Home Repairs

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The Sybian
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Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

Any Plumbers in the house? Pretty sure I've mentioned a recurring plumbing problem in one of my upstairs toilets. My son seems to be the only person causing this problem, but he gets clogs extremely deep in the system. According to RotoRooter, 35 feet down. It usually takes 3 hours or so of solid plunging to work the turkey through. Currently, no amount of plunging has worked. I even bought one of them compressed air canister dohickeys, which are quite powerful, and four canister blasts from that didn't do the trick.

RotoRooter guy thinks it's possible that there is a shelf built into the pipe causing the problem. He couldn't feel it, but just guessing. From my internet research, I'm thinking my air vents might be clogged, but the wife won't let me go on the roof to check. This is annoying as fuck, and my arms and chest are sore from all the plunging. Fuck crossfit, this is the new wave of working out.b Anyone have any other suggestions? I've had 2 plumbers come out in the past, they just cleared the clog and scratched their heads like idiots with no ideas, then charged me $350.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Scottie »

When's the last time you had the main line that runs from the house out to the street connection cleaned?
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Sabo »

Does your son take a lot of medications?

We had to replace our toilet in the last few months because my mother-in-law kept clogging it. Turns out a lot of medications harden stools so much that it can cause a lot of clogs. We got a power-assist toilet and it hasn't been a problem since.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by A_B »

Any chance he uses too much paper? Or those wet-wipe thingies?

Cause those will wreck shop.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by brian »

Sabo wrote:Does your son take a lot of medications?

We had to replace our toilet in the last few months because my mother-in-law kept clogging it. Turns out a lot of medications harden stools so much that it can cause a lot of clogs. We got a power-assist toilet and it hasn't been a problem since.
You make living with your aging in-laws sound so glamorous sometimes.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Sabo »

brian wrote:
Sabo wrote:Does your son take a lot of medications?

We had to replace our toilet in the last few months because my mother-in-law kept clogging it. Turns out a lot of medications harden stools so much that it can cause a lot of clogs. We got a power-assist toilet and it hasn't been a problem since.
You make living with your aging in-laws sound so glamorous sometimes.
It's definitely been a learning experience for everyone involved. I've learned a lot about compassion and knowing when to keep my mouth shut.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Rush2112 »

I've also noticed you posting in the craft beer thread a bit more.
Sabo wrote:
It's definitely been a learning experience for everyone involved. I've learned a lot about compassion and knowing when to keep my mouth shut.
Did you see that ludicrous display last night?
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

AB_skin_test wrote:Any chance he uses too much paper? Or those wet-wipe thingies?

Cause those will wreck shop.

No meds, absolutely no wet wipes. Very little paper AFAIK, as his shits are rocks. We are trying to reduce his milk intake, increase water and introduce prunes into his diets. My nephew uses some sort of natural softener recommended by their pediatrician for children that is a powder sprinkled onto foods. I'd rather keep it to natural substances. But beyond that, it is a plumbing issue. Even when he clogs the downstairs toilet, it plunges right out. Plus, even when the downstairs toilet is running fine, if I plunge it, I hear water come up the sink pipe. Both upstairs toilets have large airbubbles and make a glugging noice when you first flush them when running fine, which all indicate air vent blockage, according to research.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by rass »

Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

rass wrote:Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Sabo »

The Sybian wrote:
rass wrote:Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
Again, East Coast bias.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

Sabo wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
rass wrote:Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
Again, East Coast bias.

I understand everything is less expensive in the Midwest, but it still has to be pretty damned expensive to have a backhoe come out, dig a trench across your property from your house to the street, replace the sewer pipes then replace the dirt, resod the lawn, etc... I'm just saying, as a kid a couple years out of college, there are a lot of risks involved in home ownershio
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by testy boxcar »

we do that shit for fun in the midwest. my dad has a backhoe!
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Sabo »

testy boxcar wrote:we do that shit for fun in the midwest. my dad has a backhoe!
Exactly. Being able to operate power equipment is a requirement to live in the Midwest.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by brian »

Hire this guy. He works for peanuts.

