Real Estate's Directory

When you own a house, upkeep can be crippling. I’m pretty sure that there is not one of you out there who has a “fix it” or “to do” list out there that doesn’t fill you with some element of dread. The list gets longer, but unless one of the tasks on it is really pressing, it’s easy to forget about it. That little hole in the drywall up stairs in the guest room is an eye sore to be sure, but it doesn’t really warrant calling a guy to come and take a look or a weekend trip to the hardware store. Many of us grew up in an environment where we fixed these problems ourselves and they seem easy, but for the vast majority of the people out there, fixing small household problems is better left to the experts. Especially when it comes to clogs and leaks in the pipes, and water heater installation.

When we think of plumbing, we think of less than desirable smells, dirty floors and unfortunately, getting ripped off. It seems a baffling shame that a running toilet or a leaking faucet can cost upwards of a hundred dollars to fix. If only there was a way to avoid those ridiculous fees! Well, obviously there is. It just requires you to put in a little legwork and figure it out. The good news is that most plumbing issues are simple to fix if you hire the right plumber. After all plumbing is really just a series of pipes that are interlocked together.

Diagnose the problem

This sounds a lot harder than it is. All you really have to do is take a look. Most problems are an issue of something being clogged or loose, so turn off the water and get to dismantling. If you need any tools or advice, definitely go online and watch a youtube video or even visit grommet machines or thediyoutlet.com and get some help. If you feel in over your head, don’t worry, you’re not. You’re just trying out something new. When dismantling the plumbing beneath your sink, keep careful track of what goes where. There are not a lot of parts, but if you’re not used to fixing plumbing issues, the last thing you want is to add extra confusion to the problem. Nine times out of ten, you will figure out what is causing the blockage in a few minutes.

Once you find the blockage, just clear it. Yes, it’s gross, but it’s not nearly as gross as paying someone a hundred bucks and waiting around the house for hours for twenty minutes of work. Granted, there are some issues that you probably won’t be able to deal with unless you’re really willing to get into the nitty gritty of it all. Dishwashers are my personal nemeses. Some plumbing problems are meant to be solved by an expert you can hire from the plumbing company. However, most of them are easy for any homeowner with that do-it-yourself attitude! Next time you’re kept up at night from the sound of that drip drip drip, do you and your bank account a favor, and DIY!

We had a real problem getting good solder connections on our trip last October. On one of the fitting locations, I forgot to clean and flux the connections after a dry fit, before I attempted to solder them. On others, I just had a really hard time due to the strong winds cooling off the pipes even while the torch was applied. We left with several leaks that we knew we needed to fix, in this case backflow prevention is very important so their aren’t anymore leaks.