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Water Heaters | Tank Water Heaters | Tankless Water Heaters / 50 Gallon Gas Water Heater Replacement Jonathon Way Independence Kentucky

« on: January 30, 2012, 12:29:44 AM »

Dunbar Plumbing was called out to a repeat customer to replace a 50 gallon gas water heater in the residence. Jonathon Way is located in Independence Kentucky off of Pelly Road. Liberty Orchard Subdivision. The customer supplied us with a new 50 gallon GE Rheem gas water heater from Home Depot.

GE Rheem water heaters are a common product sold at Home Depot for water heaters. When we arrived at the residence, here is the situation we were presented with...

As you can see from the picture above, the flue venting for the furnace along with the water heater are incorrectly installed. This was done by the new construction plumber and HVAC contractor when the house was built. The double wall B-vent that's extending down into the basement. This forced the situation given the dimension of the piping and the fittings to make the connections to the furnace and water heater.

If you look closely, you'll see that the draft diverter hood is altered/smashed down in order for the installation to take place. Here is another picture of the situation once the water heater was cut loose.

Drain Piping: Copper | PVC | SDR | Cast-Iron | Galvanized | ABS | Vitrified Clay | Concrete | Orangeberg | Lead | Brass / Copper 2" Drain Line Replacement - Sylvan Drive - Independence Kentucky

« on: January 03, 2012, 02:21:14 AM »

A repeat customer of ours contacted us to address a leak in the garage of their home on sylvan drive. Sylvan drive is located in independence kentucky. Dunbar Plumbing has done numerous plumbing tasks at this location and the house was built in the 1970 era.

Given the age of this home, Cast Iron was the majority of drain stacks inside this home with the rest of the branches done in copper drain piping. Copper drain work was something that simplified the installation of plumbing and due to the cost of piping in 3" or 4" copper, the use of cast iron was the preferred method. However over time what results in the aging of copper piping, the piping has a predetermined "life" before issues result in its use.
When we arrived at the home, first inspection of the piping arrangement led to the majority of the drainage system piped in the garage area. This along with minor removal of the ceiling revealed what was leaking onto the floor. A 2" copper drain line that connected into the main 4" cast iron stack had evidence of pinholes in the piping in the last foot of piping before transitioning into cast iron. Here is a brief explanation of what to expect on piping systems where cast iron drain piping and copper drain piping are mixed:

Most if not always when copper drain piping is used in older homes, a brass ferrule is utilized in the cast iron hub that connects to the larger piping. This, over time creates a situation where the transition itself starts to corrode and close up the inside diameter of the pipe. When this problem occurs, the waste matter that is travelling through the piping system is slowed down and causes buildup in the copper piping leading to the cast iron hub.

This area right before the copper enters the cast iron hub is where pinholes, or thinning of the piping occurs. Back in the day when copper drain lines were introduced, the actual thickness of the copper drain piping is paper thin to begin with, roughly 1/16" of an inch. With products such as detergents, acidic food waste, urine, and any other mixtures of household chemicals and products provides a cocktail of fluids/gels/liquids that travel through the copper drain lines and eventually become lodged in the piping whether it is a coating or clumps, gathering in turns or directions of the piping.

Over time, this collection of products serves as the problematic issues that lead to pinholes or deterioration of copper piping inside the system, leading to replacement. It is common to see homeowners using electrical tape, wrapping the piping where the holes are found to be leaking to 'buy time' before finally replacing the piping. This surely is not the correct way to fix a plumbing problem, but nonetheless it is a method that provides a temporary fix until the piping is replaced correctly and according to code.

Drain Piping: Copper | PVC | SDR | Cast-Iron | Galvanized | ABS | Vitrified Clay | Concrete | Orangeberg | Lead | Brass / Clogged 2nd Floor Bathroom - Main Street Walton Kentucky

« on: October 31, 2011, 11:00:28 PM »

Dunbar Plumbing was contacted by a customer today in Walton Kentucky. The location of this property was close to Mary C. Grubbs Highway where it intersects with US25. Main Street in Walton is the short 2.5 mile section of US25 that stretches from where Walton-Nicholson road intersects with US25 onto Mary C. Grubbs Highway intersection.

