I'm on a home improvement kick

With the advent of Pex & Sharkbite fittings and CPVC pipe, soldering often isn't necessary for many plumbing projects.

I made the mistake of replacing the front door knob that my wife said needed replacing. Then she said the knob looked good but the door needed repainting so I painted it, then she said the trim needed repainting so I painted it, then she said the knob, the door and the trim looked good but now the porch looked bad and needed repainting, then of course she said the porch looked good but the front of the house looked bad and so I painted the whole damn house! What I learned was, never replace a door knob!

...and their doors and have four more sitting in a box. after that, get to strip down daughter's vanity area to studs and re-do it. my wife finally got around to telling me to do it now instead of "wouldn't it be nice"

on the door knob. When I moved in, I did the "always change your locks" thing. What are the real chances someone uses a key to rob you? lol

Anyway, I remember at the time feeling I was being taken. The back door has keys on both sides (I heard sometimes that's not code, but then how can a door with glass be locked?). I got charged for 4 locks, when there were only 3 (the 2-sided was 2).

Flash forward to getting married. Wife loses key while jogging, locksmith again, again 4 locks.

2 years later, key lost in Walmart. This time, I refused to pay yet again. Went to a BBQ. Host asked everyone, if someone lost their key in Walmart, should they bother to rekey all their locks? 100% why bother. I wasn't gonna. Then I read online one must assume the worst (same as with online security, or with a computer etc.). and that key had a supermarket keytag. So as an experiment, I went to the supermarket and handed the other keys, also with the grocery keytag, to the clerk and said, "What address do you show me at? Just want to make sure it's up to date." She scanned it and told me, just like that.

AHA! So anyone finding the keys could do that. I went looking for a rekey kit that amazon sold. NOBODY locally carries it, why would they, they want to do it for you.

My understanding is that there are only 1024 combinations in the traditional lock that has the pins of varying lengths. I did it myself. Saw that yes the 2 sided lock is really 2 individual locks. It was very hard. Springs flying etc. very frustrating. But $8 instead of almost $200.

by the way our door knobs are from 1952.....glass...

I have heard that. My neighbor's son works in HVAC and we had that conversation. He recommended pro press if one doesn't want to solder, but the tools are expensive. It seemed to me soldering eliminates all the escalating costs.

But upon inspection, I may be able to get away with 2 ball valves, that's it. Maybe I can consider the SharkBite....thx.

I had used a sharkbite to extend water further out on my deck. One afternoon I had water spraying all over because the sharkbite failed. Upon investigation I found I did not have it on all the way. It worked fine for quite a long time and then the pressure forced it off. Just be sure it is all the way on.

For the tip. Unlike last week when I replaced the hose bibb with a ball valve 1/4 turn that I really like, the rear is frozen. Pretty sure it's 68 years old. It truly is a mess the way the plumbing was done, I bet the seller of my house did it himself. Things t'd off etc all over. But I had a lightbulb turn on. If I were able to do the sharkbite, I could cut off 2" of good pipe, and I'd lose a whopping $21 for a valve. That is, I would put in 2 ball valves, in place of 1 gate valve, so the 2 rear hose bibbs would each have its own shutoff, instead of 1. Seems like the only drawback of not being able to solder is where the space is too tight, or distance. Like you said, if you can't push on the correct distance....it's all good. Great that there are alternatives to having a plumber charge $150 each valve, and sorry if you're a plumber we're not saying it's not worth it, just that we all have to try to save where we can....

Oh and the 68 y.o. hose bibb was working last used, just that I'd like to get it out of there. But I now would not want to use it without a working shut off inside...

make a mess. I opt for the easiest way out. Once I found the connector wasn't on all the way and I replaced it there has been no issue and its been 3 1/2 years.

