Cabin Repair Questions

[Troodon]

I'm going to use this thread to post multiple issues on a slow drip, as I address them and as they come up, as opposed to creating a new thread for each. I hope this is OK. If not, and if I should break them up into separate threads, please let me know and I'll happily do so.

My wife and I recently bought a small cabin in Northern California. It's a bit run down, and has not been used at all in the last 10 years. The last period of regular use was probably 15 years ago. Lots of plumbing issues (as well as other types of issues). Bad plumbing and jimmy-rigged solutions abound.

Some considerations that will affect everything: when it's used, the cabin goes through many drastic heating and cooling cycles in the fall, winter, and spring. Water and electricity are turned off when we leave, and lines are drained and faucets left open. So the plumbing might be at 20 degrees F for a few days, or even longer, then when we show up and turn everything on, it gets quickly warmed up. I'm not sure if this matters, but I don't see much info on this kind of thing in the product descriptions of indoor plumbing fixtures and equipment, so I want to mention it.

Thanks.

 

[Troodon]

ISSUE 1: SINK STRAINER

I've got to replace the sink strainer on the left sink. As you can see in the cabinet, the floor portion is severely warped. I'll replace that, too.

I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at when I see those supply lines -- it looks a mess -- but I can tell you the blue PEX is the hot, and the corrugated metal is the cold. The copper sticking out with the PEX is just an orphaned piece.

I want to know if I have to match the depth (height) of the sink strainer when I order a new one, and whether I need to get a double cup one like this, or can get the single cup with the larger locking nut. I'm not sure why one type is (or isn't) preferable over the other.

We're planning on getting much, if not all, of the place re-plumbed at some point -- and a question then will be with what. I'm leaning toward PEX, so I can more easily fix things myself. PEX-A or PEX-B will be a question I'll ask at some point. But right now, I'm just trying to get the place to the point where things work and don't leak, and where no further damage is occurring. For the time being, I don't mind the weird PEX angle entry into the cabinet, or the orphaned copper pipe, as nothing is leaking except the strainer, as far as I know.

On the other hand, if there's pressing reason to do it, I'm happy to replace the valves and supply lines so they're more uniform. My goal is to eventually have all quarter-turn ball valves.

Any other thoughts about the plumbing in this cabinet are welcome, too. I'm sure there's lots of stuff I'm missing.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Troodon]

I would like to order another sink strainer to replace the one here, pictured just above. Do I need to get a double-cup one like this, or can I replace it with one of the single-cup ones that have the larger locking nut on top?

 

[Terry]

Pick up whatever strainer looks good to you, and also pick up PVC flanged tail piece, so that you can easily cut it to size with a saw for the drain going down.
Small tub of plumbers putty for the flange on the basket.
A pair of pliers to snug things up.

 

[Troodon]

Thanks, I got it installed. The paper washer and lock nut aren't totally centered to the underside of the rubber gasket, but it seems not to leak. Hope that's OK. I stopped the sink and filled it a few times to let lots of water run through, no problems.

The first day I couldn't get the old slip nut off, using the huge channel locks and a plumber's wrench or the red Ridgid sink tool. Tried vinegar to no avail. On day 2 I remembered a youtube video where they blow-torched the threads. I had a barbecue lighter, so I tried that. Moved the flame around for 2 minutes, and the slip nut loosened right up. I felt like I'd just hit a walk-off home run.

EDIT: One more thing. The tailpiece is PVC, but the part it goes down into, visible in the third and fourth pictures from the top on this thread (those pictures are from before I did the repair), are ABS. I used the same black ABS slip joint nut and the same washer to join the new PVC tailpiece, just wiped them down well. Is it OK to join them in this manner?

 

[Terry]

The ABS nut? All of those are standard 1.5" slip joint threads. It will work.
edited: ABS and PVC for drain fittings that thread are fine. Not fine if glued.

 

[Troodon]

Yes, it's the first black piece you encounter on the way down from the tailpiece. It definitely all fits together. It only occurred to me later that maybe it's not good to have PVC going into an ABS nut. Something like copper and galvanized.

 

[Jadnashua]

Being a cabin that isn't occupied, have you had any issues with rodents? While they can chew through copper, they're much more likely to chew through PEX, and when trying to drain PEX, because it is hard to keep it straight, you may not get all of the water out. PEX itself isn't likely to be damaged by freezing, but if there's any fitting where there's still water, that won't like the ice.

 

[Troodon]

There are mice, squirrels of many varieties, and chipmunks. No rats. PEX-A (Upunor) seems to be the preferred material among others I know up there, and they don't have any problems with rodent chewing. That's the route we will be going. The whole place really needs to be re-plumbed, in my view (which admittedly may not be well-informed). Here are some sample pics. The water heater area has been cleaned up, but you can see squirrel evidence (pine cone leaves), which was everywhere in the cabin. You can also maybe see the soldering. The cabin sat empty 14 years. In one of the crawlspace pics you can see how a PEX drain line was shooting water up onto the bottom of the floor. I fixed that one, though.

 

[Jadnashua]

I don't think pex is allowed within about 18" of the top of the WH, and doesn't CA require safety earthquake straps on a WH? All of your galvanized lines should be part of the repipe plan, too.

 

[Troodon]

Thanks, I'll look into the water heater issues. We'll likely have it replaced at some point. It's a 1982 model, and something in that cabin is sucking electrical power big-time when I'm there.

As to the galvanized, the only pipe I know of at the cabin is the one in the foreground of the first pic. I'm not sure what it is. It's large-diameter (1.5 inches?) and goes out of the house, underground, downhill. The septic tank is not in that direction. Maybe it used to carry waste to a cesspool before septic tanks were put in the lots there, around 20 years ago? Another possibility: there's a monstrous 8-foot diameter satellite dish in that direction, too, so maybe it's being used as conduit. I'll put it on my list of things to investigate.