Customer had an issue with all three fixtures backing up on the second floor of the house.

Toilet
Lavatory
Tub

Customer mentioned that when the lavatory and/or the tub faucet was ran, the toilet would start to gurgle instantly. Since no other drains were affected in the house, this lead to the issue being isolated to the 2nd floor only in the structure.

The customer already removed the toilet before we arrived, as it was confirmed that the drain system would have to be accessed through that vantage point to clear the obstruction. As we noticed upon arrival, wastewater was sitting in the closet bend and any water ran from the tub or lavatory in the same bathroom instantly raised the water level in the closet bend that serves the toilet.

Using our medium machine, we inserted our drain cable into the toilet arm to remove the obstruction. What was immediately stopping us was not known initially as we would enter the drain roughly 2 feet approximate and get hung up badly inside the drain. A quite unusual circumstance as the piping leading from the closet flange is minimum 3" and most if not all structures in the Northern Kentucky Area are 4" when stretching 40+ years or older.

We made 4-5 attempts to clear the obstruction with next to no success. It was when the property owner pointed out to us in the lower level of the house that all the piping was visible to the bathroom by removal of a panel. This property is new to both the property owner as well us, and the property is being rented by tenants.

The house had also sat vacant for a few weeks before being occupied which would be partially the issue at hand why we were called out to clear an obstruction in this drainage system. Once we were able to get a visual on the piping arrangement it was clear to see "why" the cable was jamming up inside the piping arrangement.

The drain piping immediately went from 3" to 4" cast iron piping. The major issue was a tee laying on its side which is a clear code violation in today's requirements. Serving out of the top of this 4" tee was the 2" cast iron drain serving the lavatory drain in the same bathroom. Once that connected to the tee, the drain continues at a slope heading towards a ninety degree turn vertical into the closet and heading towards the basement. Being able to see this piping arrangement gave us the ability to understand why the cable was jamming inside the tee as it was trying to head back through the 2" drain serving the lavatory drain.

With some much needed trial and error, numerous shots into the drain finally got us heading the cable towards the vertical 4" drain pipe heading into the piping. This instantly addressed the clogging issue allowing the water inside the closet bend to slowly start dropping, signifying that whatever was holding back the waste matter and wastewater was finally leaving the piping system. We continued to run the drain cable machine inside the piping and took the drain cable the full length to make sure that the waste matter was clearly out of the drain system.

Along with running the tub faucet and lavatory in the same bathroom at full force while the cable was still inside the drain. This technique is a great way to keep all that was built up inside the drain continuing on out, using the water as the helper to rid the piping of waste matter.

It was our assumption that during the time this house sat vacant that possibly the toilet was used for the last time before the house went vacant, the waste matter never made it out of the horizontal bend of the piping. This waste matter then had time to sit and solidify including toilet paper that turned into hard paper mache in consistency. With the new tenants arriving and unaware of this situation, the buildup started against this hardened mass inside the piping and eventually closing off the pipe completely, disallowing flow through the pipe.

This happens quite frequently when homes are vacated and no one is there to keep the water running through the drains. This situation can happen both in a new home where pvc pipe is commonly found for drainage piping, just as much as say an older home could have with cast iron piping, galvanized or copper. If you have a home whereby you're going to sell in the near future, make sure that when you leave the property for good that the toilets and all fixtures are ran heavily for repeated times to remove any waste buildup inside the piping.

This will prevent the unexpected surprise when the new property owners move in, looking at the previous homeowners like they hid some disasterous piping inside the home that's going to be a chronic problem. (they think)

The customer in this case (since the toilet was already pulled) reset the toilet after our job was complete. This was a cost saving measure afforded to the property owner to save money on our expense to show up and resolve the issue. This was a first time customer that reached us via internet through Google trying to find someone to resolve the plumbing issue 'today' as it was the only bathroom in the structure serving the needs of 3 people living in the home.

