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shdesigns
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join:2000-12-01
Stone Mountain, GA
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ARRIS SB6121

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shdesigns

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[Plumbing] 15-minute job......

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Pressure regulator is not closing completely, so when no water is in use, the pressure creeps up to 140PSI or more.

So, simple job, buy the same reg, unscrew old and put in new. Should be simple....

Turn off PVC main shutoff ball valve and it cracks. 140PSI water shooting everywhere. Run out to street and cut off water there. No way I.m replacing it with another. So off to HomerD to get brass ball valve, union and fittings.

Cut PVC and want to replace all up to where it changes to copper. Cut open chase in wall to find a buried cutoff for the spigot. Spigot is also before the pressure regulator. Left as is as I have another after the regulator I use most often.

Sweat new fittings and dig through box to find my PVC glue and cleaner. New pipe ends up 1/4" short, unsolder and end up getting solder on one of the NPT threads. Too late to get another so need to wait until morning.

Next day, pick up new 3/4" female NPT fitting, make assembly and it fits perfect.

On to the pressure valve. I was wrong, took less than 10 minutes. I cut away the ceiling to expose the regulator and find the original main cutoff valve buried. I knew it was there but put in the PVC one as no way I was going to have my EX climb a ladder and reach down a deep, cobweb filled hole if she needed to shut off the water.

So new works and now have 4 shutoff valves in a row. I had added one on each side of the water filter.

Quick job took 24 hours. At least the toilets are no longer overflowing and the water heater T&P valve not dripping.

Picked up a pressure gauge while I was at it. 140PSI seem normal and I did see it get a bit over 150. After the reg a solid 65PSI.

nunya
LXI 483
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nunya

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Sounds like my house. In order to change a switch plate you have to put on a new roof.

LazMan
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join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

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It's in the rules...

No plumbing task, no matter how minor, or well planned out, can be completed with less then 3 trips to the hardware store.

shdesigns
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shdesigns

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I have done it in 1 trip; only because I usually get more than I need and built up stock.

You should see some of the other boneheaded things in this house. One outlet per wall, no tarpaper on roof, not one door level, hitting studs with nails apparently was optional. Oh, and not a single phone, or cable wire anywhere.

If I ever met the builder, I'd probably bitch-slap him.

UHF
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said by LazMan:

No plumbing task, no matter how minor, or well planned out, can be completed with less then 3 trips to the hardware store.

Can confirm.

Source: I work in a hardware store.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
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"If I ever met the builder,"

My dad was a large General Contractor. It's not the builder it's the anal architect and engineers that never leave the office.
Critsmcgee
join:2011-12-02

Critsmcgee

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said by battleop:

"If I ever met the builder,"

My dad was a large General Contractor. It's not the builder it's the anal architect and engineers that never leave the office.

So the GC has no pride in their work? They jump hoops without questioning anything? Everyone in the process is to blame!

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

You can have all the pride in the world but when the initial design is flawed and the architect thinks they can't be wrong there isn't much you can do. You have to build it to their specs or you don't get paid. It's the anal ones that creat problems.

I once saw a drawing where the door knob was drawn on the hinge side of the door. It was an obvious mistake by a drafter but it took days of faxes and change orders to correct it because the architect was so anal.

It wasn't like this with everyone but it also was not rare either.

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

Msradell

Premium Member

said by battleop:

You can have all the pride in the world but when the initial design is flawed and the architect thinks they can't be wrong there isn't much you can do. You have to build it to their specs or you don't get paid. It's the anal ones that creat problems.

You are certainly right about that in some cases but many of the things he cited were definitely contract issues. Things like nails not hitting studs, doors out of plumb, etc. are definitely contract issues. The tarpaper also was most likely also a contract issue. The lack of cable and telephone wiring were more than likely missing for me specifications given to the architect.

shdesigns
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shdesigns

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From what a neighbor said, these 3 houses were all one builder. Very similar and sloppily done. On mine the 2nd story cantilever is done poorly and no way any architect would have specified it that way.

I doubt there was an architect involved. Probably some cookie-cutter plans he modified as per the terrain (one house has crawl space as there is less slope in the land for half basement.)

battleop
join:2005-09-28
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That sounds more like a design build where the contractor and the designer are one and the same. When architects and engineers are part of the job there is usually someone from the GC and someone representing the owner that's doing quality control.
seederjed
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join:2005-02-28
Norcross, GA

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I lived not far from the OP and had no tarpaper on the roof on my home built in '93.
The roofer said this was a common practice for a long time.
Instead of plywood or osb on the exterior wall they used some sort of sound deadening black board.
davidhoffman
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join:2009-11-19
Warner Robins, GA

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Nails not installed correctly and doors not level are not the faults of architects or engineers. The rest is ridiculous cost cutting to make maximum profit under the influence of short term thinking developers. The engineers and architects know better, but the developers often can legally get away with not building a proper product. The amount of rework due to initially bad electrical and plumbing work in central Georgia is very large. Almost all large exterior illuminated signs have to have electrical rework when the illumination fails within 90 days of installation. The same is true for many flood light installations at commercial establishments. Initial plumbing work is terrible. Enormous amounts of rework to get toilets working correctly. $200,000+ homes with toilets that can only use small amounts of the easily disintegrating single ply toilet paper or clogging results. No multiple ply Charmin Plushness for you until you pay to redo the plumbing system. Home owner warranties are not honored much around here. There seems to always be a way to blame the home owner, and not honor the claim.

shdesigns
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Here, no plywood or OSB. 2x4 studs with 3/4 styrofoam insulation then cedar siding nailed over it.

