Plumbing Consulting

Dear Tim,

I am planning on building a new house in spring of 2008. I've gotten a quote from a local plumber that seems somewhat high. Could you give me an idea of what you think a ballpark cost would be for a plumber to furnish and install the following:

1. Master bath--double sink, jetted tub, shower and toilet;
2. Guest bath--sink, tub w/ shower and toilet;
3. Half bath--pedestal sink and toilet.
4. Basement bath--double sink, shower and toilet.

The mechanical will be in the basement w/ the half bath directly above. The master bath, guest bath and basement bath are at the other end of the house (which would be approximately a 50ft. run). I will be using 16" floor trusses which I want the mechanical to run through. The plumbers in this area charge $45/hr, (I'm in the rural midwest) which I feel is fair. I want to use what I would consider to be upper-middle grade fixtures such as Moen, Kohler, Delta etc.
If you could give me a ball park estimate as to what you think that would cost given the above rate, I would appreciate it. In the alternative, if you could give me an estimate of how many hours of labor you think it would take to do the following along with what is a typical and customary markup on fixtures, that would help as well.

Secondly, since the master bath will be at the other end of the house, one concern I have is waiting for hot water. What thoughts would you have on how to eliminate this problem? I will be installing a geothermal system for my heating and cooling if that matters, and the cost of electricity for domestic hot water will be 4.5 cents per kwh.

Thanks in advance,

Steve Swenson

PS. Your website is awesome!! Lots of interesting info.

Steve,
I can't give you a quote even though I am a licensed master plumber. There are too many variables. You need to get three bids and MAKE SURE they are all bidding the exact same materials.

Hello,

I recently moved into a new home with an upstairs bathroom. Under the sink counter near the water supply lines is an open-ended PVC pipe coming out from the wall which, since this morning, has been leaking water after the faucet has been turned on for a short time. I'm not sure what purpose this pipe serves - can it just be covered up? Rerouted somehow?

Scott,
It sounds like some strange drain-line that is interconnected to the sink drain. Buy a rubber testing cap that can be fastened to the pipe with a band clamp. You get those at a real plumbing supply house.

This is not just a bathroom plumbing problem, it is an all over the house plumbing problem. Every time we turn on the hot water, anywhere for anything--a shower, a load of wash, or just to wash our hands, there ia a moaning sound. I think it's the water softener. It has been very cold the last couple of weeks. What could this be?

Help with our moaning pipes! I had to write again in order to ask for notifications about new comments! Thanks.

Jeanne,
You need to have someone turn the water on and you go hunting for the source.

I have and for some time, a leak drip by drip from the extention small pipe coming out of the roof. Turn on the hot tap and the dripping stops for a while.The extention pipe is about 5 foot above the roof. This has been going for 5 years or more.Can I stop it,and how.

Cheers

Barrie,
I can't help you as I have no clue what you are describing.

Hey there!
We are about to reno a very old house.
Would it be possible to eliminate the main floor stack (which runs lenghtwise in the basement and we want to create as much usable space down there as possible) and connect it to the straight one coming from the 2nd floor? They are about 3'latitude, 4' longitude (?) away from each other. Sorry, didn't know how else to describe it!
Don't worry about ripping out walls, they are plaster and lathe and we have already started re-insulating and drywalling some anyways.
I guess the first question is; can you connect two toilets to one stack?

I have a 60 year old house I just recently purchased. After looking at the drainage system in the crawl space I found that only the toilet leads to a 3" main line to the septic tank. All other lines (kitchen, tub, sink) lead to a pipe that goes out the foundation and opens up about 20' from the house into an open trench that is about 6 inches deep. Is this normal for septic systems to save on them filling too fast? Seems like I should tie them all into the main septic line? Thanks!

Colleen,
Yes, you can connect two toilets to one stack. You need to do a calculation to ensure you do not exceed the number of fixture units on that stack.

Benny,
This may be against code but it is a good example of separating black water from gray water. Some people are advocates for the type of system you have. It may be illegal in your area however.

Hello I have a leaking copper elbow fitting up in the ceiling going down the wall!I am having a hard time sweating the sodier I stuff bread in the pipe but still cannot get a good sodier! Help?

John,
You need to read all of my Soldering Copper columns and watch my videos about the same topic.

