for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 137 results for the keyword ‘Plumbing’

  • Avoiding flooding from clothes washing machines

    The rubber hoses that bring water to a clothes washer, particularly the hot water one, will age, swell, and eventually burst, usually right where they bend coming out of the faucet. The official instructions with all clothes washers are to turn these faucets on and off every time you use the mach...
  • It is all wet behind the shower tiles. Why?

    Ed writes from Ajax, Ontario : All 3 walls of my bathroom shower stall are finished with 4" ceramic tiles and are in good shape. When I had to remove one of them, I discovered that the drywall was behind it was so wet that I had to put a fan on it over night to dry it out before I could glue the ...
  • Why do plumbing washers have letters and numbers on them?

    I don't really have an answer to the question, but I can help you to understand what they mean. We could find no plumber, nor plumbing manufacturer who could actually tell us the origin of the plumbing code for rubber washers. My guess is that it probably had something to do with the inside diam...
  • Vent Stack Ice Capping or Evaporation : I GET SEWER ODOURS INSIDE THE HOUSE OCCASIONALLY IN THE WINTER.

    Click Here to Go to the BLOG This is one of those problems that are not dealt with seriously enough by the building officials in really cold regions.  I have opened a blog space at the bottom of this article for you to add in your case history so we can demonstrate that this is a large and conti...
  • What is wrong with my gurgling double sink? The Vent Valve

    David writes that he recently installed a double sink but it gurgles and backs up. It is 10 feet away from the plumbing stack and goes through a garbarator. What did he do wrong?     When you attach a large double sink on a long horizontal run, the drain pipe will tend to fill up with water ...
  • Frost Protected Shallow Foundations -- and water pipes

    Frost Protected Shallow Foundations The foundation for a house is generally poured below the soil grade level so that the footing itself is well below the frost depth for any given region and soil type.  This protects the house from frost heaving caused by expanding soils beneath the foundation....
  • How do I keep a shallow Sump drain from freezing outdoors?

    Michael writes from St. Lazare, Quebec : We recently found a nasty surprise with our new house. The land has a high water table and as a result we have sump pump in the basement. The plumbing for this pump was hidden in the walls and ceiling of the basement. When our inspector inspected the home,...