Homeowners Frustrated with Plumbing Work
Several posts highlight poor plumbing workmanship, including questionable material connections and lack of proper support for pipes. This suggests a need for improved contractor standards and quality control in residential plumbing projects.
SOURCES (60)
“Anyone know what these are called or where to find? I can't come up with a good search term that shows me what I'm looking for. Closest thing I could find is Roman tub faucets that have a hose connecting the valves to the spout.…”
“It is Delta Monitor bathtub faucet. I need to buy a cartridge that fits the model of this faucet. This is an old house (20+ years old) where the pervious owner didn't provide the manual for bathtub faucet so I don't know what model is this Delta Monitor faucet. Does Danco by chance sell cartridge that has universal fit for most Delta Monitor bathtub faucets? Thanks for your advices. submitted by /u/Different_Compote504 [link] [comments]”
“I need to replace this diverter valve in an older hot tub. Got the new one in and am just about to sawzall this broken one to remove it. I was going to cut on the “red” to remove it. But it looks like there reducers/adaptors going into the diverter? What will I need to get the new one to fit in its place, if I cut it out on the red. Thanks for any tips/help before I get going submitted by /u/mikeyjw600 [link] [comments]”
“I've been living with these valves for almost six years. If you want to get in there and see what happens when someone flushes a toilet or runs hot water, be my guest. I'll need you to sign a waiver first, though.”
“Heya, In the middle of a semi-arduous bathroom reno, and different plumbers from the same company have offered different takes on what's been installed: Our longtime plumber installed the megapress between our old galvi & new copper. A couple members of the same company brought up concerns about electrolysis, but said ultimately it'd be ok. I've had to pull out improper backing from an SC install, so while the plumbing's exposed, I'm wondering: What's the lifespan I m”
Just go to the store and buy right part, ask them for help if needed
“I'm replacing a vanity and these are causing me trouble. I will take any and all advice. I need to replace the valves, they're leaking. This is a double bowl vanity so I need to thread the needle on these two and the other two on the other side, and this left one in the picture is bent back or something. I plan to kill water, cut copper pipes below valves, bend the left one back if possible, measure and cut holes in the bottom of vanity, measure again, lift and slide over these, install”
“I recently moved into a new home and I’m trying to change the shower fixtures but I’ve been having a hard time finding the correct fixture for this push/pull shower valve. I’ve bought at least 3 different plates and handles but none of them are the correct one. I was told I need to know what brand it is first but it doesn’t say anywhere on here. Any help would be appreciated! submitted by /u/Lucky_Quiet_3131 [link] [comments]”
“Your most common brand of Pex A, uponor, specifically says not to use Pex B fittings. Your #2 most commonly used is viega, who also dont recommend it. Apollo is home depot shit i wont use.”
“I live in a 100 year old triple decker in Boston and one of our Estabrook fittings has sprung a very small leak. The plumber says that to replace the fitting (with updated materials) we’re looking at 3-5k for the plumbing alone, and we’ll need to get a contractor because in addition to the wall and ceiling parts we have already removed from one unit, we will also need to remove some wall and floor from the unit above. He also said that we could use a special plumbing epoxy to stop the leak and c”
“This house was built in 1993 and the builders used gray polybutylene tubing with copper couplings on the main line and hose spigots. I need to replace the shutoff valves with 1/4 turns, but I want to reach out to reddit for advice on the best way to proceed. My current plan is to cut the poly tubing and the CPVC, rebuild a similar manifold using 1/4 turn valves, and use sharkbites to join the CPVC and Poly tubing. Does anyone have experience with sharkbites on polybutylene tubing? submitte”
“Was a plumbing apprentice over a decade ago but changed fields. Have done a lot of my own work on my own homes over the years. Needed some advice on replacing this gate ball valve. It seems to be pretty old so concerned about internal part availability. Packing needs to be replaced as it drips when turned off. When turned off it does stop flow completely as I’ve been able to make repairs. Transitioning the home (1966) to Pex since all of the cooper joints were poorly done. (Tired of chasing leak”
“These aren’t real brass. They are most likely painted zinc. Zinc corrodes much faster than brass and will basically weld itself together. A solid brass valve with stainless components will last a long time. These cheap ones only last a season or two.”
