One Fix For A Leaky Outdoor Faucet

One of the most annoying things is a leaky faucet. I find it especially annoying to turn on an outdoor faucet and have water dripping everywhere. The most common problem, if you're using a garden hose, is that the small gasket is missing that goes between the hose connector and the valve.

But what if the water is dripping out of the valve instead of the hose?

Let's look at this example... The other day I was using a client's outdoor hose to mix mortar to lay tile. It was a townhome and the water valve was actually located in the garage. It dripped badly. Soon it was running through the garage and pooling just outside the garage door.

For a while, I didn't bother with it. After all, I was there to tile, not to fix the plumbing, right?

Then, I couldn't take it anymore.

The fix for a leaky valve is usually so easy it seems silly. Get out a wrench and tighten the nut holding the handle on. You can see how I did it in the picture below. If that nut gets just a little bit too loose, the valve will not operate correctly and water will drip (or spray) out of the handle.

Don't overdo it, but just a little pressure with a wrench and the dripping should stop. If it doesn't, it's probably too worn out and needs replacement. Usually, they are just loose and need to be tightened up.

At least you can give this a try before you call the plumber and spend the big bucks.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Repair a Broken Toilet Flange

Toilets are not especially fun to deal with. This week I've been tiling a couple bathroom floors for one of my favorite clients and was ready to reinstall the toilet. Everything was moving smoothly until I noticed that the PVC toilet flange was cracked and broken.

Not cool.

This is a problem because the flange holds the bolts that, in turn, hold the toilet down. If I were to ignore the crack in the flange the bolt would not tighten down enough resulting in a toilet that will likely rock back-and-forth and possibly leak wastewater...

So, how to fix it?!

You don't have to replace the entire flange. Instead, head to the home store and get a repair flange. You'll probably find it next to where the normal toilet flanges are sold, somewhere on a top shelf where it's hard to locate. It's a fairly simple metal disc that is the size of the flange. It slips right over the old broken flange. You screw it down to the subfloor and it's ready to go.

By the way, make sure you use some kind of moisture resistant screws that won't rust and eventually break. (No drywall screws allowed here. :)

It's not a difficult fix, but can be frustrating if you're unsure what to do about it. So, be frustrated no longer...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Tips for Installing a Pedestal Sink

At my Inglewood Cottage renovation project (these posts), we're trying to put things back together in a way that fits the older character of the home. This means the bathroom has new beadboard wainscoting and cool black-and-white hex tile. Next, of course, is the pedestal sink.

A pedestal sink is a common choice for a smaller bathroom when space is an issue. In this particular bathroom there is a huge toiletry closet behind the door, so there is plenty of storage. This is sometimes a concern when there will be no storage in the bathroom vanity.

The homeowners picked out a beautiful Kohler pedestal sink and it was time for me to install it. The old sinks usually had some metal brackets that first attached to the wall for the sink to rest on. I guess that was too easy... :) Now you have to find a way to attach the sink through the two holes provided. Because of the location of these holes under the sink where there's not usually any elbow room, you have to approach this differently.

Step zero: install the faucet and drain. It will be much easier for you if this is done before you attach it to the wall. You could wait to attach the connectors, but go ahead and get most of it installed.

Then, unless the hole is located right over a stud, you'll want to pick up a couple toggle bolts to attach the sink. I'm going through quite a bit of plaster and drywall, so I bought 4" toggle bolts.

Set the sink up with the pedestal and use a level to get it in the right spot. You want the surface of the sink to be level front-to-back and left-to-right. Once it's there, mark the two holes on the wall.

Next, drill a couple holes sized as recommended for your toggle bolts. My holes were 3/4". When that's done, you can put the toggle bolts through the sink and then insert them into the holes. Make they've sunk deep enough so that the 'wings' spread out against the back of the wall.

Now you need to tighten the toggle bolts. Some pedestal sinks may be designed so that you can actually get a screwdriver in there. However, many are not and you'll go crazy trying to figure out how to do it. Here's the secret: get a right angle screwdriver.

There are many versions of the ol' right angle screwdriver from fancy ratcheting ones, to cheap ones like mine that get the job done. I mainly just use this for installing pedestal sinks, but it's the right tool for the job.

