Mad Plumber
Mad Skills
Stuff that was writ
I had just mastered sweating copper pipe, so last October I decided to try to fix my outdoor faucet (sillcock) that was leaking. First I tightened the nut to squueze the packing tighter, but that didn't do it., so of course that meant I had to replace it (Washers?? Nah!).
So I loosen the fastening screws & twist the faucet a bit with a wrench in case it screws off. No go. I pull it out a bit (there was a fair amount of back & forth play) & notice an odd size copper pipe. What the hell, I grab my trusty pipe cutter & start in. Boy, it sure seemed thicker than the copper pipe I had worked with, but that doesn't discourage me as I eventually break through and pull out some long rod thing with a washer at the end. I sensed something was up, but it was too late. I
Now I need to put the new faucet on the old pipe, and the copper 1/2" or 3/4" male adaptor doesn's seem to fit onto the odd sized pipe I have. Eventually, I find some weird brass nipple thing that happens to have an inside diameter that fits my pipe. I solder the REGULAR, PLAIN OLD FAUCET on, screw on the new faucet and pat myself on the back for my cleverness in solving this dilema. No leaks, no problems.
Less than two weeks later, I'm watching some home improvement show and low & behold, they talk about sillcocks! The host went on to explain how in northern climes the recessed washer on sillcocks is needed so the water doesn't freeze in the faucet and "flood your whole house". Panic sets in, as my master bedroom is in the finished basement DIRECTLY BELOW THE FAUCET!! What have I done?!?! How do I fix it?
Well, I AM a little proud of my solution. I can't go in through the basement bedroom-it would involve drywall, painting etc. So I cut a hole in the floor ABOVE the plumbing (after pulling up the carpet, luckily there's no wood or tile) and I CORRECTLY cut out my mistake & install a proper sillcock & seal things back up. I noticed that my twisting on the old faucet had twisted the copper 90 degree fitting deep in the wall, so if the frozen faucet hadn't gotten me, I'm sure the pipe would have given out anyway!
What did I learn? To ask people (like Terry Love) what to do before you go chopping things. To look for the easiest solution (REPLACING THE WASHER!!) instead of looking to strut my newfound rudimentiary knowledge with a big project. This didn't dampen my DIY plumbing yen, I am now remodeling/replumbing a bathroom, but it made me a LOT more careful!
Dean
Dean, let me tell you a little secret: at least half the pipes used in plumbing a house are completely unnecessary and are installed by unimaginative plumbers who can't wean themselves away from dumb code books. I say, if you don't know what a pipe does, just start cutting and see what happens. I know these things because I wrote a plumbing book. If an inspector gives you any grief, just claim it's your constitutional right to express yourself through you plumbing. You'd be surprised how fast he or she will back off.
Terry Meany
I spent New Year's Eve working on replacing some galvanized fittings that some idiot had put on my copper plumbing (not a pretty picture--yucky corrosion!) and wanted to share a tip. Despite all my attempts to drain the copper pipe, water still came from somewhere. Finally I got out my little wet-dry vacuum and sucked a couple of gallons out of the pipe. Voila! The vacuum hose fit over the 1/2" brass fitting just tightly enough to create suction. If it hadn't, I might have tried a sock or a bunch of teflon tape.
Irene T.
Dean,
Man I laughed hard when I ready your story. Guess what.......I did that too!
It happened, I went out to a house with the dang thing leaking and thought I needed to remove it from the outside. I even tried taking the siding off the dang wall to get at it. But you know what I found? Ha! Ha! Three wood studs all nailed together and this here hosebiby thing going right through a hole and through to the other side! Man was I mad. Next thing I know, the outside of the house is looking all kinda ripped up and I still had to make a hole inside the house to get at it anyway. So when I read your story, I laughed a bit to myself, but then my wife says, "Hey sucker! what you laughing about!" and then I had to tell here, but then she just laughed a little bit and told my to get off'n my lazy b__ and take out the garbage. Man! But she promised to have a beer for me when I's get back. Yeah!!
