I needed a couple of plumbing repairs done so while the plumber was here I
mentioned that I was considering replacing all my shutoffs with the new
quarter turn ball valves. He told me that it would be a waste because he
has seen them leaking too and needing to be replaced. According to him, at
least with the old turn offs they can be repaired. Is he right about the
new ones leaking? By the way my house is about 7 years old and checked all
the sink turns off (old fashioned type) today. Only one was bad out of 7
sinks.

"Art" wrote in message
ink.net...
I needed a couple of plumbing repairs done so while the plumber was here I
mentioned that I was considering replacing all my shutoffs with the new
quarter turn ball valves. He told me that it would be a waste because he
has seen them leaking too and needing to be replaced. According to him,
at
least with the old turn offs they can be repaired. Is he right about the
new ones leaking? By the way my house is about 7 years old and checked
all
the sink turns off (old fashioned type) today. Only one was bad out of 7
sinks.

In time any valve will leak. I replace every gate valve with a ball valve.
Wait until they leak then replace/repair

Quality ball valves wont leak.

Art wrote:
I needed a couple of plumbing repairs done so while the plumber was
here I mentioned that I was considering replacing all my shutoffs
with the new quarter turn ball valves. He told me that it would be a
waste because he has seen them leaking too and needing to be
replaced. According to him, at least with the old turn offs they can
be repaired. Is he right about the new ones leaking? By the way my
house is about 7 years old and checked all the sink turns off (old
fashioned type) today. Only one was bad out of 7 sinks.

All kinds of valve can and will leak. Ball valves last longer and
quality valves of any type will last far longer.


--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

As it turns out, he was talking only of the small ball valves for under sink
use. He claims he has seen some leaking thru the handle and he doesn't feel
they are much of an improvement. Our 3/4 inch water main shutoff was bad
and he replaced that with a ball valve. He considers those worthwile. For
what its worth.


"Art" wrote in message
ink.net...
I needed a couple of plumbing repairs done so while the plumber was here I
mentioned that I was considering replacing all my shutoffs with the new
quarter turn ball valves. He told me that it would be a waste because he
has seen them leaking too and needing to be replaced. According to him,
at
least with the old turn offs they can be repaired. Is he right about the
new ones leaking? By the way my house is about 7 years old and checked
all
the sink turns off (old fashioned type) today. Only one was bad out of 7
sinks.

On Mon, 02 Aug 2004 15:16:22 GMT, "Art"
wrote:

I needed a couple of plumbing repairs done so while the plumber was here I
mentioned that I was considering replacing all my shutoffs with the new
quarter turn ball valves. He told me that it would be a waste because he
has seen them leaking too and needing to be replaced. According to him, at
least with the old turn offs they can be repaired. Is he right about the
new ones leaking? By the way my house is about 7 years old and checked all
the sink turns off (old fashioned type) today. Only one was bad out of 7
sinks.


All valves that are made by human beings have seals and packings in
them that deteriorate over time. The good news is that you can replace
the seals in most valves! If you will take the time...call several of
the plumbing supply houses in your town...you will find the one
warehouse distributor in your area that stocks virtually all repair
parts for most of the valves on the market.

The Home Depot and Lowes seem to stock alot of the stuff you need
around the home...check them out!

Bill

LinuxSaves wrote:
I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:
I've done the copper sulfate thing, which is supposed to kill roots,
but I never seem to get really good results from that. Is there a trick
to it? I always let it sit for a number of hours, usually overnight. Is
there something else that works better? Other than having it snaked!!

I've heard of a method that, instead of replacing the original pipe,
slips a new, smaller diameter pipe inside the original, at much less
cost than tearing out and replacing the whole thing. But how does
this compare in terms of price, inconvenience (i.e., tearing up the
foundation?), and reliability? I just remodeled the bathrooms about
three years ago, including the installation of very expensive ceramic
tile floors. I dread the thought of seeing that destroyed, but I
suppose there's no way around it.

