Ken in Winnipeg wants to know if he can modifiy his sump pump pit.There are really two kinds of sump pump pits.One is an underground container or catch basin designed to receive water from the perimeter drain tiles and any other basement spillage or back-up and pump that up and out of the house.T...
Heat recuperation, or the recovery of heat from things that we normally throw away can be a significant part of energy savings. Most energy efficient houses today have Heat Recovery Ventilators that steal the heat out of stale air before throwing it out of the house. Finally some Canadians have...
Janice from Clarenville, Newfoundland has a toilet that has a mind of its own. Setting aside the possibility that it is not a toilet at all but rather one of those strange European bidets, my best guess on this one is a partial blockage that is interfering with one of the jets of water that serv...
My renovating buddy Mike Holmes of Restovate in Toronto (before he went on TV) was into the creation of a new basement suite so I asked him to show us as he cut in for the rough plumbing for the toilet. So he jack hammered up the floor, then dug a bit more (as is common), then he discovered that...
When you find that floor modifications, like new tiles, have raised your toilet above the height of the original drain ring, what do you do? asks Cliff.There are several solutions to extend up over a 1/4 to 1 inch gap.First there is a wax ring, the kind with the plastic funnel down the middle, th...
George from Edmonton, Alberta has a way of slowing down the evaporation of water from any drain that is rarely used, and hence put off the appearance of sewer odours in that room. He simply pours a thin layer of oil over the top of the water in the drain. Any oil will work, but mineral oil will...
Ron from Guelph, Ontario writes: "My wife and I moved into a newly built home in June 2001. There is an orange plastic cap on top of our vent stack. The builder says that the plumber needed this cap on so he can pressure-check the system, but that it is to be removed following the test. He sa...
First you have to have a toilet plunger. That is one that has a bulb shape, or a folded skirt inside a flat plunger. The round shape or skirt is needed to seal to the sides of the toilet bowl. A flat plunger just won't do the job.Then push down gently so as to not squirt everything all over th...
Tom from Toronto, Ontario wants to know how to go about putting a vent pipe into the drain of a kitchen island sink.Good question Tom, because you don't have a wall which will simply allow you to go from the drain pipe uphill to the vent stack as we usually do. The first drawing shows a simple me...
Todd from Calgary wanted to convert his portable dishwasher into a built in one but couldn't find the parts. In fact most of the manufacturers do make special kits to accomplish just this, so contact your manufacturer.Basically you need to put a Y joint in the drain just below the sink and b...