Mad Plumber
I had just mastered sweating copper pipe, so last October I decided to try to fix my outdoor faucet (sillcock) that was leaking. First I tightened the nut to squueze the packing tighter, but that didn't do it., so of course that meant I had to replace it (Washers?? Nah!).
So I loosen the fastening screws & twist the faucet a bit with a wrench in case it screws off. No go. I pull it out a bit (there was a fair amount of back & forth play) & notice an odd size copper pipe. What the hell, I grab my trusty pipe cutter & start in. Boy, it sure seemed thicker than the copper pipe I had worked with, but that doesn't discourage me as I eventually break through and pull out some long rod thing with a washer at the end. I sensed something was up, but it was too late. I
Now I need to put the new faucet on the old pipe, and the copper 1/2" or 3/4" male adaptor doesn's seem to fit onto the odd sized pipe I have. Eventually, I find some weird brass nipple thing that happens to have an inside diameter that fits my pipe. I solder the REGULAR, PLAIN OLD FAUCET on, screw on the new faucet and pat myself on the back for my cleverness in solving this dilema. No leaks, no problems.
Less than two weeks later, I'm watching some home improvement show and low & behold, they talk about sillcocks! The host went on to explain how in northern climes the recessed washer on sillcocks is needed so the water doesn't freeze in the faucet and "flood your whole house". Panic sets in, as my master bedroom is in the finished basement DIRECTLY BELOW THE FAUCET!! What have I done?!?! How do I fix it?
Well, I AM a little proud of my solution. I can't go in through the basement bedroom-it would involve drywall, painting etc. So I cut a hole in the floor ABOVE the plumbing (after pulling up the carpet, luckily there's no wood or tile) and I CORRECTLY cut out my mistake & install a proper sillcock & seal things back up. I noticed that my twisting on the old faucet had twisted the copper 90 degree fitting deep in the wall, so if the frozen faucet hadn't gotten me, I'm sure the pipe would have given out anyway!
What did I learn? To ask people (like Terry Love) what to do before you go chopping things. To look for the easiest solution (REPLACING THE WASHER!!) instead of looking to strut my newfound rudimentiary knowledge with a big project. This didn't dampen my DIY plumbing yen, I am now remodeling/replumbing a bathroom, but it made me a LOT more careful!
Dean
Dean, let me tell you a little secret: at least half the pipes used in plumbing a house are completely unnecessary and are installed by unimaginative plumbers who can't wean themselves away from dumb code books. I say, if you don't know what a pipe does, just start cutting and see what happens. I know these things because I wrote a plumbing book. If an inspector gives you any grief, just claim it's your constitutional right to express yourself through you plumbing. You'd be surprised how fast he or she will back off.
Terry Meany
I spent New Year's Eve working on replacing some galvanized fittings that some idiot had put on my copper plumbing (not a pretty picture--yucky corrosion!) and wanted to share a tip. Despite all my attempts to drain the copper pipe, water still came from somewhere. Finally I got out my little wet-dry vacuum and sucked a couple of gallons out of the pipe. Voila! The vacuum hose fit over the 1/2" brass fitting just tightly enough to create suction. If it hadn't, I might have tried a sock or a bunch of teflon tape.
Irene T.
Dean,
Man I laughed hard when I ready your story. Guess what.......I did that too!
It happened, I went out to a house with the dang thing leaking and thought I needed to remove it from the outside. I even tried taking the siding off the dang wall to get at it. But you know what I found? Ha! Ha! Three wood studs all nailed together and this here hosebiby thing going right through a hole and through to the other side! Man was I mad. Next thing I know, the outside of the house is looking all kinda ripped up and I still had to make a hole inside the house to get at it anyway. So when I read your story, I laughed a bit to myself, but then my wife says, "Hey sucker! what you laughing about!" and then I had to tell here, but then she just laughed a little bit and told my to get off'n my lazy b__ and take out the garbage. Man! But she promised to have a beer for me when I's get back. Yeah!!
Mad Plumber
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