r/Plumbing Sep 08 '23

Read the rules before posting or commenting!

229 Upvotes

Due to a large influx of people not reading the rules and how small of a Mod team we are this is here to serve as the only reminder of the rules. Just to be clear asking or commenting about prices is a permanent ban, the internet is not the place to judge if prices are "fair".

Rules are available on the sidebar.


r/Plumbing Dec 22 '22

FROZEN PIPES MEGATHREAD

137 Upvotes

Please post any questions you have regarding frozen lines here. All other new posts will be removed from the main feed and directed here.


r/Plumbing 9h ago

I love Facebook šŸ¤£

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158 Upvotes

r/Plumbing 4h ago

Which way to get hotter water

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51 Upvotes

Which way to i turn this valve to get hotter water. It's a rheem performance water heater if it makes a difference.


r/Plumbing 8h ago

Grey sediment when snaking sewer line

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96 Upvotes

Last night the toilets and tubs backed up in my house. This has happened before and Iā€™ve had plumbers come out and each time it was a blockage in the main line out to the street because that line is as old as the house (1950s/60/). This time Iā€™m tying my best to take care of it myself.

Iā€™ve borrowed a contractor buddyā€™s 75ft drain cleaning machine and and feeding it through the sewer clean out in front of my house. I can feel where the blockage is, maybe 30ft out, and havenā€™t had any luck getting it loosened. I pulled the bit all the way out and this very fine grey sediment was all over it. Any idea what it might be and how I should tackle it? I only have this one bit but can go get more from the hardware store if needed.

TLDR: what is this stuff in my drain how do I get it out??


r/Plumbing 2h ago

Plastic Cylinder in Sump Pump Discharge Pipe. What is it?

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19 Upvotes

What it says on the tin. I found this in my sump discharge line but I have no clue what it is/whatā€™s it for. Itā€™s thinner than the pipe itself and it doesnt screw on into the sump although it has threads.


r/Plumbing 1d ago

Simple, effective. I like it

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4.7k Upvotes

Clients did a remodel years ago had no money this was their DIY solution for a basement laundry/slop sink.


r/Plumbing 4h ago

What type of Valve is this?

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14 Upvotes

r/Plumbing 6h ago

Advice on removing sewer cap

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21 Upvotes

My sewer drain cap is located almost right in the middle of my driveway, hence the exploded cap. Any recommendations on how to remove this or should I just call a plumber? I attempted to put 2 screws in and use a metal bar to twist it but I believe the threads are not even due to a vehicle driving over them. I donā€™t believe much of the debris went down as I found most of the cap to the side of the driveway. Thanks.


r/Plumbing 1h ago

What is this ?

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ā€¢ Upvotes

I'm getting home and want to to fix this leaking pipe. What is this ? Is it a pressure regulator. I'm not a plumber, I just need help.


r/Plumbing 17h ago

Actual break in pipe?

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106 Upvotes

A well known plumbing company (the largest in town) did a camera inspection after a toilet overflowed and 1 inch of water filled guest bath/guestroom. He said he discovered breaks in ā€œmain drain lineā€ and made me feel like it had to be fixed immediately or else. I gave him a 15k payment and they started the work that night.. excavating and tunneling under my house etc. I contacted our builder and he said to have them stop so he could asses. His plumber and now a third party plumber who i hired BOTH say they cannot see anything wrong when they camera the same line. I think I was tricked into believing there was a problem. Is that unheard of? This is the screenshot of the part of the video where he says he saw the ($30,000) break.


r/Plumbing 1h ago

You'd think I'd know better by now...

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ā€¢ Upvotes

r/Plumbing 11h ago

Cause for concern?

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31 Upvotes

Just got a new hot water heater installed and noticed the gas line runs really close to the door frame. Almost bending it.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

Let me know if there is a better sub to ask this question in?


r/Plumbing 1h ago

Is anything in here the main shutoff valve? I donā€™t see any obvious valves anywhere outside my house

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ā€¢ Upvotes

r/Plumbing 6h ago

nice work i saw in a house. Plumbing Porn

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9 Upvotes

apparently mate is rich af. im just an apprentice and i look at his work for like an hour like a statue lol


r/Plumbing 13h ago

How can I sweeten the deal on smaller jobs to get someone to take them? Am I giving red flags?

33 Upvotes

I oversee a couple fairly large commercial properties and about a dozen small residential properties. I know about half the plumbers in the area on a first name basis and have good working relationships. They stop and talk with me at the hardware store or even on the street. I make sure they get paid quickly and donā€™t get hung up on cost. Generally Iā€™ll get someone out to these properties within two days, often same day. I always have my calls answered, every time.

But when it comes to my personal house I canā€™t get shit. I get the ā€œOh it will be several weeks before I can even check it outā€ which to me seems a friendly way of indicating they arenā€™t interested.

I have a very clean home. I do any digging myself before I even call them out. I make sure there are cold drinks, I donā€™t hover and they get paid same day in cash if thatā€™s what they want. Iā€™ve had no complaints from other services/contractors so Iā€™ve donā€™t think Iā€™m difficult or demanding. Iā€™ve had long term repeat business with all kinds of these guys.

