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Wanting to add 3-way switches and new ceiling light locations to our plaster and lath front hall. Unfinished basement so getting power to new switch locations should be fairly easy. Question is how to get wiring to new ceiling box locations? Floor above is finished so no access from above...

Just finished tiling a new shower/tub. Having a hard time finding a brass nipple the right length for the shower arm and tub spout installation. A 2-1/2" x 1/2" brass nipple is too long (and leaves them about 1/4" from the wall. I'm assuming that the next length down (2" x 1/2") will leak...

I am replacing the trunk-and-branch copper supply plumbing in my house with a PEX home run system. Turns out that it's not very common here and even finding manifolds is challenging at the local plumbing supply shop. I eventually found these...

I have an s300 Toto Washlet that has been running trouble-free since 2009. Until last week that is. Now there is no seat heat. All the rest of the functions seem to work. Replaced the batteries in the remote, unplugged the seat to let it reset, but still no luck. Any suggestions on how to...

We have an old oil-fired boiler (1970's?) that is so expensive to run that we've been using portable electric heaters in its place (yet still saving $1,000+ / year in the cost differential). **Looking to get a permanent solution in place and am not sure where to start. Do I install a gas...

I'm installing a Kohler Villager cast iron built-in bathtub. I'm looking for recommendations on a Chrome waste/overflow assembly that won't pit and look lousy in 10 years. My plumber thought a "Gerber" (?) would be a great choice but then noticed that the parts in the tub are not brass...

I'm in western Canada (Victoria), so I'm looking for advice about products available here. Been reading the posts about Kerdi here and on John Bridge and I'm getting overwhelmed.... Been to Big Orange and some contractor tile places and the number of choices is staggering! For a...

I laid out/installed all my studs for a 36" custom shower (11" and 20" from the side wall), and now we've decided to switch to a 30-1/4" Kohler Villager bathtub instead. So now my shower controller has to move.... and so do the studs (unless I just box out the controller area) :( What's...

Here is my gutted bathroom. I have a left-hand-drain Kohler Villager cast iron tub (with apron) that I want to install along the far wall (i.e. along the wall that has exposed insulation): The tub is 60" long and the available space is 78" (with a downward-sloping ceiling). Questions: 1) Do...

I have a wall switch box that will have 2 circuits in it: 1) A pass-through circuit with just a junction between incoming and outgoing wires; and 2) A light switch at the tail end of a separate circuit. I have attached Circuit #2's bonding wire to the box because it is the circuit that is...

Got my Drainwater Heat Recovery Unit (DWHR unit) last week. What this does is use warm drain water to pre-heat the water that I'm using (in the shower). Depending on the size of the heat exchanger, you can cut your hot water heating bill in half (mine should drop by 33%). The drain water...

Need to open up our 60+ year old concrete basement floor to modify the main drain's piping. The hole will be about 1' wide by 3' long, adjacent to the basement wall. 4" cast iron drain goes into the slab at this point. Which of these approaches would create the least dust? - renting a...

Just up-sized my plumbing venting so that it now has a 3" vent going through the roof. I had a roofer install a lead flashing (with lead counter-flashing cap) for me. He nailed it along the top edge (under the shingles), but did not use any sealant/roofing cement/anything. He said the weight...

About to replumb my small (1-1/2 story) house. Was interested in using Wirsbo, but none of the local plumbing supply outlets stock it -- all special order. I'm in Canada so ordering Wirsbo from, say pexsupply, would be expensive shipping-wise. What the local suppliers have instead is...

As mentioned in another post, I'm replacing a clawfoot tub with a shower, 36"W x 50"L with 12" neo-angle on one end. Our designer keeps pushing us towards getting a custom shower base made (either acrylic or some solid material that I can't recollect). I was under the impression that a...

I'm redoing a bathroom and replacing a clawfoot tub with a shower. My designer has spec'd a 36" W x 50" L shower area along one wall with a 1-foot neo-angle corner. However, the floor joist runs lengthwise under the proposed shower area at 18" from the wall (right where I would want to...

A previous owner developed the attic in our house in 1994. This included adding a bathroom up there (clawfoot tub, lav, toilet). We want to replace the tub with a custom shower (center drain). The clawfoot tub is alongside an exterior wall (which makes venting tricky). I've been reading...

I've just discovered that the 1992 reno in our house used Polybutylene piping (with copper fittings). No leaks (yet). The polybutylene is all daisy-chained together in one long run. Basement -> kitchen -> 2nd floor bathroom. The rest of the pipe in the house is copper. I plan on...

Our house has 1942-vintage cast iron radiators with a hot-water boiler. I will need to temporarily remove a radiator while tiling our bathroom floor, but am worried that I may crack the 65-year old joints when torquing on them. Is there a "trick" to getting these out in one piece so that...

We are about to rip apart our main bathroom (that has the only shower in the house) and therefore won't be able to use it during the reno. Our backup bathroom has a clawfoot tub (no shower) and an angled ceiling, but we *really* want to be able to shower there while the main bathroom is...