Any suggestions are welcome; I'd much prefer NOT tearing up the house
to repair/replace the pipe but, as I said, I'm not having much luck
controlling the roots that are causing the blockages.

Thanks!

Give it up. The only real fix is the real fix. Replace the leaking
pipes. The sleeve idea, while it might work, I would only suggest under
extreme situations where there was some very strong reason not to do it
right. Reducing the size of your drain and leaving the same root issue in
place that may damage the fix just makes it a last resort solution.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

LinuxSaves wrote:
I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:


SNIP

Needs more info.

Is this by chance a slab foundation??

Why only 2 baths have problems?

City sewer? Does the sewer line run around the perimeter of the
house with various connections into it?

Where are trees relative to sewer line?
How long a run to street (or septic)?

Jim

LinuxSaves wrote:
I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:
I've done the copper sulfate thing, which is supposed to kill roots,
but I never seem to get really good results from that. Is there a trick
to it? I always let it sit for a number of hours, usually overnight. Is
there something else that works better? Other than having it snaked!!

I've heard of a method that, instead of replacing the original pipe,
slips a new, smaller diameter pipe inside the original, at much less
cost than tearing out and replacing the whole thing. But how does
this compare in terms of price, inconvenience (i.e., tearing up the
foundation?), and reliability? I just remodeled the bathrooms about
three years ago, including the installation of very expensive ceramic
tile floors. I dread the thought of seeing that destroyed, but I
suppose there's no way around it.

Any suggestions are welcome; I'd much prefer NOT tearing up the house
to repair/replace the pipe but, as I said, I'm not having much luck
controlling the roots that are causing the blockages.

Thanks!

Hold on there a minute. Are you saying the roots are under the house?
Normally they don't need to go under a home to replace the problem parts of
the sewer.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

LinuxSaves wrote:
Speedy Jim wrote:

LinuxSaves wrote:

I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:


SNIP


Is this by chance a slab foundation??


Yes.

Why only 2 baths have problems?


Because my house only has two bathrooms! :-)

City sewer? Does the sewer line run around the perimeter of the
house with various connections into it?


Yes, it's a sewer, not septic tank and, no, I don't believe it runs
around the perimeter of the house. As I understand it the plumbing
contained under my house connects up with each other at various places
and then joins the city sewer line at one point.

Where are trees relative to sewer line?


I have several very large trees in close proximity to the house and,
therefore, the pipes.

How long a run to street (or septic)?


Approximately 25 feet.


It's not unusual for tree roots to get underneath a slab when
large trees are nearby.

Here's a link to one firm that does re-lining:
http://www.dmrobichaud.com/lateralreline.htm

I question though, whether re-lining will be cost effective
for only a 25 ft run. I'm not sure that the re-lining can be done
on sections where there are multiple entrances into the sewer (such
as under the slab).

Jim

On Fri, 03 Dec 2004 19:58:08 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

LinuxSaves wrote:
I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:
I've done the copper sulfate thing, which is supposed to kill roots,
but I never seem to get really good results from that. Is there a trick
to it? I always let it sit for a number of hours, usually overnight. Is
there something else that works better? Other than having it snaked!!

I've heard of a method that, instead of replacing the original pipe,
slips a new, smaller diameter pipe inside the original, at much less
cost than tearing out and replacing the whole thing. But how does
this compare in terms of price, inconvenience (i.e., tearing up the
foundation?), and reliability? I just remodeled the bathrooms about
three years ago, including the installation of very expensive ceramic
tile floors. I dread the thought of seeing that destroyed, but I
suppose there's no way around it.

Any suggestions are welcome; I'd much prefer NOT tearing up the house
to repair/replace the pipe but, as I said, I'm not having much luck
controlling the roots that are causing the blockages.

Thanks!

Hold on there a minute. Are you saying the roots are under the house?
Normally they don't need to go under a home to replace the problem parts of
the sewer.

Must not live near ficus trees...

This is done al the time, though possibly not a DIY project. A slab
foundation can be dug under, or jackhammered in a specific area if
need be and replaced.