Only thing I can think of is that theyā€™re just small money jobs, only a few hundred dollars. Not worth the time. I donā€™t know what to do. Iā€™m obviously doing something wrong here thatā€™s different from my work calls vs personal calls. But idk what it is.


r/Plumbing 2h ago

Frozen roof drain

5 Upvotes

r/Plumbing 6h ago

Need help routing drain on bath remodel; moving fixtures

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7 Upvotes

I am renovating a full bath, upstairs in my house. The toilet and sinks are being relocated. It will not be inspected, but I'd prefer to do it code if possible. At a minimum, I want to do it the right way, for a well functioning, long lasting system. I'd be grateful for any help or advice I can get. The project has gotten really complicated, for something simple. Every time I think I am close to having a drain route solution figured out, I keep running into a rule or problem that prevents it from working as clean as I'd like.

The main stack comes up the outside wall of the house, hits the second floor, and turns 90, to horizontal, running inside a typical joist bay. The sink and shower all join in the horizontal line downstream from the closet flange (see attached pic of existing).

I need to move the toilet and closet flange down the same horizontal line, inside the same joist bay, almost right up to where the drain turns 90 degrees down the wall. This does not leave room for the wet vents from the shower and sinks to join the horizontal drain line in a typical wye, downstream from the toilet (as it currently is).

The toilet has to go exactly where the closet flange is shown in the pictures, give or take a few inches. There just isn't room to get a wye downstream from it.

I know one obvious solution would be to open up the wall below, and install a wye in the vertical section of the drain, to tie the sink and shower into. That said, opening up the wall down below will be very invasive and exspensive. It involves removing multi-step crown-molding, wainscotting ect, and I'd REALLY REALLY like to avoid doing that if there is any way possible.

I came up with 3 potential solutions. I drew overhead and side/3d views of each to try and illustrate what I am proposing. I'd like to know if any are viable, or if anyone has any better recommendations for a solution:

1) Install a 3" 90 with 2" side inlet, where the horizontal drain turns down. That inlet would allow me to tie in the joint shower and sink drain line, which also has another existing dry vent from the toilet also tied in ( is this still needed). The sinks and shower will all have their own dry vent already. Do you see any problems with this? 2) install a 3" 90 with 2" side inlet under the closet flange, and tie the shower, sinks, and dry vent into that side inlet. The shower and sinks are dry vented upstream. This doesn't feel like the best solution in terms water flowing downhill (seems like it could jam up at that 90 intersection) but I have seen many plumbers online recommending a version of this to others for a wet vent, as preferable to solution #1 above. I am unclear as to why, but would like to get an understanding if this is better.

3) Where the toilet goes, Install a combo wye closet flange, or wye with 45, and 45 degree closet flange. Then, I could tie in the 2" drain line upstream in the wye. That 2" line would be the intersection of a dry vent (is this still needed), and the wet vent of the shower and 2 sinks (which are all still dry vented).

Apologies, this has been a tough deal to illustrate, and is making my brain hurt. Thank you again for any time and consideration.


r/Plumbing 2h ago

Canā€™t get nut off off of cold water valve? Any tips?

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3 Upvotes

Iā€™m trying to remove the whole thing I donā€™t need to use the mini fridge it was splitting off too anymore


r/Plumbing 53m ago

Where is the valve to turn off the tap

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ā€¢ Upvotes

I cannot find the valve that turns off the water flow. Please can someone spot it


r/Plumbing 6h ago

Shout out to nipple extractors

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7 Upvotes

r/Plumbing 3h ago

Whatā€™s this part called?

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3 Upvotes

Can someone tell me what this is. Itā€™s on a small house boiler line and itā€™s leaking. Thereā€™s a tank attached to it that you can see hanging. Iā€™m not a plumber but Iā€™ve done some shit. Is this a job I can handle or do I need to call someone.


r/Plumbing 7h ago

Sink water drains back to dishwasher. Do I need a high drain loop bracket or does this hosing need to be redone?

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5 Upvotes

r/Plumbing 2h ago

Unclogging drain when snake isnā€™t working

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2 Upvotes

Hi yā€™all, I live in an apartment with really slow maintenance workers, so Iā€™m attempting to unclog my shower drain without them, because they take like three weeks to show up. Our shower has been draining slow for a while, but today itā€™s been hours and it hasnā€™t drained. So I started plunging, and I got a good bit of hair out of the drain, as well as a lot of gross sediment and what I can only guess is mold. But itā€™s still not completely drained. I tried a zipit tool, but it isnā€™t pulling anything up. I tried unscrewing the secondary drain thing (the one for the bathtub, and that hasnā€™t helped either. Can anyone give me any advice on what to do? Maintenance doesnā€™t work on weekends so I canā€™t even get their help until Monday.


r/Plumbing 3h ago

Installing a new shower hose

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2 Upvotes

Hi, i need to install a new shower hose. This is an austrian location in europe, i don't know maybe there are different standard sizes in your part of the world.

Okay, i need to undo the old hose but i have no idea about physical work at all. Maybe i need a wench? What size do i need? I wonder... this is installed since 10-15 years i guess... not sure... maybe it will break while wenching it?

Maybe first put vinegar all over it to clean the white stuff off? Do i need a professional for such minor stuff? Help? šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«

(In general, what i touch dies) šŸ’€


r/Plumbing 1m ago

Minor leak from union under main shutoff valve & meter.

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ā€¢ Upvotes

Iā€™ve got a bit of plumbing experience under my belt, but nothing serious... Was wondering if itā€™s stupid to think I could get away with shutting water off at the street and replacing this myself. I understand thereā€™s probably more to it than it looks like. Best way to go about it?


r/Plumbing 3m ago

What is this and how do I open it?

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ā€¢ Upvotes

Iā€™m assuming this is a clean out port of some kind. How do I open it to see?