Dunbar Plumbing Forums / NORTHERN KENTUCKY PLUMBERS

« on: October 30, 2011, 08:36:00 PM »

Dunbar Plumbing - Northern Kentucky Plumbers

http://stevenienaber.com/northern-kentucky-plumbers/

http://howl-o-ween.info/northern-kentucky-plumbers/

http://outdooreventseating.com/northern-kentucky-plumbers/

http://513online.com/2011/11/01/northern-kentucky-plumbers/

http://plumbingforums.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/northern-kentucky-plumbers-dunbar-plumbing-forums/

http://barreltrains.com/florence-kentucky-plumbers/

http://danthecornman.com/dunbar-plumbing-plumbers-in-northern-kentucky/

Faucets: Kitchen | Bath | Laundry | Outdoor / Three Handle Faucet to Single Handle Faucet Replacement

« on: October 16, 2011, 02:24:47 PM »

Here is a video of a three handle to single handle tub and shower faucet conversion in a bathroom. We provided the new delta faucet along with remodel plate to cover the existing three hole pattern in the wall.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRUD-sdvd1s" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRUD-sdvd1s</a>

This job was located on Marilyn Drive in Independence Kentucky. Repeat customers of Dunbar Plumbing. We are Northern Kentucky Plumbers providing service plumbing work in the Northern Kentucky area.

National - International - Global News Around the World / Worst Tornado Season Ever Recorded

« on: May 25, 2011, 09:54:15 AM »

Been slowly watching this all unfold from the great plains with concern for all the people who have lost truly everything, including some that lost family members.

It's always easy to surmount what loss is to some, but unless you've lived what these people are going through... it's like leaving for work one day and all you come back to is nothing. No clothes, no food, no property to speak of because it was blown a mile one direction away with no chance to find it.

Many prayers to those families struggling right now and it will be many months before they have anything to call home in the time to come. I would say fema trailers will be their makeshift living acquisition in the meantime.

On another note,

I'm fascinated by the destruction in the method of how the internet and technology now records these events in a real time design. The weather channel was pulling live feeds all day yesterday that was showing the formation clouds becoming a tornado.

Here is a tornado ripping a truck to shreds. I personally have never been able to witness the destruction as it happens, only from a past tense point of view with mainly still frame pictures.

Here are pictures of what Oklahoma went through last night. I'd say insurance companies are going to be spending more than they are making this year in premiums.

Here is a loop feed reflectivity map of the United States from any vantage point to see the current weather patterns. I have it set to my region but you can click on the boxes below to see any incoming weather 24-7.

Here is the facebook Weather Channel Page that deals directly with all the latest information that has important warnings and emergency information.

There is a live feed that also will have streaming video that is taken from storm chasers in the area where the storms are currently in.

Here are some videos that are currently updated from time to time of weather caught on tape.

TOR:CON Index is a rating given to predict the likelihood of a tornado.

Faucets: Kitchen | Bath | Laundry | Outdoor / Delta Shower Faucet - Landview Drive Covington Kentucky - Northern Kentucky

« on: May 03, 2011, 12:18:41 AM »

Dunbar Plumbing was called out to an emergency service call to repair a leaking delta shower faucet. This house was located on Landview Drive in South Covington Kentucky. Landview Drive is off the Hands Pike Subdivision that is the major road that serves both Ridgeport Subdivision and Crystal Lake Subdivision. Hands Pike to Tamarack Drive, to Evergreen Drive to Hawks Ridge to Landview Drive. Homes in this subdivision are over 12 years or newer in construction. Most common faucet brand in this subdivision is Delta Faucet Company.

This leaking tub and shower faucet was leaking and was attempted to be repaired by a friend of the family. Our first concern was whether the faucet had been damaged beyond repair but that did not seem to be the case. Here is a picture of the type of faucet we worked on to stop the leaking.

After speaking with the owner of the home, I was able to find out that the faucet had never been worked on in regards to replacement of the cartridge inside of the faucet. In the Northern Kentucky area, Delta Faucets had an issue with their pressure balanced cartridges that are designed for the monitor series faucets. The single handle tub and or tub and shower or shower only faucets. A problem with the plastic housing where the balancing spool was that could cause interference in how the balancing spool effectively slides back and forth when there are pressure fluctuations. Delta came out with a better and improved cartridge that solved this problem, providing the cure to the ongoing issues.

