Homeowner Blunders

Ron The Plumber

Had to replumb PVC DVW system cause of failed inspection, turns out he used transition glue on all the fitting.

Ron The Plumber

A homeowner plumbed his own add-on bathroom, toilet keep plugging up, found he plumbed 2" to the toilet, and he thought 2" was ok for a toilet drain.

tzzzz216

No Way

Ron The Plumber

Hard too believe but thats what he did, he never even had a vent for the fixtures, were talking finish walls and all, you know darn well there was no permits and inspections done on that work.

mastadon

Here's one for you. I was sent on a call for a leak in the main drain line. When I got to the house I was talking to the homeowner and he told me that he tried fixing it. He took me into the basement and there it was!!! It was a 4" cast iron joint. The hub of the cast was 12" in diameter. "No joking" The home owner told me that he had put silicon and duct tape on it to stop the leak. When I asked him how long he had been doing this, He said, "About 15 years"

thom

Owner Builder of a 3 story, 4000 square foot, 4 bathroom, radiant heat house. Did all the plumbing himself, got a correction notice. Actually the notice was 2 @ 8-1/2 X 11 pages, full. Called me to fix it.

Combined abs and pvc. Not a single combo fitting, just used san tees laid on their backs. Some locations used pressure 90's instead of ells.

Several locations had no glue, just stuck the pipe into the fittings and let it go.

No test tees between floors. He plugged the drains on the lower 2 floors and filled up to the top of the tub on the third floor. That worked until a fitting on the first floor blew out because it was never glued.

The best was the radiant heat. Miles (a little exaggeration here) of 3/4" copper and not a single joint was cleaned prior to flux and solder. He said it wasn't needed because the flux cleaned the joints. They all leaked. He blamed the flux.

Double-A

I haven't had this happen to me personally, but a plumber friend from Mountain Home, AR went on a service call to repair a leak under a house. The homeowner had installed all new pipes and all the joints were leaking.

When asked if he had cleaned and fluxed the joints on the copper tubing the house had been replumbed with, the homeowner replied, "No, I just used that all purpose pipe glue. The one that glues all types of plumbing pipes."

Turns out he had used an all purpose ABS, PVC, CPVC glue on copper.

__________________
"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

gitnerdun

I once saw where a homeowner installed a ptrap backwards on a washer standpipe, think about it, not the u-bend, the whole trap backwards. No water seal. I called other people to come look, it was good for a laugh.

jdrew6788

I have been called out on many service calls of customers reporting they have no hot water. but three times in two months ive looked down at the shut off valves and they have been off. I dont know if the HO just doesnt remember doing this or what. two have said they havent had any workers in their houses.

plumber jay

Not to be a one upper but i seen a toilet connected to an 1 1/2 drain. Not only that but they did not use a reducer on the flange they just cut a hole in some stryofoam slide it over the 1 1/2 and put it inside the toilet flange.

a1plumbingyakim

I've seen it all....i thought.....

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Ron The Plumber

Sweet, and I bet he wondered why it leaked.

kennewickman

At least he used wet or dry glue!

Bjd

Saw one tied the ice maker line complete with saddle valve into the basement heating loop. The only reason that they called was lack of heat in the upper floors due to lack of water/antifreeze soultion.
They even went through the trouble of calling the applaince guy because the " Ice just was not freezing and was discolored"

Got to love them
BJD

glassman

Having read these posts brought back memories from a skylite install job i done about 5 years ago,i'm not a plumber,i do glass,but,while on the roof of this house the local roto rooter van pulls up to the job. there was a blockage somewhere in the waste line,the plumbing tech proceeds to use a large gas powered auger to clean out the pipe, he must have fed about 100 ft of auger into the clean out,there wasn't that much space between the clean out and the house,about 20 minutes later a tile guy comes running out the front door screaming and hollering.
seems the auger snaked its way up through the second floor bath,shattered the toilet,grabbed the showere curtain off the rail and is swirling and beating the walls, floor, ceilng up,it broke the mirror and damaged the entire bath.
was not a good day for everyone there,i'm glad my skylite fit

SelfContract

Man, I was laughing so hard.. sounds like the movie... Alien creature from below, monster alligator in da toilet, or the predator species with octopus growing arms LOL ....

Mellison

$h!t that's funny.

__________________
"Enjoy Every Sandwich" Warren Zevon

stp57

That is beautiful!
Steve

stp57

I don't see a problem, if you are able to get the HO to promise only to pee & not poop?
Steve