It can be tempting to try to resolve plumbing issues in the home, especially when they seem to be rather basic. Thankfully, many plumbing problems are relatively straightforward and can be fixed with a basic set of tools. DIY work saves time, money and headache, plus gives you the bragging rights that you’ve fixed yet another thing around the home.

However, there are many plumbing issues that are best left to the pros, and trying to tackle them on your own will only leave you with a bigger mess and more costly repairs. Let’s take a look at the various jobs you can expect to complete on your own and those that should be left to a professional set of eyes.

Top DIY Plumbing Jobs

-      Stopping a toilet from running incessantly

-      Getting a toilet to flush

-      Repairing a toilet handle

-      Fixing a dripping faucet

-      Installing a new faucet

-      Sealing around sinks and bathtubs

-      Repairing a leaky showerhead

-      Unclogging a faucet or bathtub drain

The good news about DIY jobs is that they are uncomplicated and have easy steps to follow. You may already know how to tackle these repairs, or you can easily look online for helpful, step-by-step information.

Now let’s look at the jobs that you shouldn’t attempt on your own – the ones best left for the professional plumbers.

Top Professional Plumbing Jobs

-      Replacing or moving major fixtures, such as sinks and bathtubs

-      Replacing valves

-      Gas line issues (most areas require that you hire a licensed plumber to work with gas lines because of safety issues)

-      Sump pumps and water heaters

-      Severe clogs

-      Main line stoppage

-      Any setting where a permit is required, such as home additions or remodels

There are various reasons why these jobs require the work of a professional, but you can be certain that if you attempt them on your own, you’ll end up with more work than you anticipated. Some jobs may appear easy, such as replacing a valve in the shower, but this project can cause extensive damage to your walls if you don’t select the right size valve. Other jobs are complex because of the type of equipment you would be working with, such as sump pumps and water heaters that have intricate inner workings.

If you’re ever in doubt about a potential plumbing repair, call our team at Troy Trawick. Our locally owned and operated business is familiar with the best parts, tools and techniques for all plumbing projects.

Image c/o: wikipedia.org

No one likes plumbing problems. Since the majority of them have to do with water, you’re not left with much time to fix the issue before more damage occurs. Furthermore, plumbing issues affect some of our most commonly used appliances such as toilets, sinks and bathtubs. Fortunately, many plumbing problems can be avoided or at least identified early on before they cause more problems for your home and your wallet.

Clogged Drains

Any time buildup or an item gets wedged into a pipe, you’ll have a clogged drain on your hands. Most clogs happen over time from debris building up until water can no longer pass through. You’ll notice your sink or bathtub filling up with water and not draining properly. The same thing can happen to a toilet, especially if you try flushing things down there that shouldn’t be, such as too much toilet paper, paper towels or baby wipes.

To avoid clogs, prevent them in the first place. Use hair nets in your sink and bathtub to catch excess hair. Flush only toilet paper and waste down the toilet, and make sure everyone in the family does the same, kids included. If a clog does occur, don’t use chemical products to unclog the drains; many of these can cause damage to the piping. Instead, use an auger to remove the obstacle.

Leak Issues and Busted Pipes

It’s important to be on the lookout for potential plumbing issues. A change in water pressure, an odd noise coming from your pipes or any sign of leaking water are all reasons to call a professional plumber immediately. Some homeowners will even notice an odd odor coming from a broken pipe or malfunctioning toilet.

Although leaks do occur under the slab, most of them come from high-traffic appliances such as kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, toilets, bathtubs and washers. If you notice signs of damage, this means that the damage is already severe. Keep an eye out and look for signs such as moisture around under-the-sink pipes and cracks around fixtures. For washing machines installed in upstairs locations, consider installing leak detectors that will turn off the appliance if a leak is detected.

Even though many common plumbing problems can be avoided, there are far more than can occur out of the blue. When you need assistance with an unexpected plumbing repair, put your trust in a plumbing expert such as Troy Trawick that can repair the issue, protect your home and avoid further problems down the road.

Image c/o: ehow.com

Living in an old home is fun – and noisy. It’s not uncommon to hear creaks and squeaks, and most of these are completely normal. Old homes also show more wear, and you may not notice a new wet spot on your ceiling until it’s too late. Since you don’t want to mislead the initial signs of plumbing issues with the profile of your home, you should have a game plan for living in your old home and dealing with potential plumbing problems.

Identify Potential Signs of Damage – Past or Present

First of all, relax. Just because you live in an old home doesn’t mean you’re more at risk for plumbing problems. Many old homes are well taken care of and up-to-date on their repairs, which means your older home could have newer plumbing than a freshly built home down the street.

If you’re purchasing an old home, look for signs that the plumbing was previously worked on. With recent repairs, you may notice that drywall was knocked down or the floors were replaced in a particular area. Ask why the plumbing was worked on and be specific. Also be sure to run water from the faucets and check the pressure.