Here is a picture of the NEW type pressure balanced cartridge that Dunbar Plumbing installs to correct the issues of the older ones.

I'll return to this post and show how we remove the cartridge on these faucets and give some more information as to why these cartridges fail over time, regardless of replacing the internals inside the cartridge.

Faucets: Kitchen | Bath | Laundry | Outdoor / 3 handle Tub/Shower Faucet to Single Handle Faucet Conversion - Madison Pike Ky

« on: April 29, 2011, 01:11:44 AM »

Dunbar Plumbing - Northern Kentucky Plumbers removed a 3 handle tub and shower faucet, installed a single handle faucet for a customer on Madison Pike in Independence Kentucky. Madison Pike is actually SR17, a very well travelled road that leads from Covington Kentucky all the way to Butler Kentucky. The location of this job was near the Independence Administrative Building near the Independence Firehouse. This is considered the "new" part of Independence where Kroger grocery store, numerous restaurants and gas stations are located.

This customer of Dunbar Plumbing contacted us through a family member describing a situation that was urgent. A main water shutoff valve was leaking profusely that required immediate attention. The property owner attempted to repair a leaking tub and shower faucet and in the process of doing so the main shutoff began to leak. After making a temporary repair to the shutoff valve, we determined that high water pressure was to blame for the leaking main shut off and the tub and shower faucet on the first floor. This customer has decided to take care of the water pressure issue by installing a Pressure Reducing Valve and a Thermal Expansion Tank. These two devices are used quite often to reduce water pressure inside a home to a safe setting. Most if not all fixtures, valves and appliances that require the use of a water supply state 60 pounds of pressure is what the products are engineered for. Anything above this pressure can cause premature wear and tear on the wearable parts such as fast acting solenoid valves, rubber seat washers, fill valves in toilets, cause stem packings to leak on valves.

Given the age of the 3 handle tub and shower faucet was quite old, we recommended the upgrade of a single handle faucet that is pressure balanced, offering thermal protection while taking a shower. It was explained to the customer what is involved in the process of the upgrade. Numerous hours sitting inside the tub, opening the wall around the existing faucet, installing the new faucet while adapting to the water lines inside the wall and setting the new trim of the faucet that conceals the hole in the wall that accesses the valve. Our customers at Dunbar Plumbing enjoy the option of being able to use the faucet almost immediately after installation of the faucet.

This installation proved to be a more time consuming job than first thought, mostly because of the situation involving the thickness of the wall. When we extract existing tub and shower valves from the wall, a diamond blade angle grinder is used to cut into the tile/grouted wall. The thickness of the blade in depth into the wall usually is enough to gain access to the wall cavity. Not so in this particular case. Read more...

Plumbing Blogs / Horned Wax Rings - Wax rings with Built in Plastic Collars

« on: April 06, 2011, 10:52:59 PM »

The wax ring as we know for years has been the number one product that provides a water and gas leak proof connection to the bottom of your toilet and plumbing system in your home. People commonly call these rings 'Bees Wax' or "Honey Rings" between the toilet and closet flange. Flanged or horned wax rings became available around 20 years ago as a design that was meant to deflect water downwards into the center of the piping below the actual surface of the closet flange. This would provide an ability to still seat a toilet knowing there was questionable condition of a lead bend leading to a brass closet ring. But with any new product comes conditions and variables, and here is why I believe the horned/flanged ring has become not only the most problematic, but the most costly to consumers in property damage claims along with installation errors that have cost millions.

For as many years that Dunbar Plumbing has been in the plumbing profession, we have noticed over time the sharp increase in "toilet leaks at base" service calls. Our first line of thinking pointed us towards the do it yourself sector that has been ever growing over the past decades, property owners taking it upon themselves to replace a wax ring under a toilet. What first leads them to wax ring replacement to begin with?

