How do I change out a sewage elbow? (Pictures provided)

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Dunbar Plumbing

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Do you think I held these people at gunpoint to hand over the liquor chocolates I got for christmas eve?



Value of a service isn't always determined by the monetary amount charged.


Given the randomness of numerous plumbers that "could" of answered that phone, the price "could" of been significantly higher.


They wanted peace of mind, I gave them that and not blowing their head off on price is the reason why they said I'd be their plumber from here on.



I like that, and that's maybe why I got candy. mmm candy. chocolate.


You're being a lone voice on here complaining about this issue, and I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you have to do a ton of work, spend a lot of time and gas money to earn that amount or amounts of money to achieve those numbers.

That, is a personal choice, want or need on your end that I or no one has any control of but yourself. Classifying yourself as a handyman automatically puts you in a certain wage earning status that'll never break any ceiling of making a lot of money.

That's not to put you or your profession down as there's a need for handymen as much as there is for plumbers. I constantly refer out to customers in trying to close a sale to "hire a handyman to tear it all out, give me a clean shot to put it all back in" ritual so I don't have to work as hard, customer saves money and the story rolls on.

I would tend to agree with you more about your anger towards what we charge, but a lot of what we do deals with human byproducts, urine, feces, blood, saliva, stomach acid, sperm, menstrual blood, ear cheese, toe jam, snot, phlegm, nose bugers, rotting food, poisons, chemicals, sometimes animal waste.


You should get the point that our profession follows high hazard pay given a lot of people don't like it, don't want to be exposed to it. So next time you see a clogged toilet with floaters and corn in it, realize that someone who is licensed by their state has to have background knowledge how that process starts and ends, when it malfunctions and how to deal with it correctly to make sure the issue doesn't repeat itself.


But for the majority, residential plumbing is simple push-n-connect, a glue fitting here, a crimp there, and that's fine to take it as that. But apparently it's not "real" easy as there's plumbing forums filled with questions that search for knowledge for the "how-to". It's a rather broad field covering many values and to think it's not is an understatement to all its own.


I'm not responding for your benefit entirely, I'm putting it out there for the whole world to see that our job does require rubber gloves, eye protection and a slew of shots to keep us healthy in this profession.

There's not another trade in the world that follows so closely to that of the medical profession.

A trip to Africa will prove those words, hell pick any local neighborhood in your community and eventually you'll find a toilet or drain that's been backing up for days/weeks/months that keeps getting ignored and causing a health hazard.

People think that if it's their poop, it shouldn't harm them because it came out of them to begin with, right? Riiiiiight.
 

SewerRatz

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Rugged: Well very well said. The insurance companies that underwrite the workmen's comp say plumbers have the second most hazardous job out there. We deal with all what Rugged said, plus the hazard of getting electrocuted, buried alive, shot, blown up, burned, falling, and catching disease. We have whole lot out there that we deal with daily. And since they say that we are the second most hazardous job out there they charge us 30 cents on the dollar for workmen's comp. Then Uncle Sam wants his third.
 

Verdeboy

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I can relate to everything you guys are saying. I've been face-down in the mud before, crawling around under a nasty doublewide surrounded by snakes, skunks, and rat poop. There's no amount of compensation that is worth doing that. And you guys do it all the time. I just do it once in a while.

I just have an issue with boasting. I don't care who is doing it... a plumber, a lawyer, or a brain surgeon. I would have the same reaction.
 

Verdeboy

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Well there is a perfect example of a cross connection done by a handyman!:eek:
You're Busted!

What's wrong with using a fluidmaster? I've never had one leak, although they do tend to plug up if the water is very hard.
 

Redwood

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What's wrong with using a fluidmaster? I've never had one leak, although they do tend to plug up if the water is very hard.

Nothing wrong with the Fluidmaster 400A but you said you had used the Fluidmaster 200 and the Hush Flow both of those are cross connection problems.
 