Growing up, my dad built the home we lived in. I would help him with projects around the house. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc. Even in Boy Scouts I got my plumbing Merit Badge. Fast forward a couple score and it ain't like riding a bike exactly. You remember the concept but not the nuances. Clean the joints well. Use good quality solder and flux. Best advice, use a hot torch. I tried soldering with an almost empty propane bottle and it took an hour. Changed the bottle and the next connection was done in under three minutes. You have MAPP gas, you're golden there. Good luck.

we had carpeting in our recreational room my wife decided she wanted wood looking vinyl flooring that was water proof with the backer already on, after about 3 days of pain its done ! it will take weeks for me to heal, my knees hurt my back hurts, i dont believe how not square or flat the house was (built in 1972) the trim saved me it covered a lot of imperfections LOL

Just be careful when using that ball valve on a hose bib. Ball valves are great, but they turn off the water very quickly, since it only takes a quarter turn from full flow to zero. That sudden stoppage in flow can lead to water hammer, and failed joints (copper, plastic, etc). So just turn off the water slowly so it doesn't stop any faster than with a regular bib.

with a ball valve, watch out for water hammer. (The pressure spike you get when a flowing liquid is suddenly stopped.) It can be of special concern if you have older piping where corrosion has reduced the wall thickness, resulting in a weaker pipe.

- Tom -

In our case, after all computer projects and updates were done back in April.... and all inside the hose projects done April/May
We started working outside....on the property...
added a stairway in an erosion area on side of hill and just yesterday finished a Rustic handrail beside the stairway... Which gives us access into area we've never had easy access before, AND Fixes the erosion area!!
We also fixed a leak in our pond... Never knew I could be so inventive!

is fascinating! Never thought of that...opening and closing a valve is not only wear and tear on the device that's doing it, but the "system." Cool tip.

It really supports the notion that everything wants to go into a state of disorder. Entropy comes to mind. Maybe the human body is the best example over time.

Honestly? Some of these thoughts imho are this idea or notion of mechanical sympathy. My dad somehow conveyed this idea to me. I'm the type of person who rents a car and treats it like my own--this may be stupid because what difference does it make? Last year I got some cars with as low as 8 miles on the odometer. I told myself this thing will one day be damaged, just not while I have it. Seriously, with 8 or so miles (3 cars were that), it's like I am the person picking it up from a car dealer, and the first person to spend days with it.

I won't mention any names, but I said to my buddy sometimes I get the feeling that someone in my household treats things like they are rental products....cars, etc. How about you? He said, yeah, I know, over here as well lol

p.s. this made me think. when I got the new water heater installed maybe 3.5 years ago, the installer stated our pressure was higher than it should be, and he could install something to reduce it. But, it's not necessary. I was thinking, man more money for something that does nothing? But I never did say no, he said I don't have to get it. Said just watch the vertical tube directed at the pan, and if I notice water blowing off, then I would need that device.

Also, when using the kitchen side spray I do hear that water hammer effect if you will. I always equated the sound to pipes knocking.

you folks have a lot of knowledge, that I want, and that my day job interferes with me gaining haha

p.p.s. another thing I learned a few weeks ago...always wondered where the hot water heater's valve got energy for its blue led that blinks, it's not plugged in like some of the wifi enabled ones....it has a thermopile running by way of the pilot light....

I decided after Aug 4 (tornado warning/heavy rain) I'm going to do something about the water that gets into the basement.

Maybe I did it over 10 years ago, but that day I identified a vertical crack in the basement where the water was coming in.

I bought a $114 low pressure urethane kit, followed the instructions, and when the heavy rains came yesterday? No more water. Kinda scratching my head why I didn't do this 18 years ago. I'm not alone, look at the reviews and there was one saying 25 year problem gone. Maybe these kits didn't exist before? i swear like 15 years ago a friend said you can try to fix it yourself but it was epoxy and there was the risk that if it didn't work now a pro has to come in and undo what you did, costing even more.

I do find it strange when we can solve problems for very little these days, and there's so much info out there....this urethane mixes as it's leaving the cartridge, and supposedly expands to 20X its size. I believe it, because at the top of the crack I let it keep oozing out. It's almost 1" in diameter where it was allowed to ooze. And on the exterior? Some came out, proving it finds the crack, follows it, and expands to fill permanently...

In Canada, people are renovating, because of COVID. There's a huge shortage of lumber, plumbing & electrical materials. This is part demand and part supplier shutdown, due to COVID.

Make sure you have all materials, before starting.

add LED lighting in the attic, since I was up there installing a new gable fan (old one squealing).

i wish I had researched that some more, mine uses 3.4A that's terrible. New ones have apps, double the cfm, and only use 40-200w. Less than half the electricity. Yes, chasing dimes, but what the heck.

