Posts Tagged ‘Flemington’

Flemington Plumbing Installation Tip: How to Replace a Bathroom Faucet

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Whether your old faucet is broken or you just want to spruce up the bathroom a bit in your Flemington home, installing a new faucet is a relatively cheap and easy solution. It is one plumbing project that can be done via the DIY route, it takes only a few hours to do and it does not cost much.

Before you get started, make sure you have chosen the right type of faucet as a replacement. There are a few different kinds and you will want to replace the old sink with a similar kind in order to prevent problems and headaches during and after installation. If you’re unsure what kind you need, either consult the manual, take a picture to bring with you to the store or have a professional take a look at it.

Once you have the right faucet picked out, it’s time to get to work:

  1. As always, turn off the water supply. There should be shutoff valves for the hot and cold water supplies right underneath the sink to make it easy on you.
  2. Unscrew the drain collar from the drain rim. Making sure everything is clean, place the house in the center of the middle hole. Screw it in place with the mounting nut. Tighten it up with a basin wrench, but take care not to over tighten. This can crack the porcelain.
  3. To install the hot and cold valves, begin by loosening the mounting nut on one and removing it. Replace it with the corresponding new valve. Repeat on the other side.
  4. Screw the braided lines to the valves you just installed, as well as to the spout. Tighten with a wrench, but again take care not to over tighten.
  5. Secure the faucet handles onto the valves that you installed in step #3. Make sure to put each handle on the correct valve.
  6. Fit the supply lines. You may have to do some cutting if you are using rigid supply lines rather than braided ones.
  7. Assemble and connect the pop-up drain assembly. You may have to test and adjust it a few times in order to get the right fit when open and closed. Secure the rods in place.
  8. Turn the water back on and check for leaks. Turn on the faucet for a bit to flush out the system before using.

Your sparkling new faucet is all set! If you run into any problems, call your Flemington plumber.

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Flemington Plumber Guide: Common Plumbing Tools and Their Uses

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Every contractor has his tool chest, and a Flemington plumber is no different. To the novice eye, some of these tools may seem alien and complicated, but in fact the most common tools are quite simple to use. They are specialized to the job they perform, but they are all in all pretty simple.

Below are some descriptions of the most common plumbing tools and their uses, so you can build your own DIY plumbing toolkit.

When many people think of plumbing tools, they think of that big orange iron wrench that plumbers on TV and in cartoons always carry around. That is a pipe wrench, which is a powerful adjustable wrench specifically designed to loosen and tighten plumbing fixtures like pipes. (Hence the name.)

Perhaps the most common plumber tool that people already have on hand is the versatile plunger, which is a lifesaver for clearing up most simple clogs. For stubborn clogs, a pipe snake can come in handy. Essentially a snake is just a length of sturdy but flexible metal or plastic with a spring on the end for snaring clogs, like bundles of hair or debris.

For tighter spaces, there is a basin wrench, which is specially designed to loosen and tighten connections under sinks and basins. A pipe wrench usually cannot reach these spots, so a basin wrench is called for in these situations.

For the tricky nuts, or spots where neither a pipe wrench nor basin wrench will do, a pair of slip-joint pliers is a necessity for plumbers. These pliers are adjustable and have sturdy teeth for gripping hexagonal nuts, such as those attaching a toilet to the flange in your bathroom.

While a professional Flemington plumber will have a much more comprehensive selection available to him, these pieces make a good starting toolkit for tackling most common DIY plumbing repairs and other jobs around the house.

Generally speaking, if you have a plumbing need that can’t be met with these tools and your know-how, it’s probably time to call a real plumber and avoid any mounting headaches or damage.

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Environmental Benefits of Trenchless Pipe Replacement: A Guide from Flemington

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Pipe replacement is a messy business. For decades, the only real way to do it was to rumble in with a big machine (or men with plenty of shovels) and dig up your Flemington property to access the leaking, cracked pipe. However, with modern technology, trenchless pipe repair and replacement is now possible and while the biggest benefits are to your wallet and your lawn, you might also be interested to know how environmentally friendly the process is.