Verdeboy

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Nothing wrong with the Fluidmaster 400A but you said you had used the Fluidmaster 200 and the Hush Flow both of those are cross connection problems.

Read my post again.
I think your eyes are "cross-connected." :D
I got those Hush Flow reviews from Amazon.com.
 

Redwood

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I put one of these in a duplex and it developed a slow and steady leak that cost me hundreds of dollars of the coarse of six months. They are quiet so guess thats why I continue to put up with this product..

I bought my house eleven years ago and each bathroom had the Hushflo Ballcock valve. They worked fine until a year ago when I had to replace one of them because it develped a slow leak that let the tank fill over the overflow pipe. I bought a replacement and had to return it because it also allowed the tank to fill over the overflow even after several adjustments. I returned it and got another which so far has seemed to work okay. Now, my other Hushflo has developed a problem with overflowing. I have replaced this one but I cannot get it to not overflow after about 45 minutes to an hour after flushing.

Maybe you should say it was a review in your post.
The way I read it you installed several.
 

Verdeboy

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Even if you are silly enough to think I wrote those blurbs, what about at the bottom, where I show you a pic of the 400A and state that is the one I prefer?

Your attempt to sucker me backfired, and now you got suckered.
Time to admit defeat. :D
 

Basement_Lurker

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C'mon you two, give it a rest already. What does this thread have to do with the original posting anymore? Where are the mods? This forum seems to have more complaining and arguing than actual help these days. Nobody cares which of you is the better tradesman/plumber, because the fact is that I am better than both of you...LOL!

I know christmas is over and everyone can go back to be jerks for the rest of the year, but it's still the holidays, so let's all try and play nice.
 

NHmaster

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No damn it. Christmas is the most miserable, stressfull time of year. I hate everyone. I hate my relatives. I MUST take out my frustrations on the un-suspecting. :D

Truthfully though even I have grown tired of this same old argument. No matter what anyone of us has to say on the subject, those that are going to work unpermitted are going to no matter what. Maybe they get caught. Probably they won't. At least not for a while.

I hope everyone had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and that you are all looking foreward to the new year. This is the time to make resolutions like " I resolve never to plumb without a license, ever again." :D
 

Terry

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I'm thinking of creating a folder or pro forum that requires a special privileges so that some of these discussions can go under cover.

I don't really like pricing being discussed in front of everybody.

There are areas of the country with lots of money, and some with very little.

The only constant, is the plumbing itself.
That should be done to code in the US. We still have very good water here. Let's keep it that way.

And it is Christmas, the time for giving, unless you are in Seattle and forgot to shop before the snow slammed us.
There are people that haven't left their homes in over a week.
 

NHmaster

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Pricing is always a subjective thing. There is always someone out there willing to undercut anyones price. But I like to think you get what you pay for. One reason so many plumbers, and contractors for that matter, fail is because they really have no idea as to what their true overhead and operating costs are and they greatly under price goods and services. Then there are those that are unlicensed and un-insured taking a cut out of the business as well as the moonlighters that steal the materials from the company and install at way under the true margin. contracting is a costly business. There are plenty of fixed and a whole bunch of hidden costs. We have been in continuous business for over 70 years now between my Father, myself and my partners. We continue to prosper, even in hard times because we treat our customers fairly and have diversified the business over the years.
 

SewerRatz

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I'm thinking of creating a folder or pro forum that requires a special privileges so that some of these discussions can go under cover.

I don't really like pricing being discussed in front of everybody.

There are areas of the country with lots of money, and some with very little.

The only constant, is the plumbing itself.
That should be done to code in the US. We still have very good water here. Let's keep it that way.

And it is Christmas, the time for giving, unless you are in Seattle and forgot to shop before the snow slammed us.
There are people that haven't left their homes in over a week.

We just got hit with a fast thaw. 12" of snow all melted away, massive thunderstorms.. Was tons of fun. A forum thread for contractors only so we can geek speak about cost here and there would be good.
 
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