Home Improvement

Draegan_sl said:

PLUMBING HELP!

Ok so I installed a new toilet this weekend, everything went fine. There is still a trace odor in the bathroom, that isn't sewer gas. I've been to laser focused on the toilet that I never checked the overflow drain in the sink. Last week, before all these issues popped up, my wife cleaned all the drains with baking soda/vinegar and I think this might of kicked stuff up.

Now my over flow drain is completely jammed. Due to the shape of the drain (horizontal entry, 90 degree turn down for 1/4" then 30 deg turn toward the drain I can't get an auger down there. The drain is part of the sink, and not an actual pipe. The sink is also part of the whole top of the vanity so I can't take it out and clean it manually. Plus the drain channel is actually a molded part of the basin underneath and I would be able to get in from the bottom of the sink.

Anyone have any tips of getting in there and cleaning it? I've done draino, augers, hangers, pipe cleaners and wire, baking soda/vinegar and nothing can get in there proper due to the angles.

I've see some WaterDrill thing on the net, but I don't see it available locally.

I'm tempted to get my air compressor our and shoot air down it to knock things loose or pick up one of those keyboard cleaning things to blow some air in there.

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A couple possibilities come to mind.

First, there are cans you can buy that are high pressure air charges that are intended for drain cleaning. They have good, self explanatory instructions on the back. I've actually used one, and it worked for me.

Second, if that doesn't work, you might try the auger route again, but this time get yourself an electrician's fish tape. They're more flexible, smaller, and will get through the angles. Enough poking/prodding with that might open things up.

Third, if you need to, drill a hole at some point to get the auger into the parts of pipe you need to. If it's part of the porcelain top of the vanity, you can seal up the holes with an epoxy.

Fourth, sledge hammer. That'll get that freaking clog out.

Speaking of cleaning drains. Anyone here have experience using a root killer to keep roots that have breached a sewage pipe at bay? Wife and I had a minor sewage backup we caught before it got bad this weekend. Had a plumber come and snake it out but we'd like to perform preventative maintenance for a few years until we decided to get a new line run.

lurkingdirk_sl said:

A couple possibilities come to mind.

First, there are cans you can buy that are high pressure air charges that are intended for drain cleaning. They have good, self explanatory instructions on the back. I've actually used one, and it worked for me.

Second, if that doesn't work, you might try the auger route again, but this time get yourself an electrician's fish tape. They're more flexible, smaller, and will get through the angles. Enough poking/prodding with that might open things up.

Third, if you need to, drill a hole at some point to get the auger into the parts of pipe you need to. If it's part of the porcelain top of the vanity, you can seal up the holes with an epoxy.

Fourth, sledge hammer. That'll get that freaking clog out.

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Good advice thanks. Trip to Home Depot tonight!

plunger?

Only reason I ask is that I had a friend once that never put 2 and 2 together that you can use a plunger on any drain, not just a toilet.

You'll probably do better to drill through the floor than run a line from the floor to the ceiling back to the middle of the room. It'll be cleaner and wires coming out of the ceiling is just crappy looking. Especially if you've got a sound tile ceiling.

I'm not much of a fix-it-jug. I also faced this dilemma when running an antenna, and this is the conclusion that I came to. You either have to go through or around the walls or the floor, and drilling through a wall is probably easier to do and easier to fix than drilling through the floor, but... ehh. No 3rd option much occurred to me either.

I thought about stapling it to the trim at the bottom of the wall... that's how much I didn't want to drill a hole. But drill the hole I did and the place hasn't fallen down yet. So that's good.

Erronius_sl said:

I'm glad that was something that you did yourself. When I first glanced at the pics, the wiring at the baseboards jumped out at me and I was hoping that wasn't done by a professional. Drilling and fishing through the bottom plate of a wall (or if necessary, pulling baseboards off to help) is more of an art than a science really and I wouldn't really expect a homeowner to really know how or be able to do it.

I'd prefer hardwood, even something like pergo, in that carpeted area over tile but /shrug. I think the pergo type stuff is far more popular that actual hardwood anymore; it's 100 times easier to install yourself, and you don't have to have your house taken over by a couple guys, tons of plastic and a giant sander either.