Of course, if you’re the only owners that have lived in your home in recent years, you’re already familiar with the condition of your plumbing. Plumbing issues can happen in any home – old or new – but old homes are more likely to experience them because the pipes get worn and dingy.

All pipes eventually need to be replaced as they will corrode and create leaks in the home. Always be on the lookout for corroded water pipes, small leaks or condensation around your piping. Take these signs seriously; an eroded pipe can burst and cause thousands of dollars of damage.

Identify the Pipes’ Construction

To learn more about your old plumbing, identify the type of material that the piping is made from. For example, if the pipes were installed before 1960, they will most likely be made from galvanized steel. These pipes have a life expectancy of 30 to 35 years, which means they would need to be replaced soon. Copper and plastic pipes, on the other hand, have been used over the last 40 years and offer decades of rugged durability, so you shouldn’t be faced with any issues in the near future.

Replace Old Pipes During a Remodel

If you’re contemplating having new plumbing work done in your home, select a time where you’ll be doing other remodeling work, if applicable. This piping is accessible through walls and floors that need to be opened up to run the new piping, so you don’t want to do this work unless you absolutely have to or are ripping up these areas anyway. Remember, old plumbing will continue to fail until it is replaced, so if you’re facing issues today, you’ll need to tackle the bigger picture sooner than later. To learn more about your options with old plumbing equipment, contact Troy Trawick.

Image c/o: photo.net

Dual-flush toilets are variations of flush toilets that utilize two buttons or handles that flush various levels of water. If you haven’t heard about dual-flush toilets, here’s why: These toilets are far more expensive than standard low-flow toilets that are sold in home improvement stores. Because of their complex intricacies, you pay a lot more money for a dual-flush toilet compared to their inexpensive and equally attractive low-flow counterparts. At this time, the fixtures are used mainly in Australia, Asia and Europe.

How do Dual-Flush Toilets Work?

Dual-flush toilets were invented by Bruce Thompson, an Australian inventor who came up with the concept back in 1980. The fixture relies on gravity to remove waste from the toilet and has a lack of siphoning that results in less water consumption. In fact, the lack of siphoning makes dual-flush fixtures similar to the toilets found on aircraft.

The main highlight to these inventive fixtures is that they have two buttons that release water. One level is used for liquid waste while the other is used for solid waste. There is also a trapway in the bowl so that water comes out quickly and clears the toilet bowl of waste.

What are Their Advantages?

You’re probably wondering why anyone would choose a dual-flush toilet in the first place. After all, our low-flow toilets have been working just fine for years. Yet there are clear advantages to dual-flush toilets that make them unique for modern-day homes. First, they have the ability to save up to 67 percent of water usage, something that is encouraged by the government of Australia.

Just as the US government has been offering homeowner incentives for switching over to energy efficient upgrades, the Australian government is offering incentives for families that switch over to dual-flush toilets. Although they are more expensive, the rebates make them attainable. Who knows – maybe this is the wave of the future for the US as well.

These water-efficient and environmentally friendly toilets not only save water, but also they save on your monthly utility bills. Instead of wasting gallons of water with each flush, you save on water usage and have a nice return on your utility bills. The money that you can receive from rebates is also helpful in driving down the initial cost of the fixture. Finally, these porcelain thrones clog less thanks to a larger trapway system, look stylish and have a powerful flush that make them especially efficient.

To learn more about installing a dual-flush toilet in your home, contact a professional plumber from Troy Trawick.

Image c/o: en.wikipedia.org

I’ve found the classroom of life-experience offers as much, if not more than any number of university courses ever could. For example, when going through the grocery checkout, I like to employ change. If my bill is $17.88, I hand the cashier $20.13. With puzzled expression, they invariably say, “You gave me thirteen cents.” I smile as they punch it in, before handing over my $2.25. I say, “That’s what eighteen years of education is good for- figuring how to get quarters back.”
Having said that, I did attain some useful knowledge (over a span of nearly six years, including full and part time schedules, as well as a summer session and evening courses), while attending a pair of schools for higher education in Pennsylvania- though I’ve yet to receive sheepskins for studies of History and Art, before concentrating on Psychology and English Literature. I’m still being educated/informed.

The internet and social media, in particular, have drastically altered our little orb since my collegiate years in the 1970′s- allowing today’s individual/student to be part of the global discussion, as never before. Becoming informed, whether about safety features and fuel efficiency of an automobile one may be thinking about purchasing, to what a candidate for political office truly stands for, is just seconds away.

With regards to politics and upcoming elections, being informed is key; having awareness of the issues and taking part in discussing/addressing them at the local, state and national level- before casting votes. Are you an informed voter?