Once it's secure you can hook up the plumbing and go have a nice day...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Three Headaches to Avoid When Installing a Toilet

Toilets aren't much fun to deal with, however whenever you're renovating a bathroom, you'll probably need to remove and reset the toilet or possibly install a new one. Here are three tips that will save you some frustration when you go to put the toilet in.

1. This is a biggie: Make sure that the toilet flange bolts are at least 12" away from the finished wall. (Sometimes called a 12" rough-in.) This is the minimum amount of clearance that you'll need to fit most standard toilets. The problems often come after you've added something to the wall, such as tile or beadboard wainscoting, that reduces the room you have for your toilet. Take this seriously and think about it ahead of time.

The best fix is to move the flange over if possible. This is what I did for this project, however, if you're dealing with old cast iron pipes in the crawlspace you don't want to hear that. You might be able to install something called an "offset flange" that will buy you an inch or two and may save the day.

If you're stuck with a flange that's simply too close to the wall, you'll have to go shopping for a toilet that will fit. The big home stores usually stock 1 toilet that will fit in a 10" space (measuring from the bolts to the wall.) You could also search the salvage yard for an toilet that will fit. Yep, that would be a used toilet... :)

2. Make sure your connections are right. Especially when you're replacing an old toilet, you may have a connections that aren't compatible with the modern 3/8" compression connectors. You may need an extra adapter fitting to get everything to connect. Also, the height of your new toilet may be different than the old, needing a longer connector than you have on hand to make it work.

3. When you're installing the nuts, don't forget the plastic covers. Install the plastic base before the washer and nut. IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure the plastic base is installed with the correct side up. It will probably say on the top "this side up." This is important for making the cover snap together with the base piece.

You can probably tell that I've dealt with all of the above situations before. If you think ahead in these situations you can save yourself some frustration and perhaps a couple extra trips to Home Depot.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Solder a Simple Copper Connection

The cottage renovation is in full swing. We're starting at the bottom and working our way up. That means that we needed to replace a few pipes in the basement that were old galvanized steel and deteriorated to the point that it was reducing the water pressure.

Mostly, I was using PEX with copper crimp rings and barb fittings, however, there were a couple copper connections needed near the water heater. (You're not supposed to use any plastic pipe, such as PEX or CPVC within 18" of the water heater.) Anyway, I thought I'd share the simple process for a solder joint when working with copper.

To get started you might pick up a basic soldering pack at the hardware store. It might contain a small propane torch, solder, flux, and flux brush.

1. Cleanly cut the copper pipe. It's best to use a pipe cutter meant for this purpose because you'll get a square cut. It's much more difficult with a hacksaw.

2. Clean the pipe. I've got a helpful little tool with steel brushes for both 1/2" and 3/4" pipe. A small piece of sandpaper can also do the job. You want to scrub the pipe until the copper is shiny. Family Handyman, in this article about soldering copper, calls cleaning the pipe "the A-1 key to copper soldering success". Don't skip this step. (By the way, you can even reuse old copper pipes if you clean it properly to make a good connection.)

3. Brush some flux on the areas to be soldered, both the end of the pipe and the inside of the fitting. Flux is a chemical composition that helps clean the copper to prepare it for solder and it also helps in the heat transfer.

4. Heat the fitting with a propane torch. Notice I said to heat the fitting. This is important. Specifically, you want to apply the heat to the female end of the fitting that's receiving the pipe. The flux helps the heat to also heat up the pipe inside. Move the flame back-and-forth across the fitting to heat it evenly.

5. Hold the solder on the joint in a spot opposite the flame. This is the coldest part and you want it to be hot enough to accept the solder. When the fitting is hot enough it will just 'suck' the solder in and you're done. Enough solder should be taken in that it drips out the bottom of the fitting, but there's no need to overdo it. The heat will do the work.

6. Let the pipe cool. It will stay hot for a while. In my case, I later attached some 1/2" PEX to the barb on this fitting using copper rings with a PEX crimp tool... but, that's a lesson for another day...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

How To Add Valves Under The Sink

When it comes to plumbing repairs, valves are your friend. If you have a valve under the toilet, for instance, you don't have to find the main shut-off, which is often in the deep recesses of a crawlspace. Instead, you can turn off the water supply to the toilet, swap out the fixture, and turn it back on.