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Re: Home Repairs

Post by BSF21 »

Sabo wrote:
testy boxcar wrote:we do that shit for fun in the midwest. my dad has a backhoe!
Exactly. Being able to operate power equipment is a requirement to live in the Midwest.
Yulp it's on the background checks.

Like the outdoors? Guns? Whiskey? Able to operate heavy machinery while being outdoors, carrying a gun, and drinking whiskey?
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by DC47 »

The Sybian wrote:
Sabo wrote:
The Sybian wrote:Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
Again, East Coast bias.
I understand everything is less expensive in the Midwest, but it still has to be pretty damned expensive to have a backhoe come out, dig a trench across your property from your house to the street, replace the sewer pipes then replace the dirt, resod the lawn, etc... I'm just saying, as a kid a couple years out of college, there are a lot of risks involved in home ownershio
Just one of a thousand ways that a house can surprise you with large expenses. Few people are motivated to evaluate the financial results of home ownership after the fact. If they were, most would find they did much worse than expected -- except during the recently departed real estate bubble. Historic data clearly show that houses are one of the worst investment classes that you can buy.

Believe that houses are "undervalued" where you live? Sure they are. Join the millions who have made the mistake of speculating with 4:1 leverage based on nothing more than their intuitive sense of house value.

If you're not in a highly stable personal situation (financial, career, life partner) and also likely to get a lot of satisfaction out of being a homeowner rather than a renter (even when the plumbing blows up), then you're probably making a mistake in buying a house.

Not that these words will cause anyone to seriously re-think this issue. In the USA there's intense marketing of the concept of home ownership. There's an almost religious aura around "the home."
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

testy boxcar wrote:we do that shit for fun in the midwest. my dad has a backhoe!
That's backdoor ho, and you Mom doesn't count.

Well, then, fuck all of you Midwesterners and your DIY attitudes. Some of us need to work 90 hours a week to pay for the expensive as fuck plumbers in the Northeast, so we don't have time to do our own plumbing and shit.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by rass »

The Sybian wrote:
testy boxcar wrote:we do that shit for fun in the midwest. my dad has a backhoe!
That's backdoor ho, and you Mom doesn't count.
I'm glad someone else was a big enough dick to do that.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by teeteebee »

Syb - drive him down to the gas station and let them worry about getting the golf ball through the garden hose.
oh shit...
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

teeteebee wrote:Syb - drive him down to the gas station and let them worry about getting the golf ball through the garden hose.

Just saw this, made me laugh.

In the midst of getting this taken care of once and for all (I hope). Had another plumber come out and cut a head sized hole in the ceiling of my garage, sticks his head in and says who did the piping in here when you redid the hallway bath upstairs? I dunno. "Not a plumber, I'll you that much." Fuck. Turns out they fucked up all the plumbing and connections to the master bath in order to fit everything into the ceiling. They also hacked away the ceiling joist beyond code and here is the kicker; they connected the two shitter lines with a T-Y on a horizontal. You believe that shit? A goddamned T-Y on a horizontal! I hate the fact that I now understand what that means. Also, the pipe ran completely flat because there wasn't enough room to fit it in there at a pitch. Some cheap mother fucker skimps, and I get stuck footing the bill and bearing the brunt of the problems. Makes me worry about what else the skimped on.

Long story short, they had to rip out the ceiling in my garage, redo all of the piping for 2 toilets, two showers and 2 sinks and put in a new vertical stack. First guy priced it out at $5800, plus he wanted $895 to snake the line and reseat the toilet. But before doing that, he wanted to "save me money" by running a camera and installing a restaurant-style power assisted flushing monstrosity for a total of $2,000 plus the snaking fee, then do the repiping if it didn;t work. Broght in a second guy who estimated the job at $2100. I went with him. The first guy I have a monthly contract with, and they are fantastic, but they make up for their unbelievable service and free routine maintenance on plumbing and HVAC by charging 4 times as much as everyone else for every other job.

