2 months of work

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needsaresto

needsaresto

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Now I realise most of you could have done this in a weekend,but due to my disability it took me much longer. The following pics are of the new copper pipe I installed to replace the crap galvanised which was plugged all to hell.

We took baths for 2 months by filling pots and bowls and dumping them in the tub and never got truly clean. I had initially replaced just the hot line to the kitchen so we could at least have hot water there. You never realise just how nice it is to have a hot shower until you cant!

It was truly a fight against my disease which wants to rule my life. F U MS!! I win!!

heres the main line from the hot tank.

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had to replace all the hot lines,including the one to the washing machine and laundry sink.

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This pic is of the line to the shower upstairs.

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And under the bathroom sink upstairs..

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All told there are 3 sinks and the shower,plus the washing machine,plus the main line.

I changed the plumbing slightly and gave the kitchen sink it's supply directly from the main as it was running to the downstairs bathroom (not done yet)first and then over to the upstairs sink. Weird,so it got changed. The rest is just a direct copy of what was already there.

So this was a necessary project and I've had to cut out my Dart time completely in order to conserve my energy. There is still one more project to go,a cement pad outside the kitchen door,but I wil have some help for it and then I can get back on my Dart!
 
Nice work,
Why did you not just buy a copper to pvc adapter, and plumb everything with pvc.
Much cheaper and faster and no soder to fool with?
Looks good.
 
That was his whole point. NO PVC. LOL Great work, Paul.
 
Outstanding.....nothing like the feeling of an accomplishment....
 
Great job and you didn't burn down the house! That's a sign of a job well done, well that and no leaks.
 
Thanks guy's!!!:toothy8: Im excited by this. It's shown me that I DICTATE the terms now. In spite of all,I did it anyways.

The secret to no leaks involves pre cleaning the pipe with acetone,etc and using a very small amount of flux .Plus,you dont touch it with your bare hands if at all possible as skin oil seems to be a negative factor in a solder joint. I used lead free solder,it's silver bearing and cost's $24 per spool at Canadian tire,lol. a Green kitchen scotchbrite pad worked the best for sanding the joints,but I also used some 180 grit which seemed too harsh.And next time around Im going to use an sos pad and lots of water on each length first and then proceed...

In fact 90% of the supplies are made in Canada or U.S.A. Pricey but it seems to be good quality stuff. The first 5 12 ft lengths I purchased several years ago when copper was low. It was $12 for 12 feet. Now it's $24 for 12ft and we plan on buying one here and there to replace the cold water lines eventually

Zhanfull,I TRIED to burn it down but that damn 1930 era timber just dont burn,lol.

The scorch marks are from the old propane torch which did it's best to contaminate each joint. I switched to a mpp gas torch with an electronic trigger and had no further problems. In fact ,things went Much smoother!

You got it Rob! I am NOT a fan of plastic period. I wont get into it..Im biased and I can live with it ,lol!:rock:. It works fine for drains but not my water.

Copper is safe and some say it has beneficial effects on the water? Im also thinking that down the road most folks will be ripping alll that plastic out of thier water systems.Yes Im paraniod!:protest:

Anyways I've been a busy lad and paid the price many times over blah etc. Im getting used to it. Plus the Doc and I switched my pain meds. The benefit to my mood and outlook are great but the pain is still bad. So we move on to another med soon.

That being said I will take a bow:notworth::notworth: and thank you for your support and friendship!
 
Nice job, Resto.

I know what you're going thru, my ex-wife has MS. She just went to San Diego and had some kind of surgery to try and alleviate the symptoms somewhat. According to her beau, she's doing better. Not perfect by any means. MS sucks.

As a plumber for over 20 yrs, you've done an admirable job.

For the next project, skip the SOS. Too much crap in them. The sand paper, or better, an open mesh sand cloth available at any plumbing supply store, or maybe even a hardware store, is far superior. You are correct in the fact that skin oil will affect the cohesion of the solder. Clean it with the sand cloth, flux it immediately, and then solder. Once it's fluxed, you can let it sit for a while, it won't affect the outcome. Flux is an acid, more or less,it preps the surface.

Invest in a fitting brush, if you haven't already. It's a little wire brush, sized to clean the inside of the fittings. Makes life a lot easier.

MAPP gas is probably the best for the homeowner to use. I use an acetylene torch, but I'm a perfessional. lol.