If you don't have a valve, by all means, add one when you're working on it!!

I'm working on a short kitchen project right now where I'll be adding a dishwasher and garbage disposal to an older kitchen. There are no valves in the kitchen, so adding some was the first step of my project. It's fairly basic, but that doesn't make it easy.

Often older homes have galvanized lines that corrode enough to make it hard to work with, but not quite enough to replace all of it. Here are some hints:

1. Turn off the water somewhere, usually the home's main water shut-off valve. If it's in the back of a crawlspace, it may be easier to shut if off at the street if it's easily accessible. Once the water is off, turn on a fixture in the lowest part of the home to drain as much of the water out of the system as possible. No use making any more mess than needed, right?

2. Disconnect the current supply lines- under the sink, in my case. If they are stuck, you might try using a little WD-40 to loosen them up.

3. Connect your valve. That's sometimes easier said than done. The valve section at Home Depot must have at least two dozen different types of valves. Which one do you need? Here's a starting point for you- most of the time, the hot/cold supply lines under the sink are 1/2" galvanized. The means you want a valve with one end labeled 1/2" FIP. This stands for "Female Iron Pipe because the valve will be threaded inside to receive the male end of the pipe that's under the sink.

The faucet connector after the valve can be tricky. If it's newer, it's most likely a 3/8" compression fitting. These are, by far, the most common for new fixtures. However if you're adding a valve you've probably got the original supply lines which could be any number of things. If you're unsure what it is, just take all the parts to the home store with you and get whatever fittings are needed to put it back together.

The iron pipe side is usually connected with Teflon tape or pipe dope, which is a gooey form of pipe thread sealant that you can 'paint' on the threads. Compression fittings don't need Teflon sealant.

4. Test and fix any drips. Drips happen. Usually it's a matter of tightening up your connections or redoing it with more sealant.

NOTE ABOUT DISHWASHER CONNECTIONS

You'll see that I chose a dual outlet valve for this project. That allows me to connect the water line as well as the dishwasher to this one valve. Quite handy, eh? I've put a cap on it for now because I haven't got the dishwasher installed quite yet.

When in doubt, call a plumber... :)

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Easy Faucet Repair

Drippy faucets can feel like they are just part of life, right? Actually, the repair for them is often quite simple, if you know how to take one apart. Let's look at a simple single-stem faucet that would no longer shut off all the way.

Here are the steps I took to repair this common fixture from Delta Faucet:

1. Turn of the water. Hopefully, there are valves underneath the sink. If not, you may need to find the main shut-off. Either way, don't forget to turn it off.

2. Use a flat-head screwdriver to carefully pop the cover off the center of the handle. A screw will be revealed that is holding the handle onto the stem. Remove the screw and the handle.

3. Now get some wide mouth pliers and unscrew the casing around the stem. You may want to use a cloth of some kind to prevent scratches from your pliers. Once it's loose you can remove it with your fingers.

4. Inside you'll find a ball that is attached to the stem as well as a gasket. In my case today, the gasket was worn enough that it no longer applied enough pressure to make the valve close all the way. Take these out and look for problems.

5. Replace the parts. There's an entire department at most home stores dedicated to faucet repair. To be safe, take the parts from your faucet to the store with you to make sure you get the correct replacement parts.

6. Put it all back together in reverse order.

7. Turn the water back on and test.

This process works with many different types of plumbing fixtures. Just make a note of how they come apart so you can get them back together.

-Peter

;">www.CarpentryGuy.com

Lead Drum Trap Leaking Into Light Fixture?

We're on the edge of finishing our apartment conversion project. One last detail was to replace the light fixture in the tile shower. Sounds easy enough, right?  One problem,  I started to remove the globe and realized that it was full of water!???

That was the first clue.

So, I quickly made sure that the electricity was off to the light and pryed the fixture off the ceiling.  (The screws were completely rusted.)  Surprisingly, the ceiling was not damp, but I needed to make a hole and see where the water was coming from.

Soon I saw it.  The large lead drum trap under the upstairs bathtub.  The bottom was covered with corrosion that screamed, "Replace me!"