Mr. Tim.
My wife and I bought a house last year, however our master bathroom seems to be small. We do have a big master bedroom so we have the space to expand the bathroom. We would like to move the toilet to a different location once it gets expand but we are not sure if it's a good idea to move the pipes and all for the toilet only, i heard that is very expensive as well. The move will be about 5feet to the rightfrom the actually location, the second bathroom is right on the other side of this one so i know that the plumbing for both toilets are in that wall. Any suggestions will help.

Thank you,
Lenin Rodriguez.

Lenin,
It will be expensive. Just get bids to see how painful it will be.

This one has my licensed plumber baffled. He created a zone on our hot-water boiler system to feed hot water the radiant heat pipes he had installed in one floor of our house. Since then the house water pressure starts out reduced when we turn on any faucet. But in a minute or so it suddenly begins flowing at a normal rate. We have no idea what's going on here.

I have a question about plumbing pressure. I have hooked up a water pressure gauge to a faucet inside the house, and it is reading about 90 psi. I have heard that is too high. I have adjusted the pressure regulator to reduce the pressure. It changes the pressure of the running water felt throughout the house. However, once the pressure in the pipes builds back up after the water is turned off, it goes back up to 90. Is this normal, or could my water pressure regulator be bad? Would water pressure have any adverse affect on water heaters (like causing the pressure relief valve to drip occasionally)? Thanks.

Hello,
It's been three years that I have suggested we do something about our two outside faucets. They are tied into our water softener and filtering system. I know this is not the way it should be. I refuse to use it on my lawn or gardens because of what I've read about it being bad for plants. What would it take to disconnect and bypass this system? Both lines go about 30 feet to the system. I think this is more than we can handle as a DIY project and a plumber is needed. If so, what do you think we are looking at as costs.
Thanks, JR

AM A STUDENT OF BUILDING TECHNOLOGY.PLEASE I WANT TO KNOW THE RELEVANCE OF PLUMBING TO BUILDING AS A PROFFESSION

We've been having a lot of trouble with water pressure in our house - it's basically non-existent. It's worse in the hot water but the cold water side isn't much better. I thought maybe it was our pressure regulator inside the house, but the hardware store person told me to call the water company first. Where should I start?

I have a leaky slip joint threaded connection on the P trap (PVC) under my garbage disposal. I tried to tighten it, but still leaks. It looks like it used to have Teflon tape in the threads. Should I get a new pipe, clean the old one, or just put new Teflon tape and retighten??
Thanks!

HELP! I have a new house going up. The footings are being dug, but my 'well-pump guy' isnt available just yet.

I need to know what size & kind of water line I need to run to the well, and where to bring it up into the house. And what will I be attaching it to insde the house, is there a distribution manifold or something?

HI,the previous homeowner somehow placed a 1.5 inch diameter hole and inserted a pvc pipe in the elbow of a cast iron 4 inch waste pipe to drain the sump pump.He used epoxy in attempt to make a water tight seal.How do I fix this problem properly?
thanks

ok figure this out if you can I want to hook up a controll to my shower using a solenoid and diaphram valve and a 24 v transfomer. what for to turn water flow on /off using power swich on wall , ( shower controll stays on always at same temp. all you do is push a button) Problem tryed using sprinkler valvs no good turn on ok turn off takes 20 sec. with chattering all the time. All the locals can t figure this out most
can t even grasp the idea I know it can be done saw it several years ago on home show but can t rember wich one

any body know how to do this HELP

billy boy

A contactor will be installing a cultured marble shower stall to replace a whirlpool tub in the house we just bought. However, he will not remove the old tub and prepare the now vacant space for the new shower pan. The existing drain is at one end of the tub, but the new drain must be located in the middle. Besides breaking the concrete and moving the drain, what else needs to be done in the way of sheetrock work and framing? Note: I already removed the tub myself with a friend.

Hi, we have an unfinished 700 sqft third floor which we are planning to convert into a bedroom, a full bath, and a family room. The third floor full bath would be right on top of the second floor master bath. The 4-5 contractors we previously interviewed were all planning to use the second floor master bath's pipes and were measuring slopes, etc. The new contractor I talked to today said that a separate 3-inch line has to go from the third floor bath all the way down to the crawl space, ie, we cannot use the pipes for the second floor bath. Were all the other licensed contractors wrong? Thanks

I have to repair a urnal in my wifes preschool. It has a very slight leak at the pipe joint that comes out of the wall above the urnal. Seems like a lot of plumbing to undo to tighten or replace the pipe joint. Is there an easy solution?

