Do it Yourself Plumbing

There are various activities in plumbing that can be done at home itself with the aid of some elementary equipment. The procedure of four of these is detailed below.

Do it yourself plumbing procedures

Work : Installation of a toilet
Equipment : A screwdriver, a couple of wrenches, a few shims

• a gravity flush toilet or pressure flush system can be purchased from a home improvement store or a plumbing supply center
• remove the insulation or rag from the closet flange
• place the bowl on top of the closet flange to detect if it can be placed level. If not, prepare some shims for future use
• remove the bowl and insert the closet bolts in the slots of the closet flange
• turn the bowl over and place a wax ring gasket over the outlet of the bowl
• place the bowl on the closet flange
• rock the bowl down to ensure that it is well seated
• after the bowl is seated, place a level on it and use shims as required
• use nuts and washers to tighten the bolts. Do not over-tighten as the bowl could crack
• attach the tank to the bowl using the tank bolts, washers and nuts. Do not over-tighten
• install the float supply unit to the tank
• hook up the water line to the tank inlet
• use the washers supplied
• turn the supply line on and adjust the float
• caulk around the base of the unit

Work : Repairing a frozen pipe
Equipment : hair dryer, hacksaw/pipe cutter, propane torch, solder, flux, duct tape/electrical tape, pipe insulation/electrical pipe-heating wire

• close the supply line valve
• open the faucet at the end of the pipe
• observe the entire length of the pipe for a broken section i.e. cracks, breaks, holes and cold regions
• when the above are found, heat up the surrounding pipe area using a hair dryer
• check the faucet to see when the water starts to flow again
• use a hacksaw or pipe cutter to remove the section of the pipe that has the broken section
• replace this section of pipe by using a propane torch, solder and flux
• if replacement is not possible, wrap duct tape or electrical tape around the broken section as a temporary fix
• turn the supply line valve on, run the faucet and check for any leaks at the repaired site
• apply some pipe insulation or electrical pipe-heating wire around the repaired area to avoid recurrence of the problem

Work : Installation of a new faucet
Equipment : pair of large channel lock pliers, crescent wrench

• turn the faucet on and ensure that no water flows out from it
• disconnect the flexible supply lines from the valves connected to the hot and cold supply pipes
• remove the old faucet mounting nuts that secure the faucet to the sink
• remove the mounting nut that holds the Stopper Pull Rod and Stopper Drain bracket assembly to the drain tail pipe
• remove the J-trap drain assembly from the sink tail pipe
• lift the faucet from the sink
• clean around the sink area using a rag and putty knife
• purchase a new faucet and two flexible replacement supply lines from the home improvement store
• connect the new flexible supply lines to the threaded tail pieces of the new faucet
• install the new faucet to the mounting holes on the sink
• secure the faucet to the sink using the mounting plates and nuts
• connect the other end of the flexible supply lines to the valves on the hot and cold supply lines
• connect the new tail pipe to the sink drain
• install the new Drain/Stopper assembly to the sink basin
• reconnect the J-trap drain assembly to the drain tail pipe
• turn the supply line valves in the on state
• turn the new faucet on, check for leaks around the compression fittings
• tighten the leaky fitting nuts

Work : Plumbing a new bath tub
Equipment : a pair of pliers

• fit separate taps for hot and cold in a manner similar to a washbasin
• for a mixer tap, slip a long sealing gasket over both tails by lowering the tails through the holes in the rim
• place top-hat washers on the holes and tighten the back-nuts to secure the mixer to the bath tub
• purchase a 22 mm flexible copper pipe and fit it on the tails
• the flexible pipes allow for easy adjustment that is essential if the joints are slightly misaligned
• alternatively, attach short lengths of standard 22 mm copper or plastic pipe with tap connectors
• use a combined waste and overflow unit
• a flexible plastic hose takes water from the overflow outlet to the waste outlet
• a flexible pipe of a compression fitting unit connects to the trap. However, if a banjo unit is used, fit the overflow before the trap
• spread a layer of silicone sealant under the rim of the waste outlet or use a circular rubber seal
• before inserting the tail into the hole in the bottom of the bath, seal the thread with PTFE tape
• add a plastic washer on the underside
• tighten the large back-nut
• bed the outlet down on the sealant or the rubber seal
• wipe off the excess sealant
• connect the bath trap to the tail of the waste outlet with the compression nut
• pass the threaded boss over the overflow hose through the hole at the foot of the bath
• slip a washer seal over the boss
• use a pair of pliers to screw the overflow outlet grille on
• connect the nut located on the other end of the hose to the cleaning eye of the trap