Along the lines of electrical, the new LED "shop" lights have cords and plugs, they don't get hard wired, as they can be daisy chained.

So I had to add an outlet for the one I did. It's a joke. On amazon the AC receptacle is like $1.30, the face plate 68 cents, and the electrical box $2.99. < $5 for a new AC outlet haha Not junk, Leviton.

I learned to solder copper plumbing pipes back in the 1970s and it’s really pretty simple using a propane torch, cleaning pipe ends and fittings, applying flux, followed by heating pipes and melting solder into the pipe joints. I recommend practicing and perfecting the soldering procedure prior to performing an actual plumbing installation. It’s like riding a bicycle, once you learn you never forget.

Ever since when I need to change out my gas water heater with new copper pipe or extend plumbing lines in the home, I always do the job myself. Newer methods of connecting pipe may be fine but I like a good soldered copper pipe installation.

My son is a trained auto mechanic that has for more than a decade now transitioned into rebuilding and restoring old and classic European cars in San Francisco. Just last week my son told me he had just recently completed running and soldering new copper lines in the shop for compressed air. I asked where he learned to solder copper pipe? He replied, “I learned it from you.” He went on to say that even though I probably thought he wasn’t paying attention, he was watching close enough to know and remember what was going on. I used to ask my young son to follow behind me to wipe the solder joints while still liquid with a cloth to leave a smooth and neat soldered joint.

I’ll be working forever!!!!!

You are so right! My former coworker had said the same, just practice with scraps. I have a mapp gas torch left behind by a plumber 16 years ago.

I put some shut off valves in that are SharkBite and seem to be ok. But I think soldering would set me free. My whole thing was that I cranked closed a gate valve 10 years ago to stop the 2 rear hose bibs from dripping. So hard, that I broke the handle off. When a plumber was over for another issue, he said I would not touch that based on what you said, and that it's been shut for years. And it's a mess, it can't simply be cut out and replaced--there are all kinds of T's etc. so plumber said I'd take all of it out and redo and it'd be $300. WHOA, why didn't I just do it? Online is saying a plumber gets $200 for 1 ball valve. So I took my chances, used pliers to open the valve, and it worked. So then I shut off the water supply and did 3 SharkBite ball valves. Meaning now that gate valve can stay opened as it is, no need to touch again. But there are 2 ball valves now downstream, whereas before that 1 controlled both hose bibbs.

Ultimately? I would love to do a hot water heater--that's the difference between $600 and $1300, big savings. Again I had no time to research and I should have gotten the energy star pilotless one--not high efficiency with different exhausting, just no pilot. It costs less to run each year and almost as good as a high efficiency, meaning in the sweet spot. Would have broken even in 3 years. It's been 4. The ones with high efficiency and different drafting, the savings is pretty small over the energy star one that goes up the chimney.

The one thing I learned from the pro doing our hot water heater, is the electrical bonding of the hot and cold water pipes. Never saw that when I helped friends to do their hot water heaters. So now, when I installed shark bites, I used clamps and bonded the pipes with 8 gauge wire since I figure the SharkBite is not continuous electrically speaking. Or maybe it is but it doesn't seem that it would be with the o-rings.

Back in 2016 I was driving my BMW and the ABS/DSC light goes on. I pull over and google it and felt sick. Common and $4,200 repair.

Guess who came to the rescue? Forum and YouTube. Since I had to buy some software and tools, my costs went up. To about $450. Otherwise, $249 at the time. The pump has a design flaw, so even a new one, would do the same eventually. $249 and it is rebuilt better than new with a 5 year warranty--it's 4 years now no issues. Those folks who take the time to put together videos lasting like 70 minutes and showing a job in detail? Man are they paying it forward!

p.s. what luck--I fixed the basement crack on Thursday, and on Friday we got that heavy rain like we did Aug. 4 for the tornado warning so I could see it worked. I was thinking, most people probably fix the crack, and have to wait months to see if it worked or not!

Next job now is to fix some rotten trim on the garage. I was looking at wood epoxys and even Bondo! I believe I stopped the water on Friday, now I need to fix the appearance. And I need to fix some of the mortar on the bricks in that area....it never ends...