All Forum Posts by: David Doyle

Thank You Timonthy for the kind words,,,,

I'm here to help,,,,

DD

Lol Duncan,,,,that makes me smile,,,

I quess I should have started things out stating I Am A Plumbing Contractor in plain English to avoid any confusion ,,,right?,,,,lol

Josh excellent question

The simple reason a good plumber wants to replace or upgrade a fixture are numerous

1 Usually in a home of any age the original fixtures have the daylights beat out of them,,plumbing works 24/7 like a steamship,,constantly under pressure ,,the darn thing usually needs to be changed out.You are providing something of value that will insure years of trouble free service

2 In most cases the time invested in "fixing or rebuilding" a plumbing fixture is better invested in removing and replacing the same or better grade fixture.Why fix "junk" or replace "junk with junk" right?

3 The Good Plumbers Nightmare ;"Call Backs".Nobody wants an phone call from an angry client saying "That Damn valve ,faucet or widgit you worked on is still leaking and I want you back here to fix it fast!!!"Theres much less chance of this scenario if the Plumber goes a "change out " of a fixture

4 No plumber worth his salt will do a "Band Aid " repair or restoration.Personally if a client wants me to do a half assed or Mickey Mouse repair job that is unsafe or with impede or jeopardize the integrity or soundness of the house,,,I will try and explain the need another way and try and sell the work again,,,if the guy wont listen to me and take my good advice I will walk,,,"sorry we didnt have a meeting of the minds Sir,,,please fell free to get another opinion,,,"

5 Fixtures and plumbing materials installed in tract housing were better than nothing ,,but not much better,,,its time to change that old stuff out ,,lets face it.Other thing is,,,todays fixtures are much better in quality and function,,,case in point ,,,the new Pressure Balancing Shower Valves from firms like Moen,Symmons and Groehe,,,,grandma and little kids wont get scalded by hot water in the shower anymore

6 The Swiss have a saying "Buy the best and you buy it once" or something like that,,,,,,same goes for plumbing

7 If your Plumber has the same damn fixture installed in his own house,,,whatever the Hell it is ,you know damn well its good,,,hes seen it all,,,,,,

and quess what busy plumber dont have time to work on their own damn plumbing,,,thats the last thing in world they wanna do

8 Stay away from the "1/2 Plastic Junk" Faucets they sell in the Home Centers,,,,I wouldnt put those crummy faucets in my grand daughters "dollhouse"/Nor would I install one in my worst enemies house.They have integral leaks from the factory and they slip fit plastic fittings on the water supply tubing blow apart under pressure.Stay away pilgrims.Bad idea,,,,

Hope this helps gang.Happy New Year

DD in Los Angeles

Daniel

Give Dave Reynolds at mobilehomeparkstore dot com a shout,,,,

He might be able to offer some good advice in this regard,,hes the best

DD in Los Angeles

In my opinion John is a "squared away guy"

The real test for me with any coach or coaching program is "accessabilty"

Specifically ,does the guy return your inquiring phones or e mail personally or does he have some "boiler room person" paid minimum wages responding to you?

This "test" helps me make a decision whether or not I buy a product,,

John got back to me right away,,,and the truth is ,,,I havent bought a damn thing from him,,,,,

Yet,,

But probably will,,,,,,this Mobile Home Park thing fascinates me,,,

Another great course and training I have bought and reccomend highly ,,,,"if you are serious" is Frank Wolf and Dave Reynolds "Mobilehomeparkstore dot com books and 3 day course .I took it in San Diego about 2 years ago .Solid teaching ,great course also learned a lot from "seasoned" attendees

Hope this helps gang

DD in Los Angeles

Happy New Year Lynn

OK ,,,the matter of shower drains,,,

The most common cause of a shower drain stoppage in my experience has been long hair in the drain as a result of our dear womenfolk shampooing in the shower.In all fairness a guys hair will clog it up too,,,especially if he's a wanna be Rock Star ,,,hair is hair.!!!!

Usually an "Erickson machine" which is a hand operated drum or "top snake" cable machine will extract a couple handfuls of hair at about 4 to 10 linear feet down the drain.This is the usual fix.

If this does not solve your problem I reccomend the services of a professional drain cleaning company.These folks have rolling workshops with drain equipment of every description include fiber optic cameras that can inspect drains as small as 2" in diameter.Choose a firm that strictly specializes in drain cleaning opposed to genral plumbing.These guys solve problems like yours everyday ,,,theres quite a lot to it actually,,,and these guys have seen EVERYTHING believe me,,,

Lynn if you indeed have broken remnants of tile or concrete in your shower drain it will be very difficult to correct in a "slab job" house.You may request a technician to attempt vacumning out the remnants with a "wet dry vacumn".He can then a attempt to clear it with a cable machine or a high pressure "Hydro Jetter" machine.

