Welcome back to our next Pro-Follow update. Joe Bianco and his crew are in the middle of a basement remodel. If you’re just joining us today, start with Day 1 of this Pro-Follow before reading here. If you recall, the plan for this basement includes a bathroom with a shower and a wet-bar. Today’s post focuses on plumbing rough-ins for these elements. If you’re new here and enjoy learning from contractors, check out our Meet the Pros Page to see details about how we follow professional contractors on actual job sites.... 

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Soldering pipes (called sweating) is the standard way to join two or more pieces of regular copper pipe together.  A solder joint forms a strong, watertight seal that will last for decades or longer when done properly.  In fact, a proper solder joint is less likely to leak than the rest of the copper pipe, which can develop pinhole leaks do to chemical erosion. For many homeowners the thought of plumbing anything is quite daunting.  We all envision our basements or living areas filling up with water due to some error or oversight... 

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Looking for a creative gift idea for the home improver in your life? Last year, Ethan came up with a list of handyman gifts that are easy to purchase online and will ship in time for the holiday. Here’s another idea we think many handymen (and handywomen!) might enjoy – a basic plumbing tool kit. You can build the kit for about $40-$50 from the local big box department store. Why a plumbing kit? We always like receiving practical gifts that show a little thought, and this one certainly does. You’ll have to assemble the... 

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For some time, one of the items on my to-do list was to adjust our water temperature. This project quickly climbed my  list as colder temperatures have arrived. Fortunately, it’s a five minute job. Here’s a step-by-step guide for adjusting the temperature on a gas water heater. If you have an electric heater, Kim wrote an excellent post detailing how to adjust electric water heater temperatures. Optimal Water Temperature The Energy Star site, under Sure Energy Savers, recommends setting “water temperature only as hot... 

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A coworker mentioned that he was having a refrigerator delivered and his weekend project was connecting the water supply line. I told him to grab a saddle valve and turn his weekend project into an hour-long project. Saddle valves make it easy to tap into water supply lines. Here’s how to install one and a couple of things to keep in mind. Refrigerator Water Supply Most modern refrigerators include filtered water and an ice dispenser. For that to work, the refrigerator is equipped with a flexible, 1/4″ water supply line on... 

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This past weekend, we took a few hours to install a new Kenmore Elite dishwasher. We’re really pleased with it thus far, but we thought we’d give it some more time before writing a full review of the dishwasher itself. The installation of a dishwasher is actually a very straightforward matter. It’s a great project for DIYers of all skill levels. Read on for our instructions for removing and installing a dishwasher in your own home. Tools and Materials We grabbed a handful of tools from our workshop. Here’s the... 

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I finished installing my new Tropic Vanity and bathroom sink over the weekend. The installation was nice and smooth- no unexpected surprises. I used flexible steel supply lines for the hot and cold and slip joints to connect the drain to my existing trap. Often, plumbing requires soldering copper pipe or gluing PVC. These are tried-and-true methods but for connecting a simple sink drain, there’s an easier way. Slip joints refer to a “mechanical union that allows limited endwise movement of two solid items for example, pipe,... 

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Day 6 It’s Day 6 of our Load-Bearing Wall removal project; however, the majority of the effort this day was spent on the Pantry Removal “side-project” we threw in while our contractor was here.  Which turned out to be a major effort in itself. Today saw the relocation of our pantry wall’s plumbing and the beginning of drywall finishing both there and in the rooms affected by the new doorway in our load-bearing wall.  This renovation project is almost complete!   PLUMBING For those who haven’t read my prior post,... 

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My bathroom remodel is still on-going but I’m very pleased with the results thus far. Each week I’m able to cross one or two things of the to-do list and this past week I got the toilet squared away. You may remember that I was planning on reinstalling the old toilet to save money. It turns out that toilet wasn’t in good enough shape to keep. My plumber was out to re-route the shower controls and took a look. He told me I was better off installing a new one, so I did. At this point, I’ve replaced or reinstalled... 

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Low water pressure is a real downer. There’s nothing quite like looking forward to a hot shower and finding out that instead of 20 minutes of relaxation, you’ll spend 10 miserable minutes trying to squeeze yourself up against the wall under a dribbling shower head (tell us you haven’t been there at some point!) Fortunately, low water pressure can be boiled down (no pun intended) to a few causes that are relatively easy to diagnose. You may have to call in a professional plumber to deal with some of these and even to... 

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