Fred

I'm am installing a stand up shower in my 1/2 bathroom located on the lower level of my home. I'm not sure how to hook my shower drain to my main which is located under the concrete foundation. I have done alot of plumbing (remodeling) but never had to tackle a project like this. Do you have any advise?
Thanks,
Andrew

Back in February of 2008, Barrie wrote:
------------------------
25 Feb 2008, 17:27

I have and for some time, a leak drip by drip from the extention small pipe coming out of the roof. Turn on the hot tap and the dripping stops for a while.The extention pipe is about 5 foot above the roof. This has been going for 5 years or more.Can I stop it,and how.
------------------------

I'm guessing Barrie lives in a warm weather climate, and that his water heater is in the attic of his house. If so, the leak he describes is probably due to a leaky water heater that fills the overflow pan to the point where it drips into the overflow tube, and then to the outside of his house. The source of the drip is probably either the drain valve on his water heater, or possibly some other water heater connection. Some southern homes have "garden hose"-like fittings to attach the supply line. When the heat of summer gives way to the coolness of winter, those fittings need to be retightened.

Good luck

I installed black pipe for my natural gas line. It is for a new line in a new house. I used a valve stem to insert 15 lbs of air to test my plumbing. I was told the 15 lbs of air should hold for 15 minutes, to pass the test. It does hold for more than 15 minutes but eventually leaks out. Is this normal? Should it last longer than 15 minutes? I do not have my natural gas meter installed yet, so no gas yet. Thanks for any help.

What should I expect to pay for the services of a master plumber in the St. Louis metro area? (per hour)
thanks!

Please Help! My daughter is away at school living in a bottom level apartment which is half below ground. There are two stories above her. Last Sunday night BOTH of their toilets overflowed into the hall and they are now being charged for carpet damage. None of the girls know of anything they did to cause a clog. I think there is something inherently wrong with this situation. Can you tell me the plumbing explanation for this and whether or not they could be at fault?

Anne-
With two floors about your daughters in the dorm, a partially clogged or slow soil pipe that serves the whole building could definitely cause the spontaneous overflowing of the toilets. When the upper floors flush the toilets, run the shower, wash dishes or whatever, their drains will work as gravity is taking the water down to the lowest level (ideally, a working soil pipe (sewer pipe) that serves the whole building. If that main drain line is clogged or slow, the water will seek the path of least resistance at the lowest point in the building....that would be the toilets in your daughters unit! I can sympathize with you as I am picking my daughter up this weekend at college! Definitely protest the charges on this one. If you have already paid the damages, try to get them to credit it back to you, especially if they realize the main soil pipe was clogged, or even running slow from a partial clog.

I am in the plainning process of turning two back to back bathrooms into one large master bath. my question is how far away or close from the drain line does the vent line have to be? I just have to relocate where the drains for the shower and bath tub will be. I understand that I need the 1/4" per foot slope. I am just curious if I will have to relocate the vent line.I wont be adding anything actually i would be eliminating one toilet. with future plans on adding that toilet into another part of the house.
Thank you for your help

Good morning, Mr. Carter. I'm a writer doing a brief story on plumbing, and I'm looking for a factoid....specifically, I'm hoping to find an "average" number for indoor piping for the standard US home....i.e., "today's typical 4-bedroom, 2.5 bath home contains roughly 2 miles of plumbing pipe..." Do you have such a number, and if so, may I quote you in my article? Please advise. Thank you! Suzanne Warden, 513.673.0120.

Like to know when venting a pipe out of the house does it need to be the same size as the pipe leading to the septic tank. 3" pipe needed to vent toilet, and I can tie in to this vent from other vents for shower and sink?
Second question, If I move a bathroom to a differnt part of the house and vent to the roof from there can I tie in to an existing plumbing that has a vent at the opposite side of the house. Im thinking that the vents would be working against each other, forcing air to enter the plumbing from opposite sides which i think would cause an issue with air getting back into the plumbing.

My understanding is that the air that comes in should follow the route that the water needs to flow.

Eugene Potter