If you had a raised foundation house of course you would have the option of a plumber working under the problem area and "chopping out " the section of clogged pipe and replacing it with new material.This is one of the many reasons I do not like nor will I invest in slab houses.

Good luck Lynn and hope this helps

Dave Doyle

Los Angeles

Right on Melvin!!!

Also please check out Rheem and or Bradford White gas tank water heaters

Again Noritz takes it as far as tankless water heater go,,,

Bare in mind ,a tankless water heater change out from an old fashioned gas tank water heater is not just "remove and replace" its a major home improvement,,,,

May not make sense for a simple rental house,,,,

DD

Im sorry Alex,,,

Your drain cleaning issue

Some caviats;

Never clean a drain from a roof top vent,,,,your cable can get stuck and you cant use the proper size cutter head,,,,,workmen and equipment fall of roofs and create lawsuits,,,,[not jumpsuits,,,not swimsuits,,,law suits gang ,,,Ka Ching?!!!!]

You want to have the benefit of a COTG /Clean Out To Grade fitting,,,,,Dave what the Hell is that?

Simply said its a "letter T shaped " pipe fitting on its back ,like an upside down T in the front yard of the property that allows the technician to access the main drain ,usually 3 to 4" pipe ,,,set up an electric cable machine with the proper size cutter that matches the pipe diameter [ usually 3-4"]

This way the technician can safely ,properly quickly clear the affected drain line

Mechanical drain cleaning with cable equipment only clears about 70% of root intrusion ,,for a more complete cleaning the homeowner should also consider and request a high pressure water hydro jet drain cleaning .Properly done this unit will clean out roots down to the bare wall of your pipe

The installation of a COTG also allows the option of running a fiber optic drain camera inspection of your drain line from house to street in living color,,,

Hope this help gang

DD in Los Angeles

Happy New Year Douglas

Your talking to a California Boy here Douglas, whose spent more time on a skateboard than a snowboard and thats the Gods honset truth.But I'll give it a try

You should consider insulating both your hot and cold copper lines with the heaviest poly foam insulation you can buy,,,i'm talking 3/4 to 1" thick and I mean every linear foot of pipe,,,,

Now having said that,its my understanding that in colder climates there are systems where you actually wrap your water supply piping with heating wire to prevent freezing,Of course the key here is you must have 24/7 electrical power to the wiring.

Now to my new friend Alex M,,,

In a word Alex ,youre off to a good start,,,,,

For my money ,your cant beat the Noritz tankless water heater products,,,,in the first place,,,if you have a troubleshooting issue ,they send their tech guy out to your house to check out your problem with your unit,,,you heard me right,,,

Secondly ,they are a class act,,,,I'll say it like this ,,,contractors like myself LOVE THEM ,,,because we get no call backs from Noritz products,,,,

Bare in mind ,,,the secret to tankless is;

You want to install them on an outside wall ,,,why? No venting thru the roof ! just keep the unit code distance away from any window,,,

A tankless install is considered a "home improvement " gang,,,OK? You must be ready to increase you gas pipe by one size,,,if your running 3/4" black pipe get ready to increase to 1".You must run a dedicated 120 volt circuit to the unit.

You must ready ready for maintenance ie flushing out the unit with a mild acid solution every 4 to 6 months,,,,

If you can handle that,,,,,,the good news is ,,you now have a water heater that will last and last a long time without replacement ,,,,,if youll do the maintenance,,,,no more leaky tanks,,,,,,if your unit fails its usaully an inexpensive electronic component problem ,,easy to change out ,,,,

OK gang ,,Im off my soapbox,,,,Best of luck in 2014

Dave Doyle

Los Angeles

Well said Michael,,,,,well said,,,

The first thing any good rehabber should buy is good F 150 pickup with a built in toolbox,,,,

The 2nd thing is a real mean Pitbull dog that has the run of the house and back yard at night,,,,,

Also use some discretion about who sees what you bring in and out of a project house,,,,,,,if your dropping off $400 bucks worth of copper pipe and a $500 EPA gas water heater,,,,,,you might drop it off and move it inside around 5:00AM ,,,you know ,,,when the "bad boys" drinking beer on the porch across the street are fast asleep,,,,

Just food for thought,,,,,,,DD

John the only paper product that should go down a drain is toilet paper,as its designed to break down when it contacts water.

No paper towels ,,,or the like ,,,thats a "No No".Drains wont handle it even if theyre "pitched " or "Graded" at a 1/4" drop per foot,,,which is optimum grade for a horizontal drain line gang.,,,,

John you might be a good Samaritan and buy them a months worth of toillet paper if,,,they'll fork over those darn paper towels,,,!!!

Robert,,,I think I answered your question here ;

Optimum grade is 1/4" per linear foot.

Hope that helps,,,,DD