Here is the job I did after the home owner had granite counter tops installed.  This would be the same result if you do any work with granite, marble, or quartz.

  When hooking up a drain for a basin you will need a one and a quarter inch trap adapter, p-trap, ABS pipe, coupler, ABS glue, and maybe a 45 degree elbow.

On this particular drain you can see that this is an outside wall as the vent goes into the wall while the drain goes down.

If you are installing a new sink then you need to install the mechanical pop-up.  That is the chrome part in the pic to the left.  Sometimes these are a gray plastic, and sometimes even brass.  These will come with the faucets, but make sure you buy the faucet that comes with a mechanical pop-up as this is not always the case.

  This job had a set of 8 inch moen faucets that I needed to install.  Of all the 8 inch faucets I have ever installed these are by far the easiest.  Delta has a set that is pretty nice to install as well.  I know, you most likely care more about how these look.  Check out my article on Delta faucets in Edmonton.

These faucets are nice looking, and of course with the installation of granite how can you go wrong?

Here is a closer look at these faucets.

If you are looking for plumbers in Edmonton give us a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

780-264-0878

If you have your countertops changed out you might need to reconfigure the plumbing drains for the sinks.  If you go with the same thickness of counters and the same sinks then you might be able to just hook up the drains.  If on the other hand you install new granite, quartz or marble countertops then you will generally install a sink that will be under mount instead of top mount.  Even if you go with the exact same style of sink when you install the drains you will find the old drains will not fit.  The reason for this is because the sink is now at least an inch lower than before, and may have moved slightly from the exact location it was at before.

You will now need to reconfigure the drains. To do this you will need a new p-trap, ty, a couple of ABS 90′s, some ABS

pipe, ABS glue, a couple of one and a half inch trap adapters, and a dishwasher drain fitting.

As you can see in the two pictures to the left the drain accommodates the dishwasher and the garburator.

The garburator comes with a 90 degree adapter that allows you to hook up the drain to the unit with a standard trap adapter.  The sink will come with two drain assemblies, which in this case I only used one as the garburator comes with an adapter to mount to the sink.

Here you can see how the garuburator was hooked up to the sink.  If you look past the garburator to the back of the cabinet you can see the flexible braided tubes that I used to hook up the kitchen faucet.  You should install the faucet before you start the drains as there is a lot more room to work.

Here is the finished product.  This particular job was with a granite countertop and looked great.  I did the bathroom faucets and sink hook ups for this one as well, so check here to see those.

If you are looking for plumbers in Edmonton, AB, then give us a call at 780-264-0878.

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

For all of your plumbing and gas fitting needs in Edmonton.

Thanks,

Kelly

Radiant heat in one type of heating system that is often hooked up and installed by plumbers in Edmonton.  Radiant heat is a form of heating that is similar to how the sun heats the earth.  The heat comes from the medium and radiates outwards in all directions.  In this article I will explain the different kinds of radiant heating systems that make sense here in Edmonton.

In Floor Radiant Heat

With in floor radiant heat the heat warms the floor and anything that is touching the floor which in turn warms you and your family.  Unlike forced air or convection type of heating the air does not get warm.  therefore you might notice that the temperature in your house is lower than what you are normally accustomed to by a few degrees.  And yet you are still very comfortable.

There are two styles of in floor radiant heat.  A staple up system and a top down system.  The staple up system is less efficient as the heat must transfer from the water to heat transfer plates through the wood of the floor and warm the finished floor.  Since wood is an insulator the energy to heat through the floor is slightly higher.

A staple down system generally is used with gypcrete or in the case of a basement or garage, concrete.  This system takes longer to warm the medium as the concrete is much more dense, but once it is warm the temperature will stay consistent from that point on.

Radiant Heat inside Walls

As technology changes so do the ways we can heat our homes.  One newer method is to use radiant panels that are inside your walls and heat the wall.  Which in turn warms you when you are sitting there or any furniture that is close to that wall.

Radiant Tube Heating

A great way to heat your garage is with a radiant tube heater.  Unlike the other types of radiant heat that I have mentioned this does not use water.  Instead there is a burner that shoots a flame down the tube.  The flame only goes part way down the radiant tube then the rest is flue gas that is pushed out of the tube.  The flue gas is a mixture of burned natural gas and air and any impurities in the gas.

Unlike forced air unit heaters that you might have in a garage these types of heaters are far superior.  There is no air to blow around in your garage, so if you are doing any kind of work and the unit turns on to warm the room you do not have to worry about wood or other particles blowing around.

As I said earlier radiant heat heats in all directions.  In this case there is reflectors that point the heat from the tube heaters towards the floor.  If you have ever been to an arena I am sure you have felt the warmth coming off of one of these units.

Cast Iron Radiant Heat

In some houses years ago people would have an old steam boiler that would heat those big clunky cast iron radiators.  Once those things were hot they stayed hot for a long time.  This type of heating is not as efficient as other methods of radiant heating and is not common in houses.

