plumbing is a leaky roller coaster!

Repair help for the do-it-yourselfer.
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Moderators: Greg, Mark, mhrAJ333, JD

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Mark440
Posts: 279
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Anna, Tx

Just happened to be finishing up an access door for my new skirting install....and heard water dripping. Ugh! (that's not what I said - but hey...)

The drainage line from the kitchen sink goes through the P-trap then down through the floor. From there, a hard elbow to run parallel to the joists. It goes over a couple feet slanting slightly downward, then 45's into a turned 90, then to a hard 90 elbow straight down. From there is a stack of different couplings/fittings down to the clean out which is installed the wrong way (you could fish up to the sink...but not on down the line towards septic tank - which leaves me wondering why there is also a clean-out under the sink!). From the clean out Tee, it is finally straight pipe for 20 feet until it joins into the main sewer line.

So my question is....is all that roller coaster of stacked and twisted fittings necessary for some reason?

I'm envisioning a more direct approach of just an elbow, and the San Tee.
Opportunity has a shelf life.
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

The less fittings & bends the better. No telling if it was factory or repairs done in the past.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
Mark440
Posts: 279
Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Anna, Tx

That is the 'philosophy' I went with. Less is better!

the only weird thing I came across was during my trip to big box blue who told me they don't keep stock on any ABS fittings below 4". So I went to orange big box and was told that they didn't stock the plumbing stuff for mobile homes.

Unbeknown to mister orange, I had already measured the diameter of the pipe with my snappy digital calipers. It was 1.88" I compared that to my charts....and sure enough "nominal" is 1.5" piping and fittings.

The stuff already installed was all black (hence I figured it was ABS, not PVC). But...nobody has ABS in stock..so i bought PVC fittings - and a can of that 'glues anything' cement.

It all went together quite easily. Done in maybe 30 minutes.


On a secondary note: is there some special way to seal those silly metal cans of goop so that they last longer than one or two uses?
Opportunity has a shelf life.
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

The only issue you may run into is possible code problems. Some areas require ABS rather than PVC I have no idea why. As for the cans I tighten them down with pliers when I remember to, it seems to help some.

Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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JD
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Location: Fresno, CA
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On smaller repairs, I buy the smallest cans. I always glue my fittings over a piece of cardboard, to control drips and spills. So if I am only doing a couple of fittings, with a new jar, I carefully pull the dobber out and dob it on the cardboard, rather than raking it across the opening. The stuff is cheap, so I am quick to give them up and get a new can.

Hey Greg!
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All information and advice given is for entertainment and informational purposes only. The person doing the work is solely responsible to insure that their work complies with their local building code and OSHA safety regulations.
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