Recent content by SLB

Thanks Terry! I read the instructions, and they do say something about putting plumber's putty on the threads, but they are not very clear. I thought they were referring to the threads where the tail-piece attaches, not the threads under the washer. Regards, Steve

I installed a new drain/pop-up assembly in a new bathroom sink and I can't get it to stop leaking. It seems to be leaking between the Mack washer and threaded section of the pop-up body. I have tried tightening the locknut in half-turn increments to no avail. Is it possible that I have over...

In the past, I've had problems with leaks using teflon tape, but never had a problem using paste. Last weekend, I had a persistent weep at a 1/2" copper male fitting threaded into a brass union while using paste only. Remembering what I had read in this thread, I finally tried putting three...

FYI, it was (may still be) like this in Oregon when I was there last year. -Steve

Tankless heaters are great for large families. My brother installed one about four years ago and has had no problems or complaints. They have three kids, a 9 year old boy and two teenage girls, and runnuing out of hot water was a big issue before he switched to tankless. I still haven't...

Thanks guys. In this case, I'll be cutting a couple of sections out of an existing drain line and inserting a couple of combination wyes to accomodate the relocation of a toilet and shower. I already have the vents roughed-in, so I was trying to be fairly (overly?) precise with the alignment...

I have a difficult time seeing pencil marks on ABS, especially in the dim lighting in the crawl space under our house. Do the pro's use a some other type of marker, like a lumber crayon or soapstone? -Steve

I have a similar problem. I tried installing a water hammer arrestor, but it didn't work that well. Hunter makes some slow close valves, model HPV, that are supposed to suppress water hammer, but I haven't tried one yet. If you try it, please post back here and let me know if it works. -Steve

I'm not a pro, but one thing that has changed (at least here in California) is the flux. The new water soluable fluxes don't work nearly as well as the stuff that was available just a few years ago. The new fluxes seem to scorch much easier, so it's important not to overheat the joint. I...

Thanks HJ. So I should use brass nipples at the wall and dielectric nipples at the inlet/outlet of the tank? -Steve

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention that there is a brass gate valve on the cold water side threaded onto the nipple at the wall, with another short nipple threaded into the other side of the valve and connected to the copper flex. Jimbo, What should the steel nipples that are threaded into...

We bought our current house about 5 years ago. The previous owner had a new gas water heater installed just prior to selling us the house. I just noticed that there is a lot of scale and what appears to be corrosion around the area where the supply lines connect to the water heater. I took...

Check this out! Attached are photos of a public toilet in Switzerland that's built entirely out of one-way glass. No one can see you in there, but when you are inside, it looks like you're sitting in a clear glass box.

Some of you may have seen this before, but I just received this a few days ago and got a kick out of it.

Another DIY'er here. FYI, I installed one of those recessed boxes behind our fridge about three years ago and had the same thing happen; the plastic box melted where the valve was attached to it. Fortunately, it wasn't so bad that I had to scrap it. -Steve