Remodeling? – Why Plumbing Should Be First
Believe it or not Monkey Wrenches are still made for some of the large type pipes, and this is one of the few tools you may need. Other tools recommended are a utility knife, adjustable pipe wrench, regular pliers, Philips and regular flathead screwdrivers, and needle nose pliers. Other items you will need are piping insulation tape and possibly plumber’s putty. When working with copper piping you will also need solder and a soldering iron. This looks like a small fire extinguisher with a controllable gauge near the top. They are usually blue. That should do it for tools. In all you probably will spend nearly $75 or more depending on the quality of tools.
You will not need the soldering gun and solder if you are changing all the piping to PVC piping, but you will need plenty of plumber’s putty and a means to cut the pipes. I prefer
Before you start going full force into changing out all your plumbing, you need to understand a few simple things. The first is, if you need to replace the piping that connects to the city water or sewage then you will have to call in a licensed plumber. They are the only ones allowed to do that because if you do, you will get fined a large amount of money that could have gone towards the rest of your remodeling. Also, if you are going to be remodeling the rooms that have piping such as a bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room, you will need to pull the cabinets out first if you are changing out the cabinets as well so that the project won’t cost you more from damaging the new cabinetry.
The reason I say to do the plumbing first is because you will have to patch up the walls afterwards as well as the flooring if that is your case. Your electricity should come in second, but that is not why you are reading this anyway.
Let us start with the kitchen first since that is usually the first room to be remodeled in homes. Say you have to pull out the cabinets to replace them. Make sure you have purchased pipe plugs to prevent water from leaking out of the pipes when you turn the water back on. Of course this means you will have to go outside, pull up that meter plate, and reach down inside to turn off the water. Go back in and make sure it is off. You may have to run the water for a little while to make sure. If it keeps on pouring out, you turned it the wrong way. Go back and try again.
Now that the water is off, detach the garbage disposal first if you have one. Set it in a box so it will not get damaged. Your next step is to take off the piping assembly underneath the sink. Unscrew it from the base of the sink and where it connects at the wall, and you are done with that. Should you have a water sprayer, go ahead and detach it now. Nest on the list is the waterline for the refrigerator if it connects under your sink. Now remove the connection to the dishwasher. At last you can now unscrew the wide nuts that hold the faucet assembly on top of your sink. If that was all you were going to do to remodel this part of your kitchen it would still make it easy to get to by removing the piping and garbage disposal. If you are flexible enough to get through all of that, then more power to you. Plug off the piping at the wall if you need to turn the water back on.
Again, if all you are doing is replacing the piping, you will need to cut out that section of the wall with the utility knife. You will not have to cut out an enormous hole, but just big enough to move around in to remove the piping. A crawl space home will need the hanger under this floor loosened to allow the pipe to fall on through. Take care not to damage it if you plan to reuse any of it.
Are you replacing lead or metal piping? PVC piping is the mainstay now in home plumbing minus the copper for hot water lines. If you live in a multiple story house you will need both Ã?¾” and Ã?½” copper piping. The standard is Ã?¾” piping for hot water in one story homes. With it or the PVC, you will need piping nuts, elbows, stops, plugs, etc. This all depends on how you plan to install your piping.
Piping basics are to place elbows where the piping needs to change directions, and nuts where the piping attaches to faucets and other piping. When using the soldering wand, be careful not to look directly at the flame, and use some type of eye protection. All connections that are attached to an outlet need the piping insulation tape to prevent leakage and future damage to your walls.
Back to the kitchen. If you have the standard 3 ” or 4″ pipe underneath, use pipe adjusters that bring down the size to the next one. I believe there is another piping term now, which is CPVC. It is pretty much the same thing. If you can match the new piping to size you may not have to measure, but I would not take the chance of having to go back and purchase more. If your hangers for the piping underneath are bad, you should replace them. I usually take care of all the plumbing underneath first.
When reinstalling the plumbing, as I typed, match it up. Make a list of all that you need. This will only make it much easier for you in the long run.
Reinstall all the piping in reverse order that you took it apart, putting the garbage disposal on last. Turn the water back on to make sure there are not any leaks. If there are, turn the water back off and tend to the leaks with the putty or pipe tape. The bathroom sink is pretty much the same, and so it the piping for your clothes washer.
The toilet is not fun, but may go quicker than you think. Who knows? Maybe all you need to do is to replace the seal underneath. Drain the water from the tank by flushing first after you turn off the water. Remove the tank once it is drained, set it to the side out of the way, and remove the nuts that secure the stool to the floor. Carefully take the stool up by rocking it a little at first. You can take a razor knife to cut around the edge to break the caulked seal. Be careful not to drop the stool as it could break.
With a putty knife or the same razor knife, remove the seal from the floor. Again, if you feel the removal of the piping for this part is too much call in a professional. Unsecure the piping under the house and replace it with the new. The quicker the better. Now, put in the new seal, scrape off the bottom of the stool, and carefully place it on the seal as to not break it. Secure the stool down with the nuts and caps, put the tank back on and secure it. All that is left is making sure the pipes are tightened well, but not too tight that you strip the threads. Turn the water back on and give it a few flushes.
Replacing your bathtub will require removing the handles, faucet and the drain plug. Remove the seal around the tub with your razor knife. A hamer and screwdriver can loosen the drain, as you need this off to lift the tub out. If you have tile remove it up to about one foot so you can take out the tub. Of course, the faucet and handles should be removed by now. You may find you need to remove that 6″ piece of piping for the faucet. Like the stool, go under the house to remove the piping now after you unfasten it from the top. Replace it with the new and come back to put in the new drain pipe. Secure that in place.
The shower piping will need to have the tile removed. Only two or three columns need to be taken out to cut out a section of the wall. Notice how the piping is installed. You will need to do something similar when installing the new pipe. Make sure you remove just enough of the sheetrock so that you are halfway down the middle of one wall stud to the next. This will make reinstalling the new easier. Once that is secured and taped up, put your tub back in place and resecure it. Don’t put your handles or faucets back on yet. You need to put up the new or old tile so that you can make adjustments. If you reuse the old tile, scrape it off well on the back. Let it set for a day or two, and then place the handles and faucets on. Seal around them and the tub and 48 hours later it is ready to be used.
That should do it. All your plumbing should be solved. OH! The outside water taps aren’t replaced. That is much easier. Back under the house, replace the piping after turning the water off again and disconnecting the outer faucets. Install the new piping and new faucets, and now you are completely done.
Wait! The hot water tank is still not taken care of. Unless you really want to do it all, I would not mess with this. A new tank, depending on how much you want to spend, will take some doing. You will want to check with your city to see what the code is on how high off the floor it should be and anything else that would matter. In my area, they need to be 16″ off the floor with adequate draining should it burst. I use copper piping on the ones I install, but you can still use PVC as it may last much longer.
Plumbing is challenging at best, but rewarding once it is finished. Your next project, should you so choose, will seem rather easy compared to having done all of the above. Before starting any project, make a list of all the tools you will need, the materials, and budget your time to finish the project soon. Changing out a kitchen faucet can take as much as an hour for a beginner, but that does not mean it cannot be done. If you need visuals to plumbing or any other project, there are plenty of books at the library on it or you may check out what is on the internet. When it comes to plumbing, do not be afraid of it. You may find you enjoy doing it.