Employ your change.

Robert William Gaglione
freelance journalist
investigative fusionist
poetico

Rock The Capital: Part Two
Volume 1: Issue 2
February 2012

Greetings and belated happy New Year to the Rock the Capital community. 2012 is going to be a particularly interesting year for the country and Rockthecapital.com. Obviously the years major story will be the Presidential Election. This election will be historic for the amount of money spent, the embedded use of technology as well as utilizing the new & social medias. We all will be bombarded like never before with direct and indirect messages from candidates and issue oriented Political Action Committees or PACs. We will see things like online gaming as a means of getting the publics attention.

Besides the presidential race the state and congressional elections will be contested harder than normal as the division between the Republican and Democratic Parties has grown and politics has gotten even uglier and meaner (who would have thought that possible). With so little inter-party cooperation each side needs to win a clear majority of a legislative body to get anything passed.

In today world people live in what is referred to as the ‘Bubble’. The algorithms used for searching the World Wide Web begin to learn your behavior and soon the searches are yielding content of similar points of view, Fox & MSNBC shall never meet. Candidates know how to get their message out to their respective choirs but how do you get to and influence the swing voters. Especially when that swing group is larger than ever before.

Another trend to be aware of is the proliferation of so-called expert and news sites. Quite often these sites have a paid for agenda or driven by extremist views. How often have you had somebody email you something that when you did a little research you found was untrue or incomplete? Anytime I see an article saying ’90% of’ or the ‘majority of voters’ my made up fact alarm starts beeping. Question all the information you receive even RocktheCapital’s.

As the news anchors say the big stories for 2012 will be the elections, the economy and government spending at all levels. Another item that probably won’t get the attention it deserves is the nature of the parties themselves. We have gotten used to inter party feuds but the intra party squabbles are growing exponentially. Just because a one party controls congress and the Whitehouse or the statehouse and the governors mansion no longer means the end of gridlock. Each party to some degree is battling an internal civil war for the hearts and minds of its voters. Here in Pennsylvania we will be closely watching the squeeze on schools, public colleges and infrastructure repair as the Governor continues to keep his pledge of no new taxes. Let’s all learn to take notice of the ‘fee’ word as the state tries to close the gap between revenues and expenses. Whether it is on the federal or local level Americans continue to balk at paying for the government they demand.

When I was growing up my next-door neighbor (l call him EH) was like an uncle to me. His politics were only slightly to the left of Attila the Huns. He was an airline captain, a Vietnam veteran and one of the most patriotic people I have ever known. EH unintentionally taught me a valuable political lesson. EH thought the Federal government was strictly for the purpose of National Defense and the FAA. I am exaggerating but not by much. He would rail about every cutback or budget limitation put on the FAA. The lesson I learned is everybody has a special interest they believe should be get the full resources of the United States. I learned that special interest is a third person phrase. When I deem an issue important it is a priority. When you deem it important it is a special interest.

RocktheCapital.com, 2012. Eric and I are committed to continuing the experiment of providing a thoughtful respectful for profit online news magazine. We are still way in the red but we are continuing to grow. Our FB fans, Twitter followers and site visits are all up. We are beginning to get a little revenue but we need your help. Take our online poll, click on are Ad links, consider the Living Social deals . Check out our Amazon store when we get it on the site. A little bit here and a little bit there and soon we will be able to add additional features and content.

T-shirts. As I said in the first newsletter we expected to get requests for a few hundred and we ended up with over 45,000 t-shirt requests. We have sent out over a thousand and as we get revenue we will continue to mail more shirts out. If anybody knows of a sponsorship partners please contact me. We can break requests down by state. We have requests for 3,500 in PA alone.

New! RocktheCapital.com will introduce our cross platform mobile application. We are applying for membership in the prestigious Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondence Association, entitling us to a bureau in the Capital Building. We are forming our editorial advisory board to ensure the best journalistic practices possible. RTC will have a new feature shortly called the Daily Rock that will have Nuggets of Truth back-checking the politicians and facts about how government works.

RocktheCapital is a community as much as it is a business. Keep commenting on our site and FB. Tweet and retweet our stories.

Email me with questions, critiques, suggestions and praise at support@rockthecapital.com. Eric and I look forward to serving you in 2012.

Get involved! Learn the facts! Question everything!

Most importantly Rock the Capital!

Andrew Stein

Co-Founder

RocktheCapital.com

We all do. Whether you are an experienced blogger, or just starting out online, who and what you know is at the heart of a growing new kind of economy. You and I, along with thousands of politicians, business owners and big corporate sponsors all take part each day in a new kind of media – social media.

Yovia helps you as an individual earn from what you know and who you know. We call this sphere of influence your Social Capital and it’s worth real dollars on the web.

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Enjoy, and SPREAD THE WORD!

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