Apparantly, it was just dripping enough that the water would make its way down the drywall to the light fixture without pooling and breaking through the ceiling. 

I made a large enough hole to access the drain above.  Thankfully, it was fairly easy to reach with no framing in the way as long as I could get through the ceiling.

Lead is an interesting character.  They pretty much custom fit these old traps on site by soldering them.  I wanted to cut out as much of it as possible, so I cut it close to the 2" cast iron hub leaving enough that I could join the new pipe on to it.  I used the reciprical saw with an abrasive blade that I also use for cast iron.

Once the old trap was cut out, I assembled a new 2" trap that would join to the 1 1/2" tub drain that was still in good shape.  I connected it to the old pipes using a 2" neoprene Fernco coupler.

Now with all of that back together, it's time to think about that light fixture again...  and a little drywall repair...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

How To Add a Dishwasher to Your Kitchen

A Dishwasher can be a huge time saver and add convenience to your life. However, if you don't have one, it can be quite inconvenient to put one in. I installed one from scratch at my kitchen project in Inglewood and thought I'd cover the basics for you.

1. Make a spot for it. Dishwashers need a 24" wide hole in your cabinets, hopefully right next to the sink for easy access both for the user and for the plumbing hookups. This kitchen had a 24" wide base cabinet that was the perfect location for a new dishwasher. I removed the doors, drawer & shelf and then carefully started removing the cross pieces.

If you have room for the jigsaw, use that, but for removing the floor of the cabinet I needed my reciprocal saw. Get the dishwasher out and measure it to make sure of the exact dimensions. Drill at least a 3/4" hole from the new cavity into the sink cabinet. Sometimes you'll need two of them.

2. Add the Electrical connections. Dishwashers need to be on their own dedicated 20 amp circuit. Sometimes you can get away with including the garbage disposal on this circuit. If you're doing this, now's the time to take care of it while you can get to the wall to add the switch, etc. It's best to have a licensed (and competent :) electrician handle the electrical work.

My project had an open basement underneath which greatly reduced the difficutly in running the new circuit. I know this not always the case. You may have to get creative, but don't try to cheat and add the dishwasher to the countertop circuits.

3. Connect the plumbing. Usually, a dishwasher has a flexible pipe that goes through a hole into the sink cabinet to connect to the sink supply lines. A 3/8" compression fitting is standard, though it may have 1/2". This particular dishwasher was supposed to be connected to the hot water line. I installed a two-way valve that would control both the faucet and the dishwasher flow. (There were no valves there when I started. Crazy, I know.)

Hmm... Should you connect your dishwasher to the hot or cold water line??
This is a good question. It turns out that the answer is: "It depends." The best way to find out is to look in the installation manual from the manufacturer. If you don't have one try a search for your dishwasher model online.

Newer dishwashers are able to heat the water so they are classified as "cold-fill". They are connected to the cold supply line. However, older dishwashers don't have this feature and will need to connect to the hot water line in order to have hot water washing the dishes.

Go ahead and connect the water line under the dishwasher while you can easily access it. In addition to the supply line hookup, you'll need a drain tailpiece that has a dishwasher spout like in the picture above. That's where the dishwasher drain will connect to the sink drain.

4. Add the dishwasher. Having made these preparations, it's time to slide the dishwasher into its new home. As you do, pull the drain and supply line through those holes you made into the sink cabinet. Push the dishwasher all the way back and level it using the adjustable feet on the front. I like it to be fairly snug with the countertop, but make sure the door opens and closes freely.

5. Make the connections. The panels below the dishwasher remove to give you access to the connections. The electrical wire will enter the small box on the right through a clamp-connector that screws down to keep the wire from moving. Then you connect white to white, black to black and ground to ground. Sometimes the ground will also connect to a screw mounted somewhere in the box.

If you didn't already connect the supply line you can do this now as well as attaching the drain hose to the kitchen drain under the sink.

6. Test. Before you cover everything up take time to turn the water and electrical on and go through a cleaning cycle. Check for any drips and adjust as necessary.

It may take a day to get it all installed from scratch, but think of all that time you'll save by not hand-washing dishes!

Guys, you may score some points with the wife as well... :)

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Replace the Cracked Garbage Disposal

I had a client complain this week that there was a leak under her sink. I started to investigate and look for any drips from supply lines or the drains. I traced the drip back to the garbage disposal.