Improperly flushing toilets. Toilets that were builder's grade or bare minimum in cost and quality. Home builders follow the bare minimum in design and even though it is new white and shiny does not mean it's going to provide years of longevity without problems. Anyone that has a toilet that is reading these very words will understand the frustration found in unreliable toilets, wondering if what you flush will not go down. These type of toilets are so common in newer homes that it is guaranteed that a plunger will be a purchased item sitting next to the toilet for the "next time."

When consumers finally tire of this ongoing scenario, purchase of a better or better flushing toilet is the next smart buying decision. This is where you can tell when the customer has reached a threshold where cost doesn't bother them at all on the buying decision. They want piece of mind that the toilet they purchase is a final one with no second guessing. Clogged toilets can be very common when small children reside in the home, or that fearful moment when the toilet clogs when company arrives. An embarrassing, sometimes horrible experience that becomes when someone flushes something like female hygiene products or uses large amounts of toilet paper. Why people think it is customary to treat someones home like that, knowing the possibility of a clog is rude. Read more...

Faucets: Kitchen | Bath | Laundry | Outdoor / Kohler Shower Faucet Install - Straw Flower Court Independence Kentucky

« on: April 06, 2011, 09:18:20 PM »

Dunbar Plumbing returned to Straw Flower Court in Independence Kentucky to install a customer supplied Kohler single handle shower faucet in the second floor master bathroom. We are not particularly fond of Kohler faucets, only because they are very difficult to work on in the future. Repair parts are always difficult to find or locate, supply houses do not like to stock the hundreds of thousands of parts that kohler has for their models that might take years to replace eventually. Just because 'years' is involved in that statement does not mean that the product went flawlessly through time without any issues.

This isn't a hate rant about kohler, this is just a plain and simple statement. We like their toilets, no issues other than you have to use proprietary OEM products in the service point of view when working on them. Otherwise you'll be having callbacks when you should of bought the correct parts to begin with.

On the faucets, we ask that the customers supply us with the repair parts and we'll gladly repair their kohler product.

What we will not do:

Work without compensation in regards to identifying the problem with the kohler faucet, the time locating the repair parts online and the efforts to pay or have the product shipped.

The first statement from anyone reading these very words might think... "Why would a plumber not be willing to deal with this particular brand in this fashion?"

It's simple; years of experience of dealing with numerous products in plumbing over the years and knowing what faucets are the most involved in time consumption to get the product repaired. This is why we will charge for every aspect until the faucet is repaired, very unlike the other brands that are straightforward and easy to deal with after the sale.

Lots of customers really love their Kohler faucets due to their sleek designs, heavy brass bodies and attention to unique styles, following the latest technologies... but when years pass by, and the faucet goes into repair, that's when it becomes more effort than its worth.

Toilets | Tubs | Lavatory Sinks | Showers | Bidets | Bidet Toilet Seats | Urinals | Showerheads / Broken Toilet Flange Repair - Cruise Creek Road Piner Kentucky

« on: April 06, 2011, 12:07:16 AM »

A repeat customer of Dunbar Plumbing contacted us from over 4 years ago, needing some plumbing work down at their home. Cruise Creek Road is located in Piner Kentucky, about 8 miles south of Independence Kentucky. SR17 or Madison Pike is the road you take to reach this location. SR17 intersects with SR14 at a junction near Piner School. A well travelled road in the area that is mostly rural, with an old time store at the corner of Route 14 and 17 where they intersect. Only two old time grocery stores remain in this rural area and when the "new and improved" gas/grocery stores come to town, that will be the end of an era of history.

The plumbing problem the customer was having was a toilet flange that had cracked at both sides of the flange where the closet bolts attach to the flange. Further investigation of the flange revealed that the piping arrangement immediately leaving the flange showed numerous fittings and next to any or little piping involved. This removed the possibility of removing the flange from the piping and installing a new closet flange. We came prepared to repair the flange from up above, using numerous methods that have proven to be reliable in situations like these.

Plumbing Work Practices / Leaking Basket Strainers - Plumbers Putty - Silicone Caulk?