So when the plumber cuts the clogged pipe, he calls me in all excited screaming "you gotta see this!" He cut right in the middle of the clogged portion, and nothing is coming out. 100% occluded. It was so old and decomposed (mostly paper) it looked like silly putty. Even the same orangy color. Plumber pokes his sawzall through it, and can barely get through the wall. Absolutely amazing. No wonder I couldn't plunge the fucker.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Keg »

Gents, I am looking for a new shower head with solid water pressure (I don't have the patience for the slow flow of the water conservation shower heads). Any recommendations?

I've also read about people taking out the mechanism that slows down the flow, do any of you guys know how to do that?
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by brian »

The Commando 450. Without a doubt.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by brian »

(In seriousness, I installed a new showerhead a couple of years ago and I suck at home improvement stuff. The kind I bought had a regulator that was very easily removed to increase the water pressure.)
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by howard »

I just ordered this one. In a few days when it arrives, I'll tell you how it works.

http://home.woot.com/offers/dream-spa-r ... owerhead-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by brian »

The brand I got was a Dream Spa also. That description didn't mention being able to remove the regulator, but the instructions were pretty explicit on how to do it on mine.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by HDO45331 »

The Sybian wrote:
rass wrote:Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
Huh? Way too much, for a plumber. Scottie had a good idea. Check your main drain, as 35 feet might be out in the yard. You should have a cleanout in the front yard, or wherever your drain flows.

One way or another, get a different opinion, and definitely, another set of prices.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by A_B »

HDO45331 wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
rass wrote:Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
Huh? Way too much, for a plumber. Scottie had a good idea. Check your main drain, as 35 feet might be out in the yard. You should have a cleanout in the front yard, or wherever your drain flows.

One way or another, get a different opinion, and definitely, another set of prices.
I think he already found the problem with the pipes being plumbed incorrectly inside the house.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by HDO45331 »

Nevermind.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by testuser2 »

Keg wrote:Gents, I am looking for a new shower head with solid water pressure (I don't have the patience for the slow flow of the water conservation shower heads). Any recommendations?

I've also read about people taking out the mechanism that slows down the flow, do any of you guys know how to do that?

I've removed the regulator a few times. It's usually a small screen or other restriction near the threaded end of the shower head. You can either remove it entirely or make the hole(s) larger with a drill bit. It should be an easy task.

Get some teflon tape for the threads. It will prevent any leaks and is cheap/easy.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Jerloma »

Painting the house this weekend. I'm already miserable just thinking about it. It's not so much the painting as the scraping.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by howard »

testuser2 wrote:Get some teflon tape for the threads. It will prevent any leaks and is cheap/easy.
I have like five rolls. Cause when I need it, I can't find any, so I buy a new roll. I finally organized that part of my shit--five rolls of teflon tape with only six inches used from each.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Keg »

Thanks for the feedback, gents. I am going to perform open heart surgery on my existing shower head today so that I (hopefully) dont have to buy a new one.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by A_B »

I bought a good one at Meijer for $5. But that might not be available in your area. OUr pressure was hideous at our temporary town home abode, but the smaller nozzle worked wonders.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Keg »

Surgery was a success. Water pressure is now more than sufficient.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

HDO45331 wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
rass wrote:Just be a man and get out on that roof already!!!
Plumber came out today, couldn't find the problem or fix it with basic means. Next step is to perform an endoscopy (Howard, you assist on toilets in Jersey?) to see where the problem is. This shit is getting expensive. They want $800 to lift the toilet and use a mechanical snake, which seems insane to me. Then $600 to scope, an extra $400 if the need to scope the roof vent, then whatever the problem will cost to fix. I'm just afraid if it extends to the outside sewer lines. My neighbor had to spend upwards of $20,000 to replace a sewer line. See, BSF? You really want to buy a house?
Huh? Way too much, for a plumber. Scottie had a good idea. Check your main drain, as 35 feet might be out in the yard. You should have a cleanout in the front yard, or wherever your drain flows.

One way or another, get a different opinion, and definitely, another set of prices.
Just saw this. Had several plumbers come out, that is just what it costs here. The final bill came in jut under $6,000 after I had to have a contractor come in and replace the ceiling in my garage and wall in my bathroom. Good times.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by elflaco »

the joys of home-ownership...