It was an old disposal and it had some corrosion around the seam in the middle of it, so I thought that it may have developed a leak there. Anyway, we decided to replace it with a new one.

Once I got the old one off I could see it clearly, it had a crack in the side of it! I guess it died of natural causes. Whenever there was water running through it, it would just drip out the side into the sink cabinet.

It was fairly easy to replace and I was glad to be free of the drips when I got done.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Install a Garbage Disposal from Scratch

Replacing a garbage disposal is a pretty simple process, however it can get more complicated if you're installing a garbage disposal where there was none as was this case for this project.

There are two main parts to this project: First, getting power to the disposal with a switch so that the homeowner has a way to control it, and then reconfiguring the trap to hook it up.

It's best if the disposal can be on it's own dedicated circuit. This was not practical for this project, so the next best thing is to add it to the dishwasher circuit. This circuit should be 20 amps with 12/2 wire with only the dishwasher and disposal on it.

This worked well for this project because I would have to pull the dishwasher out anyway to have access to the wall and run the wires to a switch above the countertop. I used a junction box below in the basement to make all the connections and ran new wiring from there.

To put in the switch, I enlarged the opening next to a single switch box and replaced it with a new 'remodeling' double switch box. The 'remodeling' boxes have little flaps that go out when you screw them down and secure the box to the drywall. Fishing the wires through the wall went well once the dishwasher was out of the way and I could make a couple small holes in the wall behind it.

Under the sink I ran the disposal's wire into a small plastic junction box with a cover. From here I was able to hardwire the disposal into the junction box.

NOTE: Many garbage disposals come with a 'power cord' connector with a plug on the end. In this case, I would install a 20 amp plug in the junction box and just plug the disposal into it.

Now for the plumbing part... I started by removing all the trap fittings under the sink because they needed to be replaced anyway. The tube that comes out of the disposal joins up with the pipe from the other sink and then goes down into the P-trap and out. It's always a puzzle to find the right combination of pieces, but it helped to get the disposal in place first and then see how it would lay out.

It took an afternoon, but now this homeowner has a monster under the sink waiting for leftovers.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Repair for Stinky Cracked Cast Iron Drain

Some friends of mine just bought a new house full of old cast iron. During the home inspection, the inspector warned them that it was getting older and should be closely watched and possibly replaced.

Wouldn't you know that within a week of them moving in one of the 4" cast iron drain pipes in the basement developed a huge crack in one of the sections coming from the master bath. Unfortunately they didn't notice until the next day and their basement was wet.

I was asked to repair the pipe while they consider just replacing it all.

The basic idea of this repair was to remove the busted pipe and replace it with PVC. Here's the process:

1. Before cutting out the damaged section, make sure that there are supports in the appropriate places so that no pieces of cast iron come crashing down on you. Also, make sure to have a bucket ready in case some of the stinky stuff leaks out.

2. I used my reciprocal saw with a carbide-tipped blade to cut through a 2" drain and the 4" drain. Because of the cracks location I would have to replace a T and part of the intersecting lines.

3. I took one end of the damaged pipe apart at the hub. I first used a sledgehammer to break apart the already cracked pipe back to the hub. Then, with a few careful blows I was able to get the hub to crack and I knocked it off. The lead joint compound came off with my cold chisel.

4. Dry fit the PVC parts together to make sure it will fit. Where the PVC joins the cast iron I used the appropriate rubber coupling. Then, once I knew the pieces fit, I glued it all together on the floor.

5. Slide the PVC into place and join to the cast iron using rubber couplings.

6. Check for leaks and clean up.

The hardest part of it is probably cutting out the damaged section. PVC is generally easy to work with, especially when you're just replacing a a section like I was.

Oh yeah, #7. Go take a shower to get the stink off...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Fix An S-Trap With a Studor Vent

In plumbing terms, a "trap" is a curved piece of tubing that will always hold a little water to keep sewer gases from coming through into the house. They are wonderful things. However there is one trap that should be avoided: the S-Trap.