« on: April 04, 2011, 10:08:58 PM »

Over the course of time in our plumbing profession we have set 1000's of fixtures that require a waterproof type connection where the drain assembly connects to the fixture. For decades, the most common/sensible product used was plumbers putty. Plumbers putty is a pliable product, very similar to play-doh that is a kids favorite in their childhood growing up. With putty though, it's a product that works as a filler between the flange of a drain opening or basket strainer. Putty is also used for the installation of garbage disposal flanges as well.

But as time progresses forward, it has been more than obvious that plumbers putty has a limited life, and can lead to leaking under these flanges/strainer baskets as water can loosen/break down the once dry connection. With certain types of sinks, like Kohler kitchen sinks that are either cast iron or americast (spun polymer with hardened finish similar to porcelain) the angle of the opening where the strainers go can be quite large.

Toilets | Tubs | Lavatory Sinks | Showers | Bidets | Bidet Toilet Seats | Urinals | Showerheads / Shower Drain Rework - Straw Flower Court - Independence Kentucky

« on: April 04, 2011, 09:41:50 PM »

Dunbar Plumbing was called out to customer's home on Straw Flower Court in the Harvest Hill Subdivision in Independence Kentucky. This is a repeat customer that had us do a few repairs over the years along with a water heater replacement over 7 years ago.

The task at hand was the rerouting of a shower drain along with the removal of two faucets along with the copper piping leading to the fixtures for the removal of a wall, along with the estimation of future work to be done in the bathroom. Once the flooring was removed the access to the existing drain line was made possible so that the new connections could be made to perform the task. The customer is building a custom shower pan that utilizes an adjustable collar shower drain and also allow for the pebble type flooring that is going in the base of this shower.

Once the drain line was reworked/relocated, the next step is waiting for the customer to get the first stages of the floor down. Along with this repair, dual sinks are going to be installed in this bathroom remodel, along with a new shower faucet and tub faucet. Toilet stays in the location it has been, the only fixture that will be undisturbed throughout this entire remodeling process. Pictures soon to come as this is a work in progress.

National - International - Global News Around the World / 9.0 Earthquake hits Japan - Tsunami Follows - Nuclear Meltdown in Fukushima

« on: March 16, 2011, 10:13:25 PM »

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2AG1IJteKo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2AG1IJteKo</a>

Japan has been hit with a 1-2-3 punch, starting with a 9.0 earthquake that created a tsunami that affected a nuclear powerplant in fukushima japan. Widespread radiation has been reported as far as 200 miles away.

Over 10,000 people are feared dead from the rampage of the ocean's tsunami that wiped out miles of ocean front villages along with many businesses that line the coastline. Recovery efforts have been dampered by the current dangers revolving around the possible radiation exposure along with the recent colder weather with near zero temperatures and unusual snowfall.

http://BuyIodide.com/ is a website dedicated to providing information regarding Potassium Iodide tablets for exposure to radiation caused by Nuclear Power Plants emitting radiation in dangerous levels. Potassium Iodide is known for protecting the thyroid gland from being affected by radiation.

Sump Pumps | Dewatering Pumps | Sewage Ejector Pumps / Sump Pump Replacement - Glen Arbor Drive Florence Kentucky

« on: March 16, 2011, 09:00:33 PM »

Call from a repeat customer for a sump pump replacement on Glen Arbor Drive in Florence Kentucky. Glen Arbor Drive is connected to Boone Aire Road. Glen Arbor Drive also connects to Oakbrook drive in the Oakbrook Subdivision.

Customer contacted us stating water was spraying outside of the pit, and that the pump had never been replaced since the construction of the home. We gave the customer information about the new design of the Zoeller N53 "Mighty Mate" Sump Pump with an external float switch. Explained the benefits of the new design that allows just the switch to be replaced, not the pump itself.

Replacement/installation of the sump pump went smoothly, noticed there was no opening in the discharge pipe that serves the design of preventing air lock. An opening was installed by us to protect the property from flooding in the worst case scenario when the pump overdraws the pit of water and creates an air pocket where the impeller turns.

So often we find this situation where the original installer of the sump pump does not provide that added protection to prevent air lock. It is a must have for all submersible pumps designed for dewatering, including sewage ejector pump systems.