for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 54 results for the keyword ‘Pipes’

  • What is wrong with my gurgling double sink? The Vent Valve

    David writes that he recently installed a double sink but it gurgles and backs up. It is 10 feet away from the plumbing stack and goes through a garbarator. What did he do wrong?     When you attach a large double sink on a long horizontal run, the drain pipe will tend to fill up with water ...
  • An alternative to ducting through the attic in a cold climate.

      In my experience, heating ducts that run through attics cause serious problems in snow country. Don't let a contractor talk you into it. In warm climates it is common practice to run heating and air conditioning ducting through attic spaces simply because it is easy to do. Unfortunately this ...
  • Know what's below. Call before you dig.

    Many utilities are buried just underground on residential properties.  --- Water supply pipes --- Water drain pipes --- Gas pipes --- Electrical supplies --- Telephone, TV and Web Cables --- And sometimes even more as neighborhoods move more and more away from overhead wires.  Some of the...
  • Stopping flies and gasses from coming out of my basement floor drain with Dranjer!

    I have had several letters recently about bad smells and even flies coming up out of basement floor drains and sump pump pits. One viewer was quoted hundreds of dollars to break up the entire basement and replace all the sewer lines. The real problem is usually that the trap under the floor has ...
  • Epoxy wrap for a leaking pipe - Pow-R-Wrap!

    A viewer from Aurora, Ontario has a small pin hole leak in a copper pipe in the wall and wants to know if there is any way to fix it without having to tear the whole wall open and replace the pipe. There exists an epoxy wrap called "Pow-R-Wrap". You simply turn off the water to relieve the press...
  • Plunging a Clogged Sink: It's the UP stroke that counts!

      Disloving the problem If your sink is just suffering from a lot of face cream and shaving cream, the least expensive and most ecological solution is simply 1/2 cup of baking soda (try using a funnel to get it into the drain), followed immediately by a cup of vinegar.  Let it sit a few minutes...
  • Noises -- sounds that tell you what is wrong with your house

    Drum Cymbal noises --> Furnace Ducting Gina in Saskatoon is complaining about drum cymbal-like crashes that happen every time her furnace goes on. This is common when you have smooth flat ductwork. The heat and pressure of the air can cause the large flat surface of sheet metal to flex eithe...
  • How do I unfreeze a frozen hose bib?

    Nav in cold Edmonton, Alberta, writes: "We are trying to build an ice rink in the backyard. Our tap has frozen over and nothing comes out of it at all. Are they any solutions to this problem?"     The easiest way to unfreeze the hose bib is to wrap rags around it and keep pouring boiling wa...
  • Underwater Epoxy

    OK, here's an endorsement for an incredible product, and they don't even give me free glue! They sometimes call it Wet-Bond and sometimes Underwater Glue but it all comes from a company called Mr. Sticky -- www.mrstickys.com. Actually the whole range of Mr. Sticky adhesives are two part epoxies....
  • Tracing annoying sounds

    One homeowner had an annoying screech coming from her hydronic heating system that was hard to trace because it only happened occasionally and then usually late at night.  The servicemen could find nothing wrong, and of course it never made a screech when they were there.    RECORDING THE SOUND...