plumbing and electrical advice home of great advice

I replaced my sink in the bathroom and needless to say the old plumbing pipe pieces aren’t correct. I have about a 1.5″ gap when I try to connect the sink tailpiece to bathroom drain. I was told to cut the tailpiece and that should solve the problem. It did not, so I’m wondering what I should do as there do not seem to be connector pieces I can add to plastic PVC pipes. Although that could just be becuase the so-called plumbing experts at Home Depot are not aware of how to fix it.

Although that could just be becuase the so-called plumbing experts at Home Depot are not aware of how to fix it.

Let me ask you something,

If a person knows anything at all about plumbing doesn’t it stand to reason they would be working for a plumbing contractor either as helper or journeyman making $15- $45 per hr rather then working in a big box store stocking shelfs?

There are 11/4 double CP Brass offsets or possibly swivel trap or extension tail pieces with slip nuts or 11/4 CP brass waste bend.

I am assuming the waste of the basin is 11/4 not 11/2″

Try going to a plumbing supply not a stock clerks hang out

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A plumber told my wife to be sure to put a nut on the flange bolts on top of the flange. On both the top and bottom of the toilet he said. On second thought maybe he meant on the bottom of the toilet but not directly on top of the flange.
I can’t see that this would do anything except hold the bolts erect, I’ve never hear of this or seen it done. What was he talking about and why?

Putting a nut between the flange and the toilet will help keep the bolts erect when installing the toilet. Other than that _ I can’t imagine why he would do it. Personally, when setting a toilet, I use a blob of silicone on the bolts at the flange to keep them standing erect while I place my toilet. Others use soda straws to accomplish the same thing - pushing the straw over the bolt to assist with lining up the toilet placement.

Posted under Plumbing

Darn it! I try to look like a pro on my kitchen remodel, so I sweat on 1/4 turn valves (with the valves open) and now two of the three are dripping ever so slightly when turned off. Did I use too much heat? Or is it dirt? Defective valves? Defective do-it-your-selfer??? I am not going to switch them out as I also stubbed them to close to the wall, and I am in a rush to get the kitchen done for x-mas... I am using 3/8" caps to keep moisture off the new sink base shelf until I hook up the supply's... Gee why didn't I just use regular valves and take the stems out? When they leak I can change the washer. Any help with what's will be appreciated, any advice about how to fix the drips would be a x-mas present!!!


If you soldered a ball valve in in the open position, IT SHOULD NOT LEAK. The teflon seals can stand soldering temperatures.

Take a close look at a new valve wherever you bought your quarter turn valves and see if there's a packing nut on it under the handle. It might be leaking from the packing. That happens with me a lot because I specifically choose ball valves that have a large gap between the bottom of the packing nut and the top of the valve body.

In the mean time, maybe put a pail under the leak and post back what you've found out. Is it a ball valve? Does it have a packing nut? Describe as best you can where it's leaking from.

I'd encourage you to stick with ball valves, but choose ball valves with packing nuts. Nowadays some companies are making ball valves without packing nuts, which in my view is dumb. They figure the valve will never leak, I'd prefer to be able to tighten a packing nut if it does.

If you do switch to "regular" valves like globe valves or gate valves, remember this:
Nowadays lots of the better quality globe or gate valves (like KITZ and NIBCO) come WITHOUT a gasket between the bonnet nut and the valve body. They claim that the mating surface between the bonnet nut and the valve body is so perfectly machined that you can have brass to brass contact at that point and the valve won't leak. That is in fact true, but the bonnet nut is tightened up so $#%&ing much that you quite simply can't take the bonnet nut off without wrecking the copper piping the valves are soldered on to.

So, remember this: Take the bonnet off BEFORE soldering the valve in. You can do this by going to your local machine shop, putting the (typically) 8 sided bonnet nut in a vice, wrapping a towel around the valve body (so as not to leave pipe wrench teeth marks in it) and twisting the valve body relative to the bonnet nut with a large pipe wrench. (I put the pipe wrench perpendicular to the valve body and twist so the SIDES of the jaws apply the force near the base of the inlet and outlet where the brass is thicker and stronger to avoid making either inlet or outlet out-of-round.

Also, the reason they make the valves with 8 sided packing nuts is to tell you that you CAN take the bonnet off, but you shouldn't cuz the valve will leak without being retightened to the same torque. But, that's not a problem since you can use a teflon back-up ring.

Since there won't be a gasket between the bonnet nut and the valve body, phone any place that sells pneumatic or hydraulic equipment and ask who sells O-rings in your area. Go to that place with the valve body and bonnet and ask for a TEFLON BACK-UP RING to fit between them. That will serve as your gasket and allow you to re-assemble the valve with only moderate torque so that it doesn't leak so that you can remove the bonnet nut in future while the valve is in service.

Note that if you have an 8 sided bonnet nut, you can still use a socket to remove it, but you have to use an 8 POINT socket meant for square nuts. Basically, you find the socket that's large enough so that the POINTS of the socket just fit over the FLATS of the bonnet nut. That way, with a point just touching the middle of each flat, you can turn the socket and it will turn the bonnet nut just like a Snap-On flank drive socket. (This is important if you have valves inside the wall as I do, and you can't access them from the opposite side of the wall, as I can't.) Also, an 8 sided 1 inch bonnet nut will fit LOOSELY inside a 1 inch 8 point socket. The ratio in size is cosine (22 1/2 degrees) or 0.92388. So, if you have a bonnet nut with opposite flats 1 inch apart, you need a 0.92388 inch 8 point socket, or a 14.78/16ths socket. In this case, you'd buy a 7/8 inch socket and have your local machinist put it in a lathe and machine the points down until it just slips over the bonnet nut.

Posted under Plumbing