It's funny. More than half the folks I ran into in the hallways at work today asked, "how's the plumbing?" or something to that effect. I guess that means I'm getting behind on my updates. :-)
Day #4
The guys came back on Saturday to do the exploratory cutting that would help them figure out where the existing pipes are and where to route the new ones.
Without going into a lot of detail, let's just say that by 2pm on Saturday I had a large (18 inch wide and 5 feet tall) hole in my living room wall and a matching one in the kitchen.
There were also smaller holes in ceiling of the kitchen and laundry room.
Day #5
The plumbers took Sunday off, so day #5 is actually today (Monday). I don't know how long they were here, but when I got home I found that they had run new copper pipes in the first floor bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room. It looks like they got about half of all the new pipe in place.
That means tomorrow should be the big day. I believe they plan to get a bit more pipe in place, turn off the water, and then cut over to the new system. It'll be a long day, but I have a BASA meeting after work so I'm not going to notice.
I can't wait to take a shower without the aid of a garden hose!
Of course, the next step is to bring in a contractor who can patch up the damage they've done. I'll likely take that opportunity to get a few other things done around here that have been on my list:
- install ceiling fans in two of the bedrooms
- install new towel racks (the current ones were done but a real idiot)
- install the new screen in the computer room window
But I'm just taking it one step at a time.
Posted by jzawodn at January 24, 2005 11:09 PM
While you're in doing plumbing, you could/should replace your old tank style heater with a much more efficient and environmentally friendly tankless version. You would not only have endless showers available (never run out of hot water) but you'd also quite a bit less gas heating water you're never going to use.
And if you want to get even more eco, you could recover some of your waste heat and feed it into your water heater with this thing:
http://www.renewability.com/Power_Pipe_biz/howitworks/general.htm
Both seem worthwhile since you're doing the plumbing.
Your hose solution is more common than you think!
While I was having my bathroom renovated, I purchased a garden shower and hooked it up by hose
to the laundry taps. I put up a screen on the pavement outside the laundry and ran the hose
out the door. Getting the temperature right was
a bit of a fiddle, but at least I only had 5 yards
between the taps and the shower. I was also able to time the renovations to be done during summer when an outdoor shower is actually quite pleasent.
Any possibility to lay CAT5 cables through the walls? That's a real geek's house repair. :-)
Copper pipes? In 2005?
And what will happen the next time something is wrong? Break the walls again? Why not use polyethylene pipes instead, which are inserted within conduit pipes? So when something goes wrong, the water pipe is pulled out and replaced?
Use your favorite search site and look for PEX plumbing (not a brand - stands for cross-linked polyethylene) to get more details.
Re-routing the plumbing through the wall, versus jackhammering the floor and replacing the underground system (assuming your home is built on a slab), is definitely a cost-efficient way to go, J.Z.
As to whether or not Cooper is acceptable, I'm not a plumber, but I've never heard that it's unacceptable.
I pulled this quote of of the http://copperplumbing.com website's Facts and Fallicies section:
"Plastic Plumbing is equally good.
Yes, for the initial years. But over a period of time plastics turn rigid and brittle and give way to costly repairs and inconvenience, unlike copper which will not become brittle over time. In fact, copper is so durable, it can outlast your home."
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but it appears there may be two sides to every coin. I believe I have copper plumbing in my home.
I have copper tubing that is 36 yrs old and pin holes
have come in it. I took a 6 in piece out that had 2 pin holes, it had green stuff inside where the pin holes. Have
you ever had this problem?