With an S-Trap, the piping turns up, but then goes back down again. I had to address this issue at a project this week where a home inspector found an S-trap in use under the sink. The problem with these traps is that, because of the shape, the water that's supposed to be blocking the dreaded sewer gases can get siphoned out.

Can you see the S-Trap in this picture?

Even though plumbing codes prohibit them, they are still sold at home stores and found in homes everywhere.

The fix involves adding a P-Trap and a Studor vent.

A Studor vent is a small device that attaches to the drain pipe and will allow some air in and allow venting, but will not allow sewer stink out. They are often used whenever there's a sink in a kitchen island, or anytime that it's difficult to vent something. There are limitations to their use, so read the directions before trying it at your project.

Our drain had other issues as well that required replacing the 1 1/2" line through the floor to the crawlspace. This actually made it easier because now there weren't any of the old pipes left to deal with.

The new P-trap comes from the sink drain lines and enters my new pipe through a "T". Above the "T" is the Studor vent.

It all goes together quickly once you have the right pieces...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

No Duct Tape for the Plumbing Please

Duct tape is great for nearly everything, right? Well, probably not the best choice for holding your drain pipes together.

The P-Trap in the picture had two different joints with duct tape on them. I'm sure it was the easiest way to make it work, because the pipe from the tub drain above was in a very awkward location compared to the drain line- not plumb with the current P-trap.

I thought about ways to fix the joints and make it work, but I thought it would be easier to just replace the entire thing- and it was, I'm sure. I cut the old 2" cast iron trap just before the bend and joined it to the new 2" PVC with a rubber coupling. To make the cut I used my reciprocal saw with a special carbide-tipped blade.

From there I installed a new 2" P-Trap. Because of where the drain pipe was located, it took a couple long elbows to make all the connections, but in the end it worked great.

No duct tape involved!

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Out With the Old Blue Toilet

Today I had the pleasure of changing out a client's old blue toilet. I'm sure in the right setting- in the right decade- this toilet was completely appropriate, but not any more. Sometime along the way this bathroom was completely tile with black and white tile, yet ended up with a blue toilet.

For whatever reason that it was here, today it was released from duty. A white toilet may be a boring replacement, but at least it matches the room, right!?

Replacing a toilet is usually a fairly simple undertaking. After turning off the water and disconnecting the hose and nuts, you just lift the old toilet off. Then, you need to scrape off the old wax ring that is now all over the old toilet flange.

With a new wax ring and bolts, you put the new one back the way the old one came off. Tighten it down so that it doesn't rock back and forth, but don't overdo it or you'll break the toilet!

Once it's set, put some silicone caulk around the base and give it a test drive...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Fix For a Simple Leak

I have some friends selling their home in Inglewood. The buyer's home inspection found a very slow drip coming from a pipe under the house and they called me to track it down.

The leak was somewhat deceiving because the pipes were all covered with pipe insulation. I had to keep removing the insulation until I got to the source of the water. Finally, I found that it was an solder joint at a copper elbow that was dripping very slowly.

The entire area was very accessible from the crawlspace, so this would not be too difficult to reach. I cut the elbow and about a foot of the copper pipe that had already had several repairs in the past. For cuts like this I use a simple copper tubing cutter that I like to use because it's very compact and will fit into tight spaces.

I installed a new elbow, about 14" of new 1/2" copper pipe and a coupling to join it together.

To make this repair as quickly as possible for the homeowner I used a couple Sharkbite fittings. These fittings can be used for Pex or copper pipes and just slide on. It's quite simple, and though the fittings are more expensive than copper ones it can save you money if you don't have the soldering supplies. (They are also easy to take apart if necessary.)

In the end the entire fix took less than 30 minutes once I had the parts in hand.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

How to Extend a Tub Drain Stopper

This may be a trivial post, but somebody out there will be really happy to have this info...

Last week I was installing the tub drain stopper for my Inglewood bathroom renovation. The problem was that we had decided to install a slightly deeper tub than normal. (Great for soaking, more difficult for tub stoppers!)

The stock tub drain stopper from Home Depot was just slightly too short to stop the water from going down the drain. Here's a solution that I've used to fix this problem a couple of times now:

1. Install the normal tub stopper as directed.

2. Pick up a 1/4" turnbuckle from the hardware store. You can check the diameter of your tub stopper shaft, but most are 1/4".