“This is the current situation in our bathroom. We purchased the Moen Adler 82602, which also has two knobs. Can someone tell me what’s going on with these pipes? For reference, there’s a bathroom on the other wall behind this one and also one directly above this one, on the second floor. Should we stick with the two knob system? Or to one? Any and all advice is welcomed! Please be kind. submitted by /u/-ccrm [link] [comments]”
“TL;DR: the escutcheon hub assembly for my Tempress II valve discombobulated and I haven’t been able to figure out what parts I need. I have an older Tempress II tub/shower valve with an integrated diverter. The valve itself works fine, and I’m trying to avoid opening the wall and replacing the whole valve just because the plastic handle/hub assembly broke. I ordered what I believed was a suitable replacement Empress Escutcheon Hub Assembly from Sigma: https://sigmafaucetparts.com/products/tempre”
“Hello. Had to replace the fill valve on a toilet. Every time I attached the water supply hose, it would not thread all the way on and leak. I tried this multiple times. The old fill valve would not leak. I finally looked inside both fill valves and there is a small plastic piece shoved about an inch into the valve. This plastic piece in the attached picture on the Fluidmaster fill valve was only about a 1/4 inch inside the new fill valve. I surmised that the white plastic piece was preventing me”
“I honestly thought so too. But when I looked at the code it said you could use any pipe listed in one of the tables. It even has pex in those tables.”
“As always, this really depends on location. Here in Canada, I am allowed to pipe my relief valves in 3/4 pex. I usually just terminate them in the hwt pan. If we ran them outside and they dripped or let out water during winter, it could freeze.”
“These are soldered on, there is no direct replacement except another valve that's a direct replacement, that you have to go to the store and buy, and you can't do this yourself, you have to hire a plumber, and you have to shut the water off to the building too.”
“I’m no professional and hired a plumber to have a pressure relief valve replaced about a month ago and recently noticed that a port may be missing a screw in cover of some sort (see picture). I reached out to the plumbing company and they confirmed that the opening is normal. Can someone confirm this please? TIA! submitted by /u/validus_ [link] [comments]”
“Hey all. Installing a Kohler shower valve. Instructions say to use copper for the valve to spout connection due to possible pressure buildup (if using pex) causing water to come out of both spout and shower head at the same time. Every vid I’ve watched, someone is doing all pex. Thoughts? Want to avoid copper. submitted by /u/pplphone [link] [comments]”
“You can order any toilet diaphragm kit and just swap the piston with the current one that is installed. With it being an older building, it’s either a 4.5 or 3.5 gallon per flush”
“Hey all - I’m trying to order a replacement stem for this outdoor spigot that is leaking, but I cannot seem to find the brand. I’ve attached some photos of the spigot disassembled and the stem. Thank you for the help! submitted by /u/Brandnew5454 [link] [comments]”
“Looks like 1/2" tube. If so, it needs to be supported (in Canada at least) every 2.5m (~8ft). It resting on the wood could probably count as support though.”
“We recently had a cartridge fail open on a faucet on our bathroom sink in our 80's-era condo. Got that sorted, but it highlighted that there were no shutoff valves under that sink. Fortunately there was a cold stop on the bathroom supply, but the hot stop was in the heat pump closet that only building maintenance could access. That was less than ideal. So I decided to install some valves under the sink. Then I looked under the sink (see pictures). From what I can see, this is just sweated on”
“Just bought a house and this toilet never stops running. Im guessing i need to replace the part on the bottom that plugs but are there other pieces that also need replacement? The top sprays water upwards and i feel like its supposed to pour downward submitted by /u/Wooden-Lab-3077 [link] [comments]”
“Just keep in mind the skirted toilet is harder to install and if you had a standard toilet there there is some chance you could have to move the valve or pipe in the wall. It's not just like plug-in play skirted toilet pops right on standard install, but if you're lucky all you have to do is drill some holes for the mounting hardware. I'm not sure I can actually think of any skirted toilet that I recall flushing especially well, but the best flushing toilets I've seen on average”
“Hello, I have been having trouble replacing these old floor clean out valves. I have 3 of them to replace I just added new LVP flooring to. The old caps had a cover of about 4 1/4” and a threaded insert of 2” diameter (although they weren’t actually threaded in, just resting on the PVC in the slab. Can someone point me towards the correct product to replace this? I have bought 2 that were both too big. Thank you in advance! submitted by /u/AdvizerTV [link] [comments]”
“Thanks to you guys I was able to go from the setup in pic 1 to the one in pic 2. Toughest part was figuring out an adapter for the existing Schedule 40 stub pipe to the new tubular 1 1/14", and I doubt I'd have ever found it without help. Now I have a slip joint assembly easy to disassemble and inspect if necessary, to what was mostly a glued-up setup. submitted by /u/Stratman351 [link] [comments]”
“Thought it would be quick and easy to replace our cracked toilet but to my untrained eye the flange looks not great. The bolts are all corroded and possible water damage underneath?? 😭 Is it time to call a plumber? submitted by /u/allargandofurtado [link] [comments]”
“I'm fixing a lot of plumbing in my current house, and I'm looking for the correct valve. Initially I was thinking it's a pre 2006 Delta as that was the plate that I used, but now I'm not so sure. I want to confirm what type it is before shutting off my water to my whole house, as I have no accessible water shut off at this entry point. submitted by /u/Sunset-Tiger [link] [comments]”
“I recently moved into an older apartment that has the original cast iron sink in the bathroom and the water comes out in an insane jet that gets water all over you. I was going to put in a maintenance request about it but realized last night all it probably needs is an aerator which I can easily do myself (and faster than my landlord will). any insight on what I should buy since it's an older/ more non-standard sink to save me from multiple trips to the hardware store? I did my best to measu”
“My cold-water shutoff valve has failed, so even when I turn it off, the water continues to run and the faucet keeps leaking. My plumber is currently away on vacation and suggested adding an Add-A-Stop valve onto the existing shutoff valve so the new valve would control the water to the faucet. Is that a good solution, or should I have the existing failed shutoff valve completely removed and replaced? I’ve attached photos of the current setup and the Add-A-Stop valve he recommended. I’d love a pl”
“I know this is old but wondering if you figured out manufacture or found a plunger that will fit this model. Have one exactly like it leaking away. Cannot find a matching plunger.”