Less Resources Needed

Have you ever seen someone digging up a pipeline? The equipment needed is impressive. Backhoes, trucks and multiple workers to get the old pipe out of the ground and a new one in. And once the process is completed, the concrete and lawn destroyed by the digging need to be replaced. It’s a very invasive procedure.

With trenchless technology, most of those resources are not needed. This means less fuel used to power large machines, less destruction of your property and no impact on the roadway or sidewalks that would require paving once completed.

Existing Pipe Pathways

Have you ever considered the impact a pipe line being laid has on the ecosystem beneath your property? Digging up all that space and displacing plants, animals and insects alike can have a tremendously negative impact on the micro-ecology on your property.

Trenchless replacement allows a plumber to use the existing pipe pathway beneath your property, which avoids displacing anything with fresh digging. It also doesn’t impact the plants or trees growing on your property. You gain a new pipe line without any damage to the carefully manicured landscaping you’ve done on your property.

Minimal Subsoil Impact

Even when laying new pipes, trenchless technology only affects the space underground where the pipe will be laid. This tears up far less of the subsoil which has a less extensive environmental impact on the water shed around your home.

There really is no reason to use a traditional exhume and pull pipe replacement method when trenchless technology makes it possible to just as easily replace the pipes for the same or less money and minimal environmental impact. Depending on your circumstances and the scope of the work that needs to be done, your pipe repair or replacement may be significantly better served with trenchless technologies.

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How to Unclog a Kitchen Sink: Some Pointers From Flemington

Friday, September 30th, 2011

There are lots of reasons why kitchen sinks clog in your Flemington home. And in order to unclog the sink, it is important to know why it clogged up in the first place. It is easy to suggest a simple solution but the “one size fits all” philosophy doesn’t always work.

As simple as it sounds, you don’t want to use a grease dissolving agent on a clog caused by a fork that is stuck sideways in a pipe. You also don’t want to mess around with the plumbing if the solution is as simple as using a snake or pouring some dissolver down the drain. If the clog is obvious you can save yourself a lot of time and effort.

If the drain is clogged, the easiest thing to do is to operate the garbage disposal, provided it is tied into the drain. But you don’t want to turn on the disposal until you have checked for obstructions in the drain, namely utensils. Remove any utensils before turning on the garbage disposal. Sometimes even the smallest amount of debris can stop up a drain and a simple flip of the disposal switch clears it away.

If that solution doesn’t work you may want to do the following procedures – in order – to unclog the drain.

  • Run extremely hot water in the sink. This can sometimes dissolve whatever is clogging the drain by breaking down the debris.
  • Use a plunger. A blast of forced air from a plunger can often do the trick. If the clogged drain is connected by pipe to another drain (a sink with two basins), you would need to plug the other drain when plunging. Forced air will find the least path of resistance and may bypass the clog and exit out another opening.
  • Use a liquid or granulated dissolver, poured directly into the clogged drain. There are many products on the market for this task. Make sure you read the instructions carefully before dumping chemicals into your drain.
  • Snake out the pipes. Stubborn clogs that are resistant to the above solutions may require that you use a hand-held or portable snake in the pipes leading to the drain. Again, read the instructions on how to operate the snake in order to avoid damage to the pipes, drain, or yourself!
  • If the clog persists, there may be a bigger problem going on. At this point you have to ask yourself if you feel comfortable taking the plumbing apart to find the cause of the clog. There could be other more serious problems going on further down the plumbing circuit, i.e. roots in the pipes.

You may require the help of a plumbing professional. You have to ask yourself if you have the time and the knowledge to disassemble your drain and pipes. It may cost you more in the long run if you damage any parts during the procedure or create other “add-on” problems.

Remember to try the easiest solutions first and if you are still unable to unclog your drain, call a qualified plumber who will safe you time and peace of mind.

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