To avoid burning the surrounding surfaces too much, try and pre-solder any parts that you can, and leave only minimal fittings to solder in place.

And yes, I would use copper in my house. I've installed all kinds of plastic/poly/pex in various establishments. I'm sure they'll last. But I prefer copper. Just like I'd install cast iron drain piping, instead of ABS or PVC. It's far quieter.

But what do I know. It's only the trade that I've been proficient in for a couple decades. And get paid quite well for.
 
Just redid my whole place, and copper is the one I chose as well. Used a couple of those $10 tools that wirebrush both the inside and outside of 1/2 & 3/4". A good thing to do if you haven't yet is to wipe the finished solder joints down with mineral spirits/varsol. It keeps them from turning green (oxidizing) as the leftover flux continues etching.

Grant
 
Very nice work but I disagree with your use of copper. Please tell me you didn't use type m red letters. The water nowadays is so radical that copper doesn't last like it used to. I have piped over 300 houses a year for the past 30 years. Only material I would recommend was copper till the quality dropped and the water got more aggressive. Now I will only recommend pex and cpvc unless you're using type l which is twice the cost. But to each there own. One thing noone has said is that you had better have the right transition fittings between the galvanized and the copper. If you didn't use dielectic unions the electrolysis will eat up your copper as it is the softer metal. It will start leaking within 5 years probably. Electrolysis is a sneaky demon that attacks from inside. If you don't believe me google it. Just wanted you to be informed. DD
 
Nope,no red letter stuff and no adaptors as the entire hot system is copper right to the tank. B.C has very soft water so Im not too concerned about water quality. We still have among the best water quality in the world here. And if it changed I would simply prefilter is before it ever entered the system,as I dont like chlorine anyways,lol.
 
Hmm well iid not. The copper pipe was there already and ended at a union/valve. It's been there for 8 yrs or so.Im guessing it's fine,lol!
 
daredevil said:
Very nice work but I disagree with your use of copper. Please tell me you didn't use type m red letters. The water nowadays is so radical that copper doesn't last like it used to. I have piped over 300 houses a year for the past 30 years. Only material I would recommend was copper till the quality dropped and the water got more aggressive. Now I will only recommend pex and cpvc unless you're using type l which is twice the cost. But to each there own. One thing noone has said is that you had better have the right transition fittings between the galvanized and the copper. If you didn't use dielectic unions the electrolysis will eat up your copper as it is the softer metal. It will start leaking within 5 years probably. Electrolysis is a sneaky demon that attacks from inside. If you don't believe me google it. Just wanted you to be informed. DD
Click to expand...

Hi Pete,
Type M isn't very popular up here. Unless you're a professional, and specifically ask for it for heating purposes. I'm sure that he used Type L, as it is the most commonly stocked pipe, and it is more than ample for our water here.

I personally don't like CPVC, I'm sure that some of that crap leaches into our water. No facts, just speculation. I hate plastic. And I have had brand new crimp rings on Pex break. No lie.

I think that he did a very fine job. For a neophyte.

Good on ya, Resto.
 
Yup type L it is.

And yes plastic leaches stuff,especially when heated up. It's why we are not supposed to microwave plastic. Ask any native on a Sarnia reservation and they will tell you;male births are down 75% and they blame the proximity of the plastics industry. I watched a very scary show which explained the theory and directly relates declining male births to the chemical/plastics industry. Cant remember then name but it sure opened my eyes.
 
needsaresto said:
Ask any native on a Sarnia reservation and they will tell you;male births are down 75% and they blame the proximity of the plastics industry. I watched a very scary show which explained the theory and directly relates declining male births to the chemical/plastics industry. Cant remember then name but it sure opened my eyes.
Click to expand...

Probably Dow-corning. Petroleum/plastic industry has destroyed Sarnia.

I like plumbing, but if you are making a run to the hardware store, by 10x the pieces you need!! They will get used eventually. As someone abv posted, I clean the outside AND inside of the copper before flux and soldering. You can use a battery terminal cleaner in a pinch too for that. Good work!
 
Agree comoxian. Type M is not available or code for water supply here. I remember when living in Vanc and dealing with a new apartment build there. They ended up ripping out all of the primered drywall after an inspector found some Type M exposed. Needless to say, that plumbing company went out of business.

Grant
 
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