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Discovered a leak coming from the kids's toilet. Unfortunately, the clue was a small water stain in the living room ceiling. I took the toilet apart and this is what I found. Looks like the flange is below the level of the tile. What would you recommend? A flange extender and a jumbo wax...

About 15 years ago, I added a bathroom with shower in my unfinished basement. I installed a round, corner shower kit unit with a drain that was 6" off center. To do this, I dug a trench in my basement foundation, and installed a drain that connected to the basement drain. I covered it with...

I recently purchased a new refrigerator. When the home improvement guys came to install it, they noted the water supply to the refrigerator was very weak. Very little water coming in. Our ice makers have not worked for years, so I suspect this is a cause. I went to investigate. I have access...

Is there a standard depth of how a nipple should be installed for a shower head and tub spout? I have a sterling tub surround and a fancy shower/tub valve set (brand is Embather. The picture based documentation is not clear at all. The valve has a plastic encasing that shows how it should be...

I've special ordered two bath tub surround combos from a big box. I had to wait 3 weeks for each shipment. Both have arrived damaged. I've got a bathroom re-plumbed and roughed in for a specific tub. The specs are exact and I've re-routed quite a bit of draining and supply lines to...

i have 1/2” butyl supply lines. Under my bathroom floor I’m transitioning to pex to run up as the supply to my new bathtub/shower. Is there any benefit to transitioning from 1/2” butyl to 3/4” pex? This transition is about 5’ from the spout. I’m not sure if it would give me anymore throughput.

I've read that it is recommended to lay a mortar bed under my new Vikrell tub. I purchased some basic tile thinset, but I'm thinking others may recommend something else (deck mud?). I'm putting this on a wood subfloor. What should I use for a mortar bed mix? And is it recommended to put a sheet...

I have, on order, a Sterling bathtub/shower kit. It shows specs for a 2" drain. Under where the shower will go I have a 3" ABS pipe. Wife wants one of those cable driven things to be able to pull the stopper. It seems that there is a limited number of options with all the specs/finish we're...

I'm in the process of remodeling my bathroom--tearing our old shower and replacing with bathtub/shower combo. Here is a picture from under the old shower unit that I'm replacing. You can see the shower drain, with the vent (goes straight up to the ceiling) and how the drain joins to the main...

I have a relative that lives in Croatia. He has some sort of residential electrician's license. He has a desire to come to the US to work are an electrician [or at least look into the possibility]. Unfortunately, I don't know where to begin to help him figure out how to navigate the process...

I'm getting ready to start a project. I will be removing an existing shower and replacing it with a bath tub shower. This will require me to relocate the shower drain and also the water supply lines. It is on the 2nd story of the house, but I have access to the drain and the supply lines...

My wife has wanted a bathtub in this bathroom for a long time. I've been thinking about this project for a while and I'm think it seems pretty straightforward. What could go wrong? Right, now, I have a tile floor [I installed, with heated flooring system] The tile ends at the edge of the...

I have been troubleshooting a toilet issue. (details on that above). I augured the toilet and decided to remove it and run a snake down the drain to see if I had any obstructions. I bout a 25' Cobra hand auger. I start snaking it down the drain and there were no obstructions. Since I've...

I'm at my wits end. We've lived in our house for about 15 years. 12 years ago I installed a tile floor and a new toilet and it's been working fine for all these years. Wife and 4 kids...this toilet gets a lot of action. About a week ago, my son peed in the toilet and flushed and it nearly...

I installed a 50 Gal Kenmore, "12 year", 2 anode rod hot water tank in 2012. It's worked fine. About 45 days ago, I noticed black flecks in our hot water. The water is no discolored (not rusty or soupy like I've seen from others). It's clear with black tiny dots and an occasional fleck. It...

My wife has a good friend that lives a block over from our house. They are not in a great financial situation and we help them when we can. On Saturday, she asked my wife if we knew of a good/cheap plumber. I don't know of any good plumbers that are cheap. Fortunatately, I've been able to...

I've read some rave reviews on this site for Lexel sealant. I have a shower system (purchased at a big box) and I need to seal all of the seams (between the walls, and between the base and walls. My local ACE only carries the Lexel Clear. Before I run all over town looking for Lexel White...

I paid a plumber a few months ago to add a drain for a shower and also to add a toilet flange to my rough in drain. I was getting ready to set my toilet and happened to look more closely at the toilet flange (I had it covered up while I'm doing construction) and noticed it looked small. As it...

I posted earlier regarding moving a drain for a shower. I'm getting ready to install the base, and am looking for feedback. My base is pre-formed, and sits on a hunk of styrofoam to provide flex/support. I know this is not the preferred type of base, but this particular unit is the only one...

Ok, I'm in the middle of a remodel of my basement and am just getting ready to install a shower in this new space downstairs. Unfortunately for me, I discovered two nights ago that I have a MAJOR problem upstairs that is going to keep me from finishing the basement for a few days. I walked...