Plumbing Tips for Beginners – On the House
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Plumbing Tips for Beginners

By on March 31, 2016

Tapping into your existing water system to install a drip irrigation system, a sprinkler system or even a backyard water fountain is simple, inexpensive and can be fun. But, there is a danger. That’s why it pays dividends to contact professionals like Larry Butler.

Most hardware stores and home centers stock an exotic array of wye and tee shaped adapters that can be added to the end of a hose bib or sill cock (an outside faucet) so that it can continue to be used with your garden hose while providing an additional outlet for a second water accessory. Unfortunately, these add-on contraptions seal with rubber washers — making them somewhat temporary. And, they can be unsightly.

When using the proper fittings and devises, permanently tapping into an existing water line can be inexpensive and more pleasing to the eye than a bulky add-on devise. And although it can be a simple task to tie into the existing water system from under the house, not everyone has a subarea or basement. An outside faucet is a convenient place to make a permanent connection — even if your home has a concrete floor. Actually, most of the time the outside faucet is also the easiest place to tap into. Plumbing supplies and plumbing fittings are available in wide range of sizes and shapes. Each of them have a specific function to perform, so you need to be careful when selecting fixtures for your house plumbing system. Sometimes, the seal between the plumbing fixtures needs to be improved by replacing the rubber rings. If this is the case, find a store that has a good quality Rubber Quad Ring Supply to ensure that the rings you’ll use can help prevent plumbing leaks. However when looking for a licensed plumber that specializes in all kinds of plumbing projects, from hot water system replacements to leaking taps and toilets repairs and general plumbing, then view more here for further details!

The task is easy. But remember, before beginning you must turn off the water to your house. More often than not a drip or a slight flow of water will persist even though the main water valve has been shut off. Don’t be concerned. Except for a slight loss of water no other damage will be done.

First, you will want to remove the faucet. It is often difficult to grip the pipe that the faucet is connected to. If this is the case don’t worry. Removing the pipe and the faucet together normally won’t harm anything. However, if water is leaking through the system a new pipe (nipple) will have to be used to quickly replace the one that was removed to prevent water from leaking into the wall cavity or subarea. The threads of the new nipple should be coated with joint compound or wrapped with plastic joint tape — either will provide a waterproof connection. If the correct length nipple isn’t available use any size to redirect the water until the proper nipple is acquired.

Once the proper nipple is in place the dual connection can begin. And all it takes is a plumbing fitting called a tee (it is shaped like the letter T — and in some parts of the country plumbers earn a wage of $45 per hour). One side of the tee is connected to the existing nipple, one side can be fitted with a very short nipple so that you can reinstall your old faucet and the third side (facing the ground) is used for the new connection. Regardless of your intended use the new connection should be fitted with two safety devises: a shut-off valve and a backflow prevention valve. Only after following these safety procedures should the final connection to a built-in watering system be made. The shut-off valve will make it easy for you to repair the new watering system should something go awry and the backflow prevention valve will prevent garden poisons from entering your potable water system — a once common problem. And by the way, don’t forget to mount a backflow prevention devise on the tip of your faucet as well. Install one made of brass, tighten the retainer and break off the part of the retainer that protrudes. This insures that it will not be accidentally removed. If you can’t DIY it, leave it to experts such as Superior Plumbing.

If your plumbing system is soldered-copper then we strongly recommend that you check into an adult education training course, or hire a plumber for an hour, and learn how to solder copper pipe. The torch and tools you will need will cost you under $30. We find that soldering copper is far more simple than working with threaded pipe. And in fact, for bigger do-it-yourself plumbing projects, copper is much cheaper to install than threaded pipe. Visit Craftsman Plumbing website if you need professional plumbing services.

For more home improvement tips and information search our website or call our listener line any time at 1-800-737-2474! All you need to do is leave your name, telephone number and your question.

 

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