House is well insulated as far as R-factor but vapor barrier is poor. In the summer, the A/C works hard removing the humidity.
66860111 (banned)
join:2014-04-28

66860111 (banned)

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said by shdesigns:

Here, no plywood or OSB. 2x4 studs with 3/4 styrofoam insulation then cedar siding nailed over it.

House is well insulated as far as R-factor but vapor barrier is poor. In the summer, the A/C works hard removing the humidity.

I doubt the vapor barrier is an issue. When your place is too well insulated the A/C doesn't run as much. If the A/C isn't running there's no moisture being removed. It's a common problem in tight houses. You need to add a dehumidifier most likely.

shdesigns
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shdesigns

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The AC runs near non-stop all day.
66860111 (banned)
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66860111 (banned)

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said by shdesigns:

The AC runs near non-stop all day.

Mine does too but not the compressor.

Grumpy4
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join:2001-07-28
NW CT

4 recommendations

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I like to extend job times by doing old guy cool stuff like putting down a screwdriver to pick up another tool, then five minutes later spend an hour to figure out where the screwdriver is.

if you think that's funny, just you wait...
66860111 (banned)
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66860111 (banned)

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said by Grumpy4:

I like to extend job times by doing old guy cool stuff like putting down a screwdriver to pick up another tool, then five minutes later spend an hour to figure out where the screwdriver is.

if you think that's funny, just you wait...

I bring 3-4 screwdrivers so no matter where I turn I can find one.

shdesigns
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Yes, half the time is looking for tools. Phone rings and I seem to leave a tool in some odd place then spend a hour looking for it.

Grumpy4
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When I fall into those time warp lost the ------ moments, I like to call it "stoopit" time.

Grumpy Gump

Has a nice ring to it.
66860111 (banned)
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It was pretty funny last year. The wife needed ideas for christmas and I put down a new screwdriver set. She asked me why I needed more since I already had some. I said you can never have enough so anytime you need an inexpensive idea for a gift screwdrivers always work. For father's day this year I got yet another set of screwdrivers. LOL

battleop
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It was always Customer >> Architect >> GC >> Sub Contractors. The GC should over see the Subs and the Architect oversaw the GC. Each should be doing Quality Control on themselves and then whomever is below them. The problems you are describing is a failure on everyone's part.
battleop

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I try and bring only a Phillips and Flat Head so I can make sure the screw is a torx head.
keno5net
join:2002-01-05
Milwaukee, WI

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I spend a lot of time going around backwards 'but first'

tschmidt
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said by 66860111:

I bring 3-4 screwdrivers so no matter where I turn I can find one

I've tried that but it doesn't work. They all get lost until you are down to the last one and have to search for it. With multiple tools you have hard time remembering where you used the other lost tools. So now I only use one (in general) of a kind. The other thing I've noticed is that even the simplest of tasks seem to take a large portion of my tool inventory so there is a huge pile of tools to put back in place when I'm done.

/tom

burner50
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said by battleop:

"If I ever met the builder,"

When I was working for a cable company, I was doing an "install" on a brand new million dollar home. Family was moving in already, home was complete.

All the cable outlets were home run, and the plans called for drywall to be put over all of the splitters, which were not appropriate for our system, or installed correctly, or located in a place that made any sense whatsoever (main hallway, behind one wall).

tschmidt
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Thanks for sharing your experience, glad you got it fixed. I have a similar story when I changed out our water heater the last time. Being without hot water for a couple of days does not earn you many brownie points.

One concern is the water filter hanging from the ceiling. I installed a "big blue" sediment filter several years ago. In my case it is bolted to the wall for support. Can't tell from the pictures what size your filter is but in my case a 4.5"x20" sump is pretty heavy.

/tom

shdesigns
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The filter is only about 12".

I do want to mount it. I had used compression fittings and the torque of getting the bottle off made them leak. I ended up soldering them in.

Another project was replacing the filter. The old one got too hard to get off. Stripped the plastic wrench that came with it. I had to use the oil filter trick: drill a hole through the bottle and use a pipe through it. As there is no unions, you have to rotate the filter to get it off and won't with the bottle attached.

Ideally, I'd remove it all and start over. Mount the filter to the wall and the pressure regulator. Then it is all easy to get to and I can plug up the hole in the ceiling.

tschmidt
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Water filter
said by shdesigns:

I'd remove it all and start over.

Sounds like one more project to add the the to-do list.

Here is a picture of mine. Well feed is from the right. There is a bypass valve above the filter with pressure gauges on both sides to help determine when the element needs to be changed.

The bucket underneath is connected to basement drain. Its purpose is two fold, to catch water when you change the element and a poor man's dehumidifier to catch condensation from the sump.

»www.tschmidt.com/writing ··· ater.pdf

/tom