While working for a new construction plumbing company in 2006, out of ten employees there were only three of us that knew how to solder copper tubing.

The other plumbers never soldered before because they were trained in using plastic tubing; here’s an example:  Pvc, Cpvc and pex tubing’s.

Did this make them bad plumbers?

Not by a long shot.They were really good at there job.

As a mater of fact, they showed me how to install pex tubing with out kinking the pipe. In return I showed  them how to solder copper pipe.

The result, one of them has used what I taught ‘em, while  another forgot a few important steps an caused a leak. In order to avoid any leaks that could cause some damage to your home, here is 5 steps to a perfect solder joint.

With copper it is important not to miss a step or there could be disastrous results. Remember these steps and you will be on your way to a perfect solder joint every time.

Step #:

1. Cut the pipe to size
2. Clean the pipe
3. Clean the inside of the fittings you will be using
4. flux the outside of the pipe and the inside of the fitting
5. Time 2 solder

Cut the pipe to size: measure the leangth pipe that you will need to join your piping system together. Using a tubing cutter cut your pipe to size (remember to measure twice and cut once).

Clean the pipe: With some sand cloth or paper,  sand each end of the pipe until shiny. Make sure all of the manufactures oils are off of the pipe. Wipe with a cloth to remove any sand or copper residue.

Using your pipe reamer on the tubing cutter, ream the inside edges of the copper tubing removing any burs. you want a smooth edge.

Clean your fittings using a tubing brush properly sized for your pipe. To speed the process along I cut the cleaning brush at the top of the handle and insert inside of my drill.

Turn your drill speed on high and clean the inside hub of the fitting.  If you see any dark spots inside of the fitting keep cleaning the area until it has been removed.

The dark spot is oil left over from the cutting and forming process at the manufacture. If this oil is left on you will burn your fitting and it will not take the solder.

Flux the pipe and fittings: Using your flux past brush each end of the pipe and fittings. This will ensure a clean and tinned joint.

Time to solder: Whatever size your pipe, that is how much solder you will need to use to sweat your joints together. So, if you are soldering 1″ one inch copper pipe you will need one inch of solder to sweat your joints together.

Using a torch heat your pipe and fitting evenly. Start two inches behind the fitting and slowly heat your pipe and fitting by using a back and forth sweeping motion. Make sure your flame is close enough to cover the entire diameter of the pipe.

When your flame turns green apply the solder to the hub of the fitting, making sure that the solder flows all the way around the hub.

Wait! There is one more step “the Secret” step to a perfect solder joint that means the difference between an amaturish ”glob mess” or a professional looking solder joint every time:  The secret 6th step improve your solder finish http://bch.uiwt.net/the-secret-6th-step-improve-solder-finish

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I have ran across many ’ol stool flanges where over time,  the edge of the floor where the stool bolts sits on has disintegrated playing havoc when trying to set the toilet. It’s almost impossible to keep the bolt from vanishing in thin air or in this case under the floor. It’s like a magic act, now you see it, now you don’t.

One way I stop this is by using a cardboard washer to hold the bolt in place while you fasten the toilet to the floor.

Here is all the tools you will need:

• A set of stool bolts
• a thick rubber band
• a 1″X1″ square piece of heavy cardboard stock
• A box cutter any old box cutter will do

Now once you have your cardboard square cut out, use your box cutter to slit a cross in the center of it. Be very careful not to cut yourself when you do this.

 The cross should look like this +. 

 Just make the slits about a 1/3 of the blades depth. It’s not much just enough to get the bolt through.

Next slide the bolt head under the flange and push the cardboard square on top of the flange over the bolt. Take your rubber band and twist the band until tight. Really tight. The bolt head should be tight to the bottom of the flange and the cardboard taught to the top.

Now you are ready to set your toilet and finish your project. Enjoy the rest of your day:)

You can also use a 5/16 flat washer and a regular 5/16 nut in case you do not have a rubber band and cardboard close by.

If you have used this amazing bolt trick before let us know how it work out for you. Please Just leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

Even better still,  if you have an even greater trick that’s sure to amaze and delight and keeps the stool bolts from vanishing into the floor please leave a comment at the bottom of this post and let us know.

The worse day of my entire plumbing carrier

It was Memorial weekend, I was the plumber on call for the plumbing company I was working for. I received a call from one of the property management companies we work for to come over to a condominium complex to check out a leak under on the buildings.

When I got there the property manager showed me the building to check out. I went into the crawl space and before I could turn on the light I step into a water puddle that almost went to my knee and I heard water rushing to the ground.

When I turn on the light I notice right off the bat that a six inch water main had broke a the 90 degree ellbow. It wasn’t totally broke off just enough to let out several gallons of water per minute.

I went back to the property manager and told her that they had a rupture and it needed fix now. The property manager didn’t want to fix it right now, because weekend renters and owners were starting to come in. They needed water.

I tried everything in my power to convince her that it needed repair now, not later. She was adamant about waiting.

So, we waited.

