All Forum Posts by: David Doyle

Oh Yes Josh

In the L.A County area ,I dont really know how a licensed plumbing contractor can even  get is tools out  and make a buck  at $50.00 and hour ,,,maybe thats why this pool soul is so angry on the jobsite all the time.He aint making any money!!!  LOL,,,

Seriously Josh I hope I gave you some perspective,,,

I will also throw out another useful tip

The smaller the Calif State Contractors License Number is ,,,the longer the guys been in business.So if you see a fella driving around in a nice pick up trucko with St Contractor L{ic # 000123 for example,,,,That means its a third generation company ,,,his Daddys Daddy was a Licensewd Contractor as opposed to St Lic # 999999 ,,,this guys the new kid on the block,,,,

Hope that helps

DD in L.A.

Josh this is a tough one

First of all if this was an "above board " contractor meaning he is operating a business legally with Calif St Contractor License, a bond,and liabilty insurance has a commercial vehicle on the road with insurances  theres no way he a charge $50 an hour  in S Calif and make a profit.

I am much higher than this guy.In fact any legimate service business in S Calif be it electrician,HVAC,finish carpenter and or plumber is at 200 to 225.00 per hour.You cant charge what grandpa did back in the day.Gasoline is $5.00 a gallon for God sakes.thats cold turkey,,,

I would go to a reliable plumbing supply house like Hirsch Pipe and Supply and ask for a couple refferals on good plumbing contractors who buy lots of material and pay their bills on time.Also ask about their "attitude" and if they are "easy to get along with".This will tell you clearly that they are legit and easy to work with.

You dont need to- run "an adult day care center" on a job site.They are plenty of good contractors out there that have their "big boy pants on" know what they are doing and get get a job done in and out fast without pissing of the other trades on a job.Having said that ,most competant firms will insist on providing their own material as they now what they like and maker a small profit on its mark up.

Hope that helps

DD\

Here is a link to You Tube Videos on the Trenchless Pipe Replacement process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqQlweiNW1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_jmywlLtkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMUUCxDOXg4

Hope theses videos help you visualize the process

Just want to make a correction ;

In a prior post I said you can do a camera pipe inspection in a drainline full of water,,,I misspoke ,that is NOT the case ,,,the line must be cleared before you can perform a successful camera inspection

Best Regards

Dave Doyle

Monrovia Calid

Sorry Gang

I meant to say check out the excellent demonstration videos concerning Trenchless Pipe Replacement on You Tube

DD in L.A.

Hey Gang

Check out some of the excellent demonstration videos both animation and live footage on ;

"Trenchless Pipe Replacement" and/or

"Pipe Bursting"

Very informative,,,

I do these type of jobs in So Calif so I can speak with some authority on the subject,,,

Again my purpose is to strictly give good information and advice

I like Trenchless as opposed to "pipe lining" because with Trenchless youre actually getting seamless New Pipe and Johns Manville guarantees the stuff 99 years.You can drive a Mack truck over it and it returns to shape.With Lining all youre doing is creating a fiberglass liner inside the original "ancient" clay pipe cracks and all .

Hope this helps

DD in L.A.

Remember gang,,,

You can do a camera inspection on a clogged line or a line holding water,,,

It must be cleared first before you attempt an accurate pipe camera inspection

Also have it narrated and mark the problems areas foot by foot ,every good video camera system will allow you to note and mark problems areas foot by foot,,

Last,,,, make or burn a DVD ,,then play it back slowly .make notes,get a professional evalution and make a decision on repairs and an outcome,,,

Do not procrastinate,,,

Hope this helps

DD in Los Angeles

Att. Mike Palmer and BP friends

I would strongly suggest you stay away from th "Flushmate" stuff

Its a time bomb,,,its a black plastic pill shaped vessel that collects compressed air on the water refill of the tank

They are bad news,,,,if they fail in the middle of the night,,blow out and leak ,,youll have one hell of a problem and an angry client

Stick to a reliable tank style toilet like the Kohler,Gerber or Toto and sleep at night,,,

DD

Los Angeles

Excellent thread and participation Rick!!! Keep up the good work!!!

I learn a ton of stuff here on BP every day,,,

DD

Mike you have what is known as a " Partial Stoppage"

In simple language its a "real Stoppage" getting ready to happen.

I strongly suggest you get the person responsible for the maintenance of the building to get a video pipe camera inspection of the main sewer line.These symptoms tell me there could be a really big problem down the road if not remedied quickly .Better take the bitter medicine now and fix things than suffer the consiquiences of a major raw sewage backup incident later

Dave Doyle.

PS Once you sewer line issue is resolved I would reccomend either a Kohler Wellworth or Gerber Avalance Tank Toilet.Very reliable ,,,,,hope this helps,,,DD

Los Angeles

Thanks for the kind words Kirsten

Yes a lot of folks here in L.A. are looking at out of state investing in places like Cleveland ,Ohio or Austin,,

I am looking a MHP's mobile home parks in the right states

Some die-hards are still investing in So Cal and its doable but it takes a lot of direct mail marketing

DD