Posts Tagged ‘Plumbing Installation’

Wilkes Barre Sump Pump Installation Tip

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Many homes in the Wilkes Barre area require sump pumps to keep their basements dry. Wilkes Barre sump pumps are placed in pits or “sumps” in the basement floor. When the basement floods, it starts at the lowest point, which is the sump. As the sump fills with water, the pump is automatically activated and begins to suck the water out of the sump and discharge it to a drain or a line leading away from the house before it can flood the basement.

 How Sump Pumps Work

The pump’s base has openings to allow water to flow into it. When water fills the sump it also fills the interior of the pump. When the water reaches a certain level it triggers a floating switch that activates an electric motor. The motor spins a metal shaft immersed in the water at the bottom of the pump. The shaft is attached to an impeller, which resembles a small, sideways water wheel.

As the impeller spins at high speed it whirls the water away from the center of the pump, forcing it into a discharge pipe that rises up out of the sump. The discharge pipe connects to a length of hose or pipe that empties the water into a sink or outside the foundation of the house. As the water is forced out of the pump it creates a vacuum that pulls more water into the pump and out of the sump. The impeller keeps spinning and pumping water into the collecting pipe until the water level inside the pump – and the sump – allows the float switch to drop low enough to shut the motor off.

 Types of Sump Pumps

There are pedestal sump pumps and submersible sump pumps. In pedestal pumps, the motor assembly is above the base of the pump and the impeller, and doesn’t contact the water. The activation switch for the motor is attached to a long shaft with the float on the other end that drops into the water. As the water rises, it pushes the shaft up and activates the switch. Submersible pumps are smaller units with the motor, activation switch, and impeller all on one level. The motor compartment is waterproof. Either style pump is usually connected to the house electric circuit. But some Wilkes Barre homeowners connect them to backup battery power supplies so the pump will work in the event of a severe storm and power outage.

Which Wilkes Barre Homes Need Sump Pumps

Every homeowner in should understand the concept of the water table. Simply put, the water table is the permanently saturated layer of soil, sand, or rock below most of the surface of the Earth. In some places it’s hundreds of feet below the ground, but in most areas it’s much closer to the surface. In temperate or seasonal areas, the depth of the water table can rise and fall.

The foundations of homes in the Wilkes Barre area are built above the water table. But seasonal fluctuations and heavy precipitation can cause the water table to expand upwards. If a basement isn’t completely waterproof, and few basements are, the water will seep in. Land near rivers, streams, and wetlands tends to have a very high water table, so homes built in those areas are particularly susceptible to flooding.

Although most basements are not waterproof, they should be able to withstand an occasional increase in the saturation of the soil around and beneath the house. A permanently damp basement could indicate that the foundation is close enough to the water table to prevent the basement from ever completely drying out. Rather than installing a dehumidifier, installing your Wilkes Barre sump pump may provide a better solution.

For more information about having a sump pump installed in your Wilkes Barre home, please give Resolve Rooter a call today!

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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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Common Types of Bathroom Fixtures: A Guide from Coopersburg

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

There are many different types of bathroom fixtures for sinks, toilets, showers, and bathtubs in your Coopersburg home. Some range from the basic “construction grade” types, used by builders on a budget to the more elaborate custom styles which are often preferred because of looks rather than function.

Choosing a “common” size or style mainly depends on a person’s own taste and use patterns. Let’s start with bathroom sinks.

There are several types of fixtures but not all will fit the existing sink bowl configuration. Take a look at the number of holes and their locations along the top rear rim of the bowl. Usually the bowl will come with a standard three-hole configuration for the water stem and hot and cold water faucets. But once in a while an oddball configuration may pop up so be aware that not every fixture will fit every bowl. The basic configurations include:

  • Single hole faucets which have one arm controlling hot or cold water and one stem or spout for the water flow.
  • Centered faucets where there is on stem centered between the hot and cold faucets, with all components included on one fixture.
  • Spread faucets where each component is unattached and designed to fit into one of three holes in the sink.

There may be space restrictions in your home which would limit the size of the faucets, i.e. a medicine cabinet or window sill which may conflict with a tall spout.

Bathtubs and showers can also use a variety of different fixtures and have similar characteristics as sinks. There can be one fixture with one faucet controlling water flow and temperature. That same fixture might also control flow to the tub filler or to the shower head. This is very common and often the easiest to install and maintain. Other tub and shower fixtures include separate hot and cold water faucets and a separate button or lever to change the water flow from the tub filler to the shower head.

There generally would be no space restrictions on the size of tub and shower fixture, since all are designed to fit into a standard envelope.

Toilets are perhaps the most standard of all bathroom fixtures. The only real differences are in toilet bowl size – and that has become standard thanks to the National Energy Policy Act which mandates 1.6 gallon toilets. Older homes built before 1995 may have larger capacity bowls of 3.5 gallons. The “guts” of a toilet (flushing/water control) may vary and its cosmetic look may definitely vary, but in the end its function remains the same.

The only size restriction to consider may be the shape of the bowl and how it would fit along a wall or in a corner. And it might be a minor point but keep this in mind: not all toilet seats come in generic sizes, i.e. round or oblong.

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