Plumb Tired
You don’t have a clone anywhere near Pittsburgh, do you Drew?
No, and it’s too far to commute. About 10 hours each way I think.
Plumbing isn’t really hard. PVC is FUN to mess about with. Just remember to incline drain pipes at a bit of an angle, support all pipes so that they don’t flap around, and always know where the shut-off valve ( one that works !! ) is.
Sweating copper pipe joints isn’t hard either, even with the new no-lead solder. Buy some elbows and practice. $10 worth of parts, a dozen joints, and you’re an ace at it. A few twists with carborundum paper to get the surface clean. Use LOTS of flux. Stick the parts together and heat the outside part with a torch. Solder always goes TO the heat. When you hear the flux sizzle, stop heating and apply the solder. Zip, done. Hold things together for about 30 seconds, then let cool. That’s about it. You can speed the cooling process by applying a wet washcloth to the pipe about 1” past the part you just soldered.
I know, I know ... the real plumbers are gonna jump on me for this. But the truth is that most of the stuff you’d do around the house you can do yourself. Putting in 8” sewer lines really ought to be left to the pros. Cutting threads on iron pipe is not for amateurs.
That said, it gets really yucky inside old drains. So if you’d rather pay somebody to clean that stuff out, I can’t blame you.
You said
...Add in all the funky plumbing that was needed, and I think he saved about $500 hiring me instead of a pro…
Nonsense. Most so-called “pros” couldn’t have done a fraction of what you did.
You sir *ARE* the pro.
Damn fine work, from the sound of it…
Posted by Dedicated_dad
03/22/2010 at 01:54 PM
Yeah, I was going to ask if you commute to Cincinnati. Oh well - all the good ones are taken!
good to see some eastern european trades men [ known as cowboys] in the UK, had been before you drew, sounds like you done a good job.
03/23/2010 at 10:23 AM
