On the Job with Plumbob ........ This blog will be an accumulation of Interesting, Informative, Technical and Humorous Plumbing facts and stories. Have a good day and hope you enjoy. :) Tap Problems - Why do my tap washers chop out so quickly? Andrew Gould, March 29, 2023 Are you continuously having to call a Plumber out to re-washer taps that are dripping, or worse still actually running. Maybe you even have a go at it yourself, but the result is always the same. Within weeks or even days the tap is dripping again. Have you noticed that the washers are chopped right through as in the above photo? What is the cause of this? What is the cause? a badly worn tap body seat, a pitted seat, or seat with fisures worn across the surface of the seating (these start from either faults in the brass, or grains of sand and other foreign bodies in water supply pressed into the seat when you turn off the tap then the leaking water wears a track across the seat) tap body was reseated, but not done properly (reseater not fixed into body squarely when seat resurfaced, or bad surface of reseater cutter) or the most common reason - tap body was reseated, but the sharp edge of the newly surfaced seat has not been smoothed off What can you do? have your worn tap bodies reseated, or if there is not much of the brass seat left, fix a stainless steel seat fixed firmly into place by tapping a thread into the body make sure you have the bodies reseated with a good quality tap reseating tool, operated by someone who know what they are doing and the same applies if inserting new stainless steel seats when reseating the tap body get the sharp edge of the seat smoothed off and this is done using a special cutter which fixes to the end of the reseating tool (I include a picture below) Notice the curved inside edges to the cutting blade on the left end of the reseating tool, which ensures that no sharp edge is left on the brass tap body seat to cut or damage the tap washer Want a professional to repair your taps? What can you do ? If you would like to have your taps repaired correctly by a skilled, experienced, and meticulous Tradesman, then: Call Andrew at Renopipe Now on 0417 775 994 or Click the Button below to make an online booking Make a Booking for Repair Now Comments (0) Drain Blockages - Can tree roots get into pvc drains? Andrew Gould, September 4, 2022 Time to take stock of the situation! Maybe your thinking..... "But I have a new built home, surely I shouldn't get tree roots in the drains. They are pvc!" or "We only recently had a plumber replace the old broken earthenware drains with plastic pipes." Sorry folks but it does happen. Tree roots do get into pvc pipes, not as readily as earthenware pipes, but they do. Read on to find out how they get in, why they get in and how to minimise the risk. How about an example? Here is an example of just how thick a root can be even in pvc pipes This one entered where a smaller pvc pipe had been illegally jointed to a larger pipe using cement mortar. I cut a hole in the top of the pipe to reveal just how bad the problem was. The only solution here was to replace a short section of drain to be compliant with AS.3500 pipes cracking, where insufficient allowances made for ground movement or pipe expansion this will not happen if Australian Standards are complied with, for example drains should be bedded and packed in a granular free flowing material entering through solvent weld joints, where these have not been put together correctly this will not happen if joints are put together to The Standards and Manufacrtturer recommended procedure, for example solvent welding requires use of a primer to etch/soften surface of pvc before applying the solvent cement to (weld, not glue the joint) entering through mechanical joints usually where joined to old existing drains of other materials if the joint is not sufficiently tightened this could happen and unfortunately this maybe could still happen even if the plumber has followed Standards and manufacturer recommendations objects such as posts, pegs etc driven down through pipe due to other constructions or fences always make sure to locate underground services before carrying out any construction including driving a star dropper into the ground any number of other ways due to just plain and simple dodgy workmanship make sure you alway choose a reputable tradesman with a good reputation, online reviews, etc Someone decided to make their own homemade pvc coupling And they also did not use solvent primer So what can you do to minimise your risk? when purchasing a pre-owned home, first, - get a drain camera inspection and report completed by a reputable plumber always use a plumber and drainer who has a reputation for only doing high quality and compliant work What if you have this problem already? If you do discover that your pvc drains have tree root intrusions, don't dispair as these can be re-lined internally with reinforced epoxy and the finished product is stronger than the original If you have drain problems, Renopipe is the absolute drain expert in the Albury Wodonga district. We can inspect your drains with a cctv drain camera, diagnose the problem with the drain, clear blocked drains and repair your drain with plastic lining. Comments (0) Drain Blockages - 5 signs that your drains are about to block up? Andrew Gould, August 1, 2022 When you're madly chasing around for a plumber to clear a blocked drain on a Friday afternoon, you are no doubt thinking, that it would be helpful if you had advance warning. Don’t worry, your plumber is probably thinking the same thing. So how do you know when your drains are about to block up? Some of the warning signs are: A healthy drain does not smell. As your drains start to partially block you should notice a sewer odour, especially outside, either near the boundary connection, or near your educt vent. Don’t dismiss it. After you flush the toilet the level in the pan drops dramatically after the flush or seems to suck the water seal out entirely. This means your drain is partially blocked between the toilet and the vent, so it has to suck air through the toilet pan. In the bathroom or laundry the drains will begin to smell rather musty when there is a blockage starting to build up. These drains will also gurgle at the basins etc. Once again in the bathroom or laundry, you will notice that whereas you used to hear the water pouring down through the floor waste drain, from the bath and basin; now they are very quiet. Those basin wastes may even start to drain rather slowly also. Maybe rather obvious of course, but your outside traps may overflow a little and then the level subsides. Don’t believe that this problem will just get better What to do at this time? Do Not - Waste your money buying plungers to try and push it clear because there is every chance it is tree roots. Don’t waste your money buying those expensive blue tablets, as most times roots will grow in through the top of the drain and the tablet will go sailing harmlessly by. Also these things are only designed to burn off fresh new roots. They are not an effective solution. Do - Call a good, reliable plumber with a good reputation and experience. Now is the time, if you don’t know who to call, to start asking around for recommendations, or googling for the same. A badly broken drain with tree root intrusion. Major problem for you? Only a minor challenge for us with our drain cameras and high pressure water jetters. This photo was after the initial pass with the jetter which cleared the drain and blew away some of the roots already. How will you find the right tradie? Some things to consider: Take into account where you are getting the information from. Is it a friend or relative of the Plumber? Do they attend the same sporting club or pub? If they have testimonials, are there only three or less, five star reviews and that is all? Or do they have many testimonials from a huge cross section of the community? It is fairly easy for a tradie to ask a few friends post five star reviews for them, but it is near impossible that they will have dozens of them. Renopipe beleive we are your best choice for clearing drains in the Albury Wodonga district. Try our service and you will not be disappointed. Comments (0)