1) saw a mysterious mark on the master bathroom ceiling.. touched it.. fuckity fuck. wet. Up to the attic, first thing i notice is the streams of light.. vent pipe right above bathroom.. seal on the roof is gone.. called the roof guy (has yet to show up), over to home depot, get some foam sealant.. you can see the 'repair' three blocks away as this splotch of beige foam spilled over the pipe housing above the flashing.. C-

2) noticed last night the side of the fridge was very hot,... hm.. its a fridge, supposed to be cold, no?.. to the interwebs! found out it is normal.. except... if there aren't coils on the back (there aren't) then the coils are below .. and if fan doesn't kick on (it didn't) then there is possible obstruction... took the back panel off.. covered in dust bunnies, etc.. thing has never been cleaned (who knew? obviously i didn't).. turned it off, cleaned it, took fan housing apart, cleaned, it, cleaned coils.. all is well now... A-

3) dryer leaving streaks on some clothing.. found tufts of felt in some loads... figure out there is a felt seal around the drum (actually two felt seals).. thanks to the interwebs again.. order the seal and sealant, today, loaded up the youtube video (time life books? nah) and took it apart.. cleaned the snot out of that thing.. lint no more!.. realized there is further damage and main front panel (inside) will need to be replaced, but at $$$ so that'll have to wait as i'm not currently working.. just finished putting it all back together (strangely enough, that's two repairs and no extra parts hanging around)... seems to work fine. plus i did my laundry yesterday, so i'm good (the boy and missus on the other hand...).. A-

4) oh, and got past the recruiter and HR, so now have an interview with the hiring manager on friday.. wish me luck!

time for a cold one!

what now mothereffers? bring it!
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by Shirley »

Yeah, our dryer sometimes leaves what looks like skid marks on white clothes. Very annoying. I didn't have the balls to try to replace the seal myself. I think I had a repair guy do it a few years back, but it seems to be happening again.

How much work was it?
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by elflaco »

not a lot actually.
used the model # to find the part - that led me to http://www.partselect.com-- the seal and glue arrived next day, $35 in total if i remember. same website has a video on how to replace it. followed it, made sure to note (phone camera) where the various cables were going to, ..

total time was 3 hours.. but not all work on it as i kept on stopping for one reason or another (coffee, swamping, email, pron, swamping, etc).. plus there was lint everywhere inside the compartment beneath the drum, so i spent a while making sure i cleaned it all up... plus i have the added problem that the bulkhead is ripped where the drum came through (and the seal wore away - i'd say overall, it can be done in an hour (drying time and such)
hardest thing? taking the glue off that remained from the first one - a razor and some sandpaper does the trick, oh and when putting the seal back on -- do it by sections, otherwise you end up with glue everywhere (not that i did, but as the seal is a tight fit, better to do it like 8-12 inches at a time.. let it dry, then do another .. so 3 sections in total.
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Re: Home Repairs

Post by The Sybian »

Came home on Sunday to find the house a stuffy 85 degrees despite the AC running. And the fridge was warm inside. The fridge scares the fuck out of me, as it is a SubZero built into a large cabinet system, and the model was discontinued. It is also 15 years old. Wehn that thing goes, I'm going to have to pay a fortune to replace it, or remove the pantry and significant cabinet space. Fortunately, turning it off then back on somehow worked. For now.

The AC repair guy came over, ran all the tests, then opens the furnace and mumbles "I'm going to have some bad news to deliver here." He goes outside, comes back 15 minutes later with a huge grin, laughing, saying he is about to become my best friend. While he was looking at the coils, he bumped a thin metal pipe on the outside of the unit, and the gauges jumped, coolant ran through the system. He accidentally dislodged debris clogged in the pipe that gummed up the works. He listed the repairs he was about to recommend and that it'd be cheaper to replace the furnace and AC altogether. I don't even want to think about what that would run. He also recommended that they come back to clean the coils, because they were visibly dirty. Sounded like a good idea, until he quoted $475. I think I can clean them myself, thanks.
An honest to God cult of personality - formed around a failed steak salesman.
-Pruitt
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