to the sink.

I’ll go into detail about hose and spray attachments in a future video but in the meantime, you can check out my video on “How to replace a kitchen hose spray diverter”.

Back to faucet land, and as usual, you must shut off the water supply before disconnecting the basin supply tubes. Miss this step and be prepared for your second shower of the day!

Once the basin supplies are off, follow up with the locknuts and then you can proceed to remove the old faucet. I’ll tell you what, check out part 1 of this two-part video and I’ll catch up with you in part 2.

Click here to watch How To Install a Basic Kitchen Deck Faucet – Part 2

HAPPY PLUMBING!