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Hi!

We have a really long length of pipe (about 30 to 35 feet) that runs from the house, under a deck, and to a spigot. At some point during every winter, the galvanized pipe that is currently in place freezes and cracks. The water supply to this line is shut off every autumn. So, the question is this: We want to replace the galvanized pipe with something else to prevent this cracking. What type of piping should be used? We want to run the new pipe in the same area as the old pipe. That is, the piping will be above the ground but beneath the decking. The piping will run about 12 to 18 inches above the ground. I’ve had someone tell me to use PVC and I thought I read once that flexible PE pipe should be used.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can offer!

Your problem is not the pipe material being used it is the fact of water remaining in the pipe after you shut off the supply.

ANY pipe will burst if it is full of water and exposed to freezing temperature. What you need to do is replace the burst pipe in a manner that will allow you to drain all the water from it before the freezing temperatures occur.

Install the new pipe with a downward slope from the point of supply to the end. Use a “stop and waste” valve at the supply or else add a tee and vent valve immediately after the supply shut-off valve. Before the cold weather close the supply and remove the little cap on the stop and wast (or open the vent) and then open the spigot on the outer end. Leave the spigot and vent open until the following spring when you put the pipe back in service.

The other alternative is to “heat trace” the pipe and then wrap it with insulation. Heat tracing means to install a special electrical cable to the pipe that will allow a small amount of heat, controlled by a thermostat, to keep the water in the pipe above the freezing point.

Posted under Plumbing

hello there,

I have just installed a new toilet and I see the toilet base is lifting around 1/4 inch off the ground on front end as the tiling is not perfectly level. I am not sure the previous one lifted as much - but this is as good as I can get now with all adjustments I could make while keeping the rear firmly on the ground. Possibly the base contour is different and is amplifying the surface defect. I am fairly sure there is no left over debries causing this.

I do not have any bad odors or leaks for the past 24 hrs - hope thats some indicator of the wax seal under.

I have currently added ridigity by tapping in wood shims and it seems fairly rigid now.

1) Is this good enough? So I can slip in some weak mortar cement under and caulk it all around?

2) or should I try to readjust the installation and make the gap even through-out.

which one of the above is best for stability and rigidity.

Please advice

thanks in advance.

I have already run into a toilet that was cast real bad, and the front end went up in the air like a ski jump, even though the rest was flat on the floor. I put some shims under it and actually there was such a gap (3/8 inch or more to my recollection), that I troweled caulk around the base, with a wider putty knife, by riding the curve of the toilet so that when dry it would look like the toilet was down to the floor, when in actuality, it was really caulk.

Whatever you do, whatever you use, do not make it that you can’t easily knife cut the filler and relift the toilet sometime, without cracking the toilet or tiles or lifting tiles.

Posted under Plumbing

We have a problem with the outside meter. The box and the riser have pulled away from the house, and the utility company is giving us 10 days to fix it. It’s been this way for about 20 years, they have known about it that long, and only now decided to insist we get it repaired.

Questions.

Can my son (who worked as an electrician for 2 years) do this work?

Do we need the utility company to remove the lock on the meter and turn off the electricity from outside while he’s working?

Do we need a permit for this repair?

Will the utility company require proof of a electrician’s license before they will turn off the power and allow him to work on it?

And finally, if I have to call an electrician, what is a ballpark estimate on what they may charge me?

It can be done with power on if you are lucky. I have done it but I can’t recommend it without seeing it and knowing the skill level of the person doing it. The only safe way of knowing the skill level of the person doing it is to hire a licensed electrician.

If no holes in the back of the panel you can’t do it. A drill throwing metal shavings in a box even with the main breaker off is too DANGEROUS and if the drill slips heaven knows what it might hit. (Well you may be able to tell Heaven where it went.)

Posted under Electrical