Home Improvement

We all know the story of the homeowner who tried his own plumbing repairs and ended up paying more since the plumber had to fix the repairs. Recognizing when the job is too big or too complicated for the ordinary homeowner is not easy-handyman egos are too easily bruised. However, plumbers are notoriously expensive so you want to make sure you really need one before you call him. There are a number of things you can do to make sure you will keep your costs of plumbing repairs at a minimum.

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March 22nd, 2008 | Tags: pipe, Plumber, plumbing | Category: Home Improvement | Leave a comment

A few weeks ago, our family noticed water coming out of the cabinets around the kitchen and bathroom sinks. With a little inspection, we discovered the same problem in each case was at fault. The U-trap pipe was leaking due to being worn out from years of use. The pipe as its name suggests is U-shaped.

The importance of the U-trap other than keeping your floor dry and getting rid of water is that because some water is in the bottom of the pipe at all times, this helps prevent sewer gases from entering your home and harming you or your loved ones.

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February 27th, 2008 | Tags: bathroom sink, kitchen sink, plumbing, U-trap pipe | Category: Home Improvement | Leave a comment

Sometimes it seems like your shower or sinks are too hot, or not hot enough.

But raising the temperature valve on your water heater can be dangerous or a waste of energy. If there are children, elderly, or disabled persons in your household, for example, you might not want to set the thermostat above 120 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid contact with “hot” water.

The following chart may help you determine the right temperature for your water heater. According to Shriners Burn Institute:

- Water set to 125 degrees generally takes about 1.5 to 2 minutes to scald.

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February 17th, 2008 | Tags: Legionella, Plumber, plumbing, Water Mixer, Water Temperature | Category: Home Improvement | Leave a comment

I have been plumbing for many years now and have seen many people try and install a dishwasher on their own. Of course the ones I see are the unsuccessful ones. The ones that flooded their homes because of not installing the dishwasher properly. Now I know you want to save some money, but let’s learn how to do it before we move forward. The little bit of time it takes will pay off. I even suggest it is worth buying a how to book to make sure you don’t flood your house. Since you are about to save around $250 to $400 depending on the type of dishwasher you are installing!

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February 14th, 2008 | Tags: dish washer, dishwasher, plumbing, water | Category: Home Improvement | Leave a comment

Taps drip. It’s inevitable, like death and taxes.
Traditional taps seal using a rubber ring screwed down over
the end of a metal pipe. Sooner or later the rubber is
going to go hard, split or just wear away and it will no
longer seal. Then water seeps through, and the tap starts
dripping. Left alone the problem gets worse as the water
wears away the valve seat. Then you’ll have to either
re-grind the valve seat(Do you own a valve seat re-grinder?
Who would?) or replace the tap. Tedious in either case.
But, it need not happen. Many taps now use ceramic discs.

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February 10th, 2008 | Tags: Ceramic taps, leaking taps, plumbing, taps | Category: Home Improvement | Leave a comment

Home, Ugly, Home

Yes, home is where the heart is. The kitchen is the heart of the home.

Our home and kitchen is the heart of a big, messy remodeling project. We decided to update our kitchen with new cabinets, countertops, and floors. While we were at it, we also want to revise the traffic flow, which means moving some of the plumbing and electrical.

My husband, Randy, decided we would do the remodeling ourselves rather than contract someone to do it. He once built an entire house and it is still standing after 20 years, so I trust he can manage the workload provided I supervise.

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January 13th, 2008 | Tags: cabinets, countertops, electrical, floors, granite, home, IKEA, kitchen remodel, paint, plumbing | Category: Home Improvement | Leave a comment