The sleeves aren't cheap around here, it's usually less expensive to
replace the pipe than sleeve, though your local costs may vary.

Jeff

Jeff Cochran wrote:
On Fri, 03 Dec 2004 19:58:08 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

LinuxSaves wrote:
I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:
I've done the copper sulfate thing, which is supposed to kill roots,
but I never seem to get really good results from that. Is there a
trick to it? I always let it sit for a number of hours, usually
overnight. Is there something else that works better? Other than
having it snaked!!

I've heard of a method that, instead of replacing the original pipe,
slips a new, smaller diameter pipe inside the original, at much less
cost than tearing out and replacing the whole thing. But how does
this compare in terms of price, inconvenience (i.e., tearing up the
foundation?), and reliability? I just remodeled the bathrooms about
three years ago, including the installation of very expensive
ceramic tile floors. I dread the thought of seeing that destroyed,
but I suppose there's no way around it.

Any suggestions are welcome; I'd much prefer NOT tearing up the
house
to repair/replace the pipe but, as I said, I'm not having much luck
controlling the roots that are causing the blockages.

Thanks!

Hold on there a minute. Are you saying the roots are under the
house? Normally they don't need to go under a home to replace the
problem parts of the sewer.

Must not live near ficus trees...

Right. Where I live few homes are on slabs. Roots generally don't go
under the basement. :-)


This is done al the time, though possibly not a DIY project. A slab
foundation can be dug under, or jackhammered in a specific area if
need be and replaced.

The sleeves aren't cheap around here, it's usually less expensive to
replace the pipe than sleeve, though your local costs may vary.

Jeff

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

After a couple of years of twice per year roto calls we tried the Root
Kill stuff twice per year instead. No more roto calls. Stuff goes in
the toilet for last flush of the day at change of time from standard
to daylight savings and back again. Works well for us. Try
increasing quantity?

On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 04:03:55 GMT, Jeff Cochran
wrote:

I've done the copper sulfate thing, which is supposed to kill roots,
but I never seem to get really good results from that. Is there a trick
to it? I always let it sit for a number of hours, usually overnight. Is
there something else that works better? Other than having it snaked!!

Jeff Cochran wrote:
On Fri, 03 Dec 2004 19:58:08 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:


LinuxSaves wrote:

I've had an ongoing problem with roots in the pipe that drains both
bathrooms. (I practically OWN Roto-Rooter now.) I have a couple
questions:
I've done the copper sulfate thing, which is supposed to kill roots,
but I never seem to get really good results from that. Is there a trick
to it? I always let it sit for a number of hours, usually overnight. Is
there something else that works better? Other than having it snaked!!

I've heard of a method that, instead of replacing the original pipe,
slips a new, smaller diameter pipe inside the original, at much less
cost than tearing out and replacing the whole thing. But how does
this compare in terms of price, inconvenience (i.e., tearing up the
foundation?), and reliability? I just remodeled the bathrooms about
three years ago, including the installation of very expensive ceramic
tile floors. I dread the thought of seeing that destroyed, but I
suppose there's no way around it.

Any suggestions are welcome; I'd much prefer NOT tearing up the house
to repair/replace the pipe but, as I said, I'm not having much luck
controlling the roots that are causing the blockages.

Thanks!

Hold on there a minute. Are you saying the roots are under the house?
Normally they don't need to go under a home to replace the problem parts of
the sewer.


Must not live near ficus trees...

This is done al the time, though possibly not a DIY project. A slab
foundation can be dug under, or jackhammered in a specific area if
need be and replaced.

The sleeves aren't cheap around here, it's usually less expensive to
replace the pipe than sleeve, though your local costs may vary.

Jeff

Trenchless sewer replacement is workable if the cost of a conventional
replacement is prohibitive due to existing "hardscape" or landscaping
replacement. If this is not the case, just replace the line from the
house to the street with ABS or whatever is used in your area. Don't
forget to add a "two-way" cleanout fitting near the house.