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Found 54 results for the keyword ‘Pipes’

  • Tip: Marking ABS to line up plumbing joints

    Tim from Winnipeg sent in the useful suggestion that you use a china marker to put line-up marks on your rough fitted ABS joints so that when you take it all apart and then go to glue it back together, everything lines up as you had planned. If you don't have a china marker handy, use the white ...
  • Vapour barriers and Showers

    There is a lot of debate about whether to put a vapour retarder (vapour barrier) on an insulated wall behind shower tiles.  The code has not historically been specifically clear on this so we get lots of different interpretations.  What the code does say clearly is that we should not have two vap...
  • Noises in hot water heating pipes

    Ray from Rothesay, N.B. has a rumbling sound in his hot water heating pipes. Servicemen drained them twice, thinking it was air in the pipes, but no improvement.First idea, maybe it is a bad bearing in the circulation pump. You can check that out by putting your ear right to the pump when it ki...
  • Stopping a leak in a shower stall

    Letter: I have a ceramic shower, that is leaking, I do not know how it was built or what is underneath.In the last week +- have noticed about an ounce or 2 of water in the garage,I have a small openeing in the ceiling directly under due to the drain pipe, the drain pipe and feed lines are dry. Bu...
  • Commercial "back out" toilets for basements.

    Jeff in Ottawa, Ontario wanted to put a toilet in his basement but was worried about the slope required from the toilet exit to the floor drain. He was even looking at an expensive toilet pump.One easy solution for basement toilets is often overlooked. Drilling through a concrete floor is never...
  • Just how do you install a central vac through old walls?

    Most portable vacuum cleaners have fairly poor filters. Sure most of the real "dirt" gets caught in the bag, but much of the very fine stuff just blows out the back end. A central vac has the same problem, but because it is placed in one place, it can have a much stronger motor to allow it to d...
  • Radiant Heating Systems for Homes

    Radiant Heating and Convection Heating are the two primary types of ways we heat our houses. FORCED AIR HEATINGConvection heating means moving hot air -- what we usually call a forced air heating system simply heats air and moves it around the house through a system of fans and ducts.  Forced air...
  • Capping off a toilet drain

    Stephanie from Kitchener, Ontario wants to know how to cap off a toilet drain once you have removed the toilet. Well Stephanie, it all depends on what the drain pipe is made of, and do you want to temporarily or permanently close it off.The first photo shows a temporary rubber cap with metal str...
  • What is Pex-Al-Pex piping?

    We all know copper piping, both rigid and flexible. We have talked in this database about the very reliable quality PEX (Cross Linked Polyethylene) piping that is now being used for both hot and cold water installations, as well as for in-floor radiant heating. So what is Pex-Al-Pex piping?This...
  • How to replace pipes without tearing out the wall.

    Chuck writes: "I replaced some old iron pipes a while ago, but I didn't replace the pipes going from the basement up to the second floor bathroom because the pipes are embedded in the wall."If those vertical pipes are strapped into place, you will have to open the wall, at least part of it to rel...