“Worst case scenario changed a nipple coming from the water heater. They sell them at a plumbing supply long as your water heater is fairly newer. Do that you don’t need a whole new water heater based on that leak.”
“I had a plumber install a anti-backflow valve that's marketed as "as horizontal valve" in a "vertical" orientation (his choice, not mine). It's connected to the output of a 600W macerating pump. The lift from the pump to the sewer line is about 12 feet. A few hours after the installation the entire system failed. I have my suspicions of what happened, but would love to hear the thoughts from some professionals out there? Happy to answer any questions. (yes, I know tha”
“...but I really want to make sure it's the right one for the application. Here's what I'm doing: Trying to make it properly, and install the sediment trap after the shut-off. So this is gonna go from black pipe to black pipe, not from pipe to flex. Water-heater is a small tankless unit, rated for 80k BTUs. I've got plenty of capacity; I didn't finish doing the math, because it's like the equivalent of 20 or 25 feet of 1" pipe that tees into the 1/2" line going t”
“As the title says, I’m trying to replace this pipe under a bathroom sink, it has a hole in it. It is quite stuck and I’m having trouble loosening it. I have tried a pipe wrench without much luck. Any help would be appreciated! submitted by /u/1point21 [link] [comments]”
“Cut off the nipple at the gate valve, unscrew that nipple from the 90. New nipple and ball valve then a mip ipt x pex adapter.. easy peasie”
“The city added a backflow preventer with our new water meter. Our water heater started leaking at the union and relief valve. Plumber added the expansion tank but I was surprised to see it supported by zip ties. On another note, apparently nobody sweats copper anymore? submitted by /u/Dirt_Guy1 [link] [comments]”
dude plumbers probably have a whole secret drawer full of these things
“Idk about the flange, but def do the valves. Better safe than dealing with a flood later lol”
“Can anyone help identify the make and model of this utility tub faucet. I need to find replacement valves. submitted by /u/ConversationSad [link] [comments]”
“Agreed, and often times they won’t come out without damaging the valve even when using the OEM Moen tools. I love Moen for most products, but always recommend Delta for wide spread or Roman tub valves.”
OP, what is on the other side of the wall? A closet or utility area?
“How are these even legal? Shouldn't a stop valve allow you to replace all the components after the valve, namely, the fucking hose?”
“Also hate when the builder/ subs think nothing will ever have to get replaced and leave no room to put compression angle stops on.”
“Inspector flagged these old plastic push-on valves in a home I'm buying. One local plumber said 'leave them alone, or we have to cut holes in the wall if we can't pull them.' Another corporate shop are willing to do it. Are these really that risky to extract on CPVC, or is this standard swap work for a skilled tech? Photos attached. I am a new home buyer and plumbing is not my field. But I would love to get a resolution for long term durability and ease of maintenance. Thanks. &#”
“Can any pipe fitters tell me how much is customary to charge for replacing a gas shut off valve inside the house going into a gas furnace, and how long the job normally takes? TIA submitted by /u/Brilliant_Sun8336 [link] [comments]”
“This is a short update after posting here few days ago. Thank you to those who shared helpful tips or tools, or were just kind. I called a local plumber to see if they could come, but they weren’t available that day, so I figured I might as well keep trying on my own. I went to a few stores ranging from local hardware, plumbing supplies , etc. In the beginning I got responses in real life similar to what I saw online in the original thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Plumbing/s/B43JkuktA9 I got lu”
“Hey all, I posted earlier about a different toilet. I’m a first time homeowner replacing a toilet in my bathroom. I removed the toilet and discovered a waxless flange underneath. The flange feels sturdy. The rubber seal actually cleaned up fine and feels flexible, but the metal tab on the bottom right is starting to rust and flake under the blue coating. I’m not too familiar with these kinds of waxless flanges. Based on the condition of what I have, should I just move forward with installing the”