Sunday afternoon I got the call to come and fix the break. Every building and there was ten of them had no water. I ask the property manager to have maintenance turn off the main and before I arrived.

These condos are over twenty years old and the water main was ran in a series. So, if you turn off building six, building 7,8,9and 10 would have no water as well.

I fix the main with a mechanical 90 degree elbow instead of a PVC 90. I had the pipe fix in an hour. The maintenance supervisor turn the water back on and just as I thought we were out of the woods a passerby stuck his head in the crawl space and ask me if the other building should be running water like it was.

I stuck my head out of the crawl and saw the next building beside the one I fixed had a river running out of it’s breathing holes in the concrete wall, over the side walk and into the lake. I called the maintenance super to turn the water back off. Then went to check i t out.

The crawl space door was missing and floating in the lake. This wasn’t good. Underneath the main had broke in two three different area’s including the fire sprinkler system. This really wasn’t good.

Luckily, I had enough parts on my van to fix the water main, but not the fire sprinkler system. I spent the next three hours putting the system back together. It was time to turn the water back on…

There was something bothering me about why the water main had broke in the first place. I ask the maintenance super if he had any thoughts. Just old pipes he said and drove the half a mile back up the hill to turn the water on.

While he was driving I began investigating the next building down which we will call building four. I happened to notice that under this building there was a six inch pvc ball valve on the main near the south wall of the building.

I called the super back and ask if all the buildings had a ball valve on them. He confirmed they did and said that they were all open. There  was no reason to turn them off. Besides he said that they were so big that it would be impossible to turn them off without breaking the valve handle.

I agreed and waited for the water.

Guess what? The water came and the number seven building broke just like the number five building. We shut the water back off and this time both the building super and myself began crawling under each of the buildings to find out what was going on.

When going under building two I found that the ball valve had in fact been shut off. This caused the water to back wash back through the pipes and the pressure caused a violent rupture through the system.

The super called the ground maintenance man who had been there that day and found that he had turn the valve off after the first building lost pressure that morning.

With no parts to fix the next building and it was approaching 8pm, I had to go back the shop and see what parts we had  left. While driving I called a few friends that work at the local plumbing shops. They were all out of town for the long weekend and would be back Tuesday.

Plan B was out.

The shop was out of six inch pipe and only had a few fittings. I called the super back and ask if they had any pipe. I had enough fitting in pvc but not in mechanical to fix the building. He acknowledge that they had some pipe.

I rush back to the condo and found about 20 of the occupants gathered out side of the number seven building. All of them were complaining about having no water.

By midnight I had the plumbing back together. Since I had used pvc pressure fittings we had to let the glue dry. We couldn’t turn the water back on until 6AM. It is recommended to allow the glue to dry one hour per size of pipe. Six inch would take six hours.

Exhausted I drove home for a few hours of shut eye.

By 6AM Monday morning I drove back to the condo praying that nothing else went wrong on this job. The super turn the water back on and all was well.

This time no more mains broke and everyone had water. I spent the rest of the week at this complex repairing the fire systems that had broke and taking care of other leaks that was caused by the mains breaking.

This was the worst day of all of my plumbing carrier. It still causes some stress when I think about it.

Let me know what you think by leaving your comment below. You can also tell us your nightmare as well. If you like this story digg it. Tweet it. Go ahead and share it with others

Repairing any of the (CTS) copper tubing size pipe  is a snap or is it?

Actually it is when you use Shark Bites (R) or any brand of Push on fittings.

Any home owner that knows how to use a tape measure and a pipe cutter can fix any leak or break in there water line or main as long as there pipes are copper tubing size.

What pipes are considered copper tubing size pipe?

Many home owners may not know what kind of pipes they have in there home. There are many types of pipes and tubing that are used in a home. The most common are of course the obvious “Copper”.

However, a lot of homes depending on the age may have polybutaline tubing which has been outlawed as a potable water source in a home or business.  If you live in a home at least 30 years old you could have  galvanized pipe or copper which were the norm.

Copper tubing size pipes are:

CPVC pipe. This is a tan plastic water line and comes in sizes of 1/2″ to 3/4″

Pex tubing: This is the newer piping and quickly becoming the norm in newer homes and condominiums as well as in commercial, industrial and it is also being used in fire sprinklers systems too. It was first introduced around ten years ago as a replacement for polybutaline piping. There are many manufactures of pex tubing such as Zurn and Wirsbo pex.

Copper: Copper is my personal favorite. This piping is what I cut my teeth on during my  apprenticeship.

It is only natural that manufactures of push on fittings created them to fit on any copper tubing size pipes.

Installing a Push-On fitting

Installing a push on fitting is super easy. All you have to do is clean the pipe and push on the fitting until you hear a snap or click sound. That’s all there is to it, it’s really a snap.

When you purchase push-on fittings your going to need  the ”U” shaped tool to remove the fitting if you make a mistake. Shark bite (R) or push-on fittings can be found at your local plumbing shop. They are a little costly, but you will make the cost back in time and ease of use.

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Please excuse the mess. while I fix the leaks on the back end.

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