Top 5 Tips for Making DIY Plumbing Jobs Easier
Are you thinking about tackling your first DIY plumbing job? If so, you may want to check out my top five tips for making any DIY plumbing job much easier. Here it is:
Turn Off the Water
Although it should go without saying, before starting any plumbing job, be sure to shut off the water supply. There are many people that I have met during the course of my lifetime that were so focused on the plumbing task at hand, that they forgot to shut their fixture’s water supply off first. Of course disaster ensued. Therefore, I decided to include it on my list. I should also mention that the location of your home’s water supply lines will vary. For example, if I need to repair the bathroom sink, I can shut off the water supply inside the house. If I need to repair something in my laundry room, I have to shut the water supply off outside. As such, you’ll want to get familiar with the location of your home’s shut off valves before starting any DIY plumbing project.
Avoid Disassembly Disorder
When it comes to DIY plumbing jobs, one of the best pieces of advice that I can give to a first timer is to line up the dismantled parts of the fixture that they are working on in the order and orientation of disassembly. Doing so will make reassembly a breeze. I can still recall the day that my husband and I got a frantic telephone call from one of our family members. Her first attempt at repairing a kitchen sink had gone horribly wrong. Instead of following our disassembly advice, she heaped all of the parts into one pile. When it came time for the reassembly, she had no clue as to what part went where. We spent hours with her on the phone trying to help her out of her dilemma. Ultimately, it didn’t work and she had to call in a professional plumber to complete the job.
Inspect All Parts
Speaking of disassembly procedures, while you have the fixture torn apart, take the time to carefully inspect all its parts. If you see a part that is showing moderate to serious signs of wear and tear, replace it. In my experience, it will save you from having to disassemble the fixture all over again a few weeks further down the road.
Stock Up On Basic Supplies
Personally speaking, there is nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of a plumbing job and discovering that you don’t have enough replacement parts to finish the job. As such, I would recommend that you stock up on common replacement parts like O-rings, washers and washer screws. They are inexpensive and store easily in empty coffee cans and baby food jars. I’d also recommend that you take an inventory of your tools as well. In my experience, there are select tools that no DIY plumber should be without. Among them are pipe wrenches, a force cup plunger and a closet auger.
Practice Patience
Last but not least, I would also recommend that DIY plumbers remember to remain patient. After all, no good can come from forcing a pipe into position or cutting corners in the name of time. Trust me, rush jobs only tend to create more problems. Case in point, I know of a family member who reassembled a fixture without using the proper O-rings, washers and nuts because she was in a hot hurry. When she turned the faucet back on for the first time, it fell apart and shot water all over her kitchen ceiling and floor. In addition, some of the smaller parts fell down the drain. Others seemingly disappeared in the resulting fracas. Hence, a job that should have only taken her 30 minutes ended up taking two hours and costing more than she had planned.
Source: Personal Experience
Killeen Gonzalez has a history of completing home improvement project with her family.
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