That wall behind the breakfast nook looks terrible. It looks crooked as hell and you can see where the studs are. I'd want to put something in front of that, like a narrow hallway-table but /shrug.

WTF is that OGRE box? Don't tell me I missed some Kickstarter...


...I missed a Kickstarter didn't I...

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Firstly the OGRE, was a kickstarter but I missed it too. I ended up getting it CHEAPER online at Sci-fi-city.com, although I just checked and it looks like they are no longer for sale, sorry!

Next the wiring, yes, it was the first time I had ever done anything like that, really my first project. The wires are wrapped with white duct tape to hide them, but do come out of the wall and over the baseboards before going under the carpet. I plan on fixing this, hiding them completely, when I put down the new flooring. (I've since had 5 years experience running cable)

It seems everyone is suggesting hardwood, but everything I read online makes me look at the pergo. The only pro's I see with hardwood are "it feels more firm under your feet" and "people like it more". With Pergo I see, easy to install, much cheaper, much more scratch resistant, doesn't fade in the sun (a big deal here in AZ). Maybe that's why I don't think I've ever actually seen a hardwood floor here?

The other factor is.... I'm not sure how long I'm going to live in this house. I might sell it, but I'm thinking about just renting it out. I have two big reasons for why.
1.) The amount of things I want to change/totally redo is... basically everything? I was just standing in the kitchen thinking about how I hate the layout and how it could be changed. Same goes with the bathrooms. If I may rent it out, why bother putting a ton of money into it?
2.) Half the time, when its just me here, having a 2,000sq ft house seem's stupid. Even when I do have my kids, it's just so much room. In a way thats nice, for sure, but its weird knowing that 80% of my kitchen cabinets are just empty, same with the bathrooms. My bedroom is like 20ft x 14 ft, it's fucking massive, and I have a futon in it, nothing else. First world problems.

So yeah, I guess I'm thinking a lot about maybe just fixing this place up to a higher standard, and then buying a smaller house for me, and renting this one. Or I could dump all my money in this and make it a mancave wonderland I suppose.

As for that kitchen divider wall, I'll take some pictures of how thats laid out tomorrow so you guys get the full picture.

Plumbing in outside walls? You crazy Americans!

Eomer's gonna make it right.

Using a fireman axe to remove drywall is also Expert Mode.

Is that support stud completely severed to make way for plumbing in the exterior wall?

So many face palms, so little face.

I have run drain through a floor before. Worked just fine for me. 1 1/2 for vent should be fine, too.

I'd replace that window while you've got the wall open.

When you saw through the siding and such, get a long blade for your sawsall. Put a 2x4 against the siding, and cut from the outside. Keep that 2x4 tight, very tight, against the siding, and you'll have pretty good results. Nothing that J channel won't hide.

You're replacing your plumbing vent from basement to roof? You already have one that's 3 inches, yes? Are you trying to relocate the whole stack, or use the same spot? You'll want 3 inch at least for that. If someone flushes two toilets with 1 1/2 inch stack, you might get some water sucked out of your traps, and it may actually whistle somewhat.


Looking for some advice here, too. Our master bedroom is over the garage. The garage is not heated, except for radiant heat from the house. It doesn't freeze in there, but it gets cool. I know it is insulated between the garage and room, but I'm looking to improve the floor temperature. Does anyone have experience with the spray foam insulation (not the kind in the aerosol cans, the kind like this:
Foam it Green Spray Foam Kits : Foam It Green 602 Spray Foam Insulation Kit

I could easily lose 3 or 4 inches in my garage head space, and I thought I might frame in with 2x4s, spray in several inches of this insulation, and drywall back over. Quick and easy, but fairly expensive, and I'm not 100% convinced it will fix it. I do know that when I renovate that bathroom, I'm putting under-tile heat in the floor that works on a thermostat so it is warm in the mornings sitting on the can or getting out of the shower.

Ugh. Unvented plumbing is just asking for trouble. You should look up what code is in your area. Perhaps there's a corner in your bathroom there that you could make a small box around a 3 inch stack, because then you'd be entirely fine tying it all together. Just a couple inches lost in the room, tidy, awesome plumbing as a result. Possible?