3. Cut the tub stopper shaft and insert both ends into either end of the turnbuckle. This will allow you to adjust the shaft length as necessary and will extend the tub stopper to fit!

The other alternative to this is to install a pop-up drain that doesn't need the flip-switch mechanism to close the drain. That may be easier, but if you like the switch, you'll need a turnbuckle... :)

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Tub Installation Success!

I was able to install the tub today at the bathroom renovation I'm doing in Inglewood. I was a little surprised at how smoothly it went. I guess it helps that I've done it a few times. Here are a couple tips to installing a tub right, the first time:

1. Go buy the tub before you even think about framing. Each tub is a little different and you want to make sure your rough-in measurements are right. For example, this particular tub is around 31.5 inches wide, however, the drain is located only 14.5 inches from the wall because it has a wide lip on the front. This is very important to know because the drain, faucet and shower head are all centered on 14.5 inches from the wall so that they will line up with the center of the tub.

2. Double check those measurements. The tub came with instructions, which are helpful and worthy of reading, but I like to measure the tub for myself. For a perfect fit, you have to make sure the opening is right. Our tub was 60" long. I made the opening 60 1/16" so that I'd have room to slide it in. You also want to make sure that you have a stud along the edge of the tub where the drywall will meet the tub surround, whether it will be tile or acrylic or whatever.

3. Your framing must be level and square! This is basic to any framing, but super-important for installing a tub. Do what you have to before hand to get that rough opening as good as possible or it won't fit right, which means your surround won't fit right and other problems will haunt you as well.

4. Make sure you have access to the drain if at all possible. I was able to squeeze into a downstairs bathroom closet and access my tub drain from underneath. Once the tub was in place, I attached the P-Trap with compression fittings. Don't forget the plumber's putty under the lip of the drain in the tub!

5. Try to test your drains before moving on. I like to test things if I can to see if there are any drips or other problems that I can address while I'm in the mood and the pipes are fairly accessible.

6. When attaching am acryllic tub to the studs make sure you follow those directions and drill the holes before you nail. Otherwise you are likely to crack the tub. I used galvanized roofing nails because of their large flat heads and resistance to moisture and they worked great.

Tomorrow, I finally get to do some drywall on this project and cover up that nasty rock wool insulation...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

P-Trap Ramblings

After mentioning the P-Trap in my last entry I started wondering, "What does the 'P' stand for, anyway??"

I figured that a quick Google search would yield the answer but I was left disappointed. After some deeper searching, I still cannot figure it out.

The closest explanation that I found was this page at "VictorianCrapper.com" that has a nice history of the toilet, for those of you that are interested... On it, they talk about how the trap keeps out "putrification" odors. This word isn't used much anymore, but it's related to 'putrid', a.k.a. really terrible smells.

At least this makes sense, given that the function of a P-trap is to always have a little water in it so that sewer gases from the drain lines don't get into your home. It's a nice feature that you'd really miss if it wasn't there.

If you know the answer to this, please let me know so I can get some sleep!

If you read this post you must be bored, really curious, or related to me...

:)

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Ready for a Tub!

With the room cleared out from yesterday, it was time to start putting things back together to install a new tub with shower were the old shower stall was. I decided to start with the plumbing today because I wanted to have it out of the way.

You can see where the galvanized supply lines ended at the old shower. I made the transition to PEX with some Shark-Bite connectors and had to cross the lines to keep the hot on the left side. I got everything hooked up and was thankful to not even have one drippy connection! That's a good day, right!?

The drain from the old shower stall had to be moved as well. This didn't prove to be too difficult. The last plumbers had completely removed the floor joist so I had plenty of room to work with.

I'm a little concerned about the floor being strong enough for a tub full of water with this joist missing, so I'll add some extra bracing tomorrow before I set the tub in place. It will also get two layers of 3/4" plywood to build it up to match the rest of the subfloor.

I made the drain transition from 2" galvanized to 2" PVC with a rubber sleve. I used a p-trap that has a compression joint in the center. This type of joint screws together with a big nut, rather than being joined with cement. This will make it easier to install from underneath, and also allow it to be removed, should it get clogged someday.

I'm soooo ready to do drywall, but alas the tub is next!

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com