Having recently moved in to a new place, I needed to unclog out both bathroom sink drains. This house was built in the 50’s and the previous owner used draino liberally, so both drain tail pipes snapped like twigs at the threads when I went to remove the trap. I tried replacing only the damaged parts, but ultimately, nothing was salvageable, as each part I replaced led to another catastrophically failing.
The guest bathroom plumbing wasn’t too bad, as the vanity is spacious and things were at least installed correctly despite the damage. The en suite, however, has a cramped vanity, is too tiny to lay down in, and whoever did the plumbing directly abs-welded the <1" wall stub to a DWV elbow instead of using a slip joint. I had to take a hacksaw blade and gently floss the pipe between the wall and the joint, taking ~45 minutes and only having enough room to use my fingers to grab the blade
The plumbing is now done correctly, uses the right parts, and will never see draino again as long as I live here.
Wait what kind of pipes are affected by Draino? I am just hearing about this concern. I have PVC pipes and a wife with long hair. If I don’t clean the traps regularly I end up having to use Draino to clear downstream every few months.
I’ve found that a kettle of boiling water is worth trying before chemical and mechanical drain clearing
Even with hair clogs, the heat is sometimes enough to melt the soap scum holding it all together enough that it’ll clear
You should ask your wife if she can put her hair elsewhere
There should be a word for that feeling after I know a job is done right because I did it. It’s a particular feeling. I think it deserves a dedicated word.
rewarding?
That’s pretty good.
I was hoping for something to capture the triumph over the last person’s workmanship, as well. Lol.
It lies somewhere between pride, relief, and satisfaction. I understand the feeling all too well, my last house was also a 50’s build, but someone did a budget flip on it and I spent all of my 9 years there fixing their mistakes one by one. Then I moved just in time for someone else to enjoy my repairs haha.
Then I moved just in time for someone else to enjoy my repairs haha.
I feel like this is always the way.
I have yet to be so lucky to buy a place where the previous owner was more skilled at repairs than myself.
I guess I should feel good about getting much better than the average homeowner at repairs?
I dunno. But it would have been nice to catch a nice break one of these times.
You have to buy Draino continuosly but you only have to buy a good plunger once
Too true. Snaking a drain every once in a blue moon is so much easier than dealing with draino damage.
My fave uncle was a plumber and the man could fix anything. Most important lesson he taught me with home repairs was take time and do it right the first time. Or pay double to fix it later.
Been there. With drain plumbing especially, disassembling and cleaning the old stuff is usually some combination of frustrating, anxious and gross, and working upside down in cramped spaces is not great either. Once you get out the nasty bits it usually goes OK.
The 50s were in a lot of ways the pinnacle of home construction. Framing was way better at least.
I really enjoy the design of this house. It was my Fianceé’s grandmother’s untile she recently passed, and by and large, things were done correctly. The only glaring issues so far have been the plumbing and the fact that the upstairs loft addition was never insulated.
I layed ethernet through the attic to add a WAP to the loft and found that there is enough room up there to put in a secret room. There is already a bookshelf on the adjoining wall that I can convert into a Scooby-Doo style secret bookshelf passageway.
The previous owners name is a curse word in our house.
The former owner in this instnce was my Fianceé’s grandmother, and I know for a fact that she was a draino fiend. Sweet sweet lady, but I definitely had some not-so-nice mutterings about her after the 3rd pipe crumbled under my channel-lock pliers during repair. And whoever welded a dwv fitting onto the wall stub (which I know wasn’t her) has a special layer of hell waiting for them.
Can I come round to yours for a shit?
Only if you bring your own TP. I have a bidet, so you’ll leave clean, but soggy.