Thanks for reading.

If you need someone to hookup or install any kind of radiant heating system give us a call at 780-264-0878

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

Recently I did a job for a young couple that was totally wrong.  Apparently the homeowner liked to do their own plumbing work but did not like to read on how plumbing drains should be hooked up.  The kitchen sink and bathroom sinks were hooked up wrong.  Instead of using a p-trap the homeowner created an s-trap.  Since you can not buy an s-trap the only way to have one is to make one.

The only place an s-trap is allowed is in a toilet or urinal, or any fixture that has a self filling water valve.  The reason for this is because an s-trap is self siphoning.  If you fill a kitchen sink up, wash dishes, then drain the sink you will drain the trap as well.  The momentum of the water continues to use siphon attraction instead of just using gravity to drain the sink.   This continues until the sink and trap are empty.  Once the trap is empty you will find that now sewer gases can freely enter the house and can cause you and your family to become sick.

Normally an s-trap is created accidentally by too much slope or improper venting.  Code says that if you go more than 5 feet on a trap arm you need to install a vent.  Old code says that depending on the size of the pipe will dictate the distance before the vent needs to be installed.  In this particular case the homeowner should have had a vent prior to the 90 they used.  Which is quite strange as the original job must have been done properly.

As you can see in the picture this was made from a 90 degree elbow instead of just running straight to the outlet.

What I had to do to fix this was to use a p-trap and make the riser longer so the outlet of the pipe would line up properly with the pipe coming from the wall.  If you look where the trap meets the threaded fitting, called a trap adapter, there is only a small space between the two.  When I was done this job the space between the new p-trap and the trap adapter was about 6 inches.  Then everything lined up perfectly.  Also I prefer to use union traps instead of solid traps.  For the most part solid traps should only be used with showers, bathtubs, washing machines, floor drains or any other fixture that is not accessible.

If you need a plumber in Edmonton give us a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

When you are looking for plumbing supplies in Edmonton you most likely think about one of the big box stores.  Which if you are looking for a plumbing fixture of some sort or the most common types of plumbing supplies then you will be just fine going to one of these stores.  If however you are looking for an older part of some kind or something that is not for your home but for a commercial plumbing project or maybe an industrial plumbing project then you will need to go to a plumbing supply or plumbing wholesaler.

There are three main plumbing supply companies in Edmonton that are used by plumbers in Edmonton on a regular basis.  These are Emco, Bartle and Gibson, and Wolseley.  As these are plumbing wholesalers you can expect that the costs for someone that is not a plumber to be higher, but if it is a part that you need then at least you can repair what you are doing instead of replacing the whole thing.

Other plumbing supply companies in Edmonton are Best Plumbing and Lighting and BA Robinson.  These companies do cater more to home owners and plumbers alike.

If you are working on a larger project then any plumber that you hire can supply you with any or all of the plumbing supplies that are required for that job.

Often plumbing fixtures will cost more at a plumbing wholesaler than at one of the big box stores.  Not just for you but for plumbers in Edmonton as well.  The reason for this is the way the product is made.  For instance every product has a master distributor that supplies the product to the wholesalers.  If that product fails in some way often the master distributor will have parts for that product.  If however you buy a plumbing fixture from a big box store then that product is supplied from a different source.  Even though the faucet or toilet might look the same the assembly and parts for that product are different.  This is most likely because the big box stores need the lowest price possible to compete with each other.  This generally means an inferior product.  Not a bad product just inferior.

This means that if you are price shopping you might think you are getting a killer deal from one of the big box stores but in actual fact the product may not last nearly as long as the same looking product from a plumbing wholesaler.

If you need a plumber or gas fitter in Edmonton give us a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

Plumbing contractors in Edmonton are different from plumbing repairmen in Edmonton.  The difference is that plumbing contractors normally do some sort of construction work or installation.  Where as plumbing repairmen are more into service work and repairing things that need to be fixed.

For the most part both types of plumbers in Edmonton are able to do the work you would need done.  The one time this does not quite work out is when a plumbing contractor only does large commercial plumbing or industrial plumbing.

Here is a quick list of the jobs that plumbers in Edmonton will often perform.

Commercial Plumbing in Edmonton

Commercial plumbers perform tasks with jobs in commercial construction projects.  These types of jobs can range from a small coffee shop to a large high rise condo complex.  Commercial plumbers will work a lot with copper and cast iron piping systems.  And if they do hot water there is a lot of black iron pipe that is used.  Sometimes they use fan coils, in floor heating systems or baseboard heating systems.  All coming from a large boiler that has pipe that is larger than 2 inches in diameter, which means these system are all welded together instead of threaded.

The drain pipes consist of cast iron and DWV copper pipe.  The copper pipe is joined together by soldering the joints while the cast iron is joined together by using mechanical joints or MJ clamps.

In warehouses commercial plumbers in Edmonton mainly use PVC drain pipe and copper for water lines.

Residential Plumbing in Edmonton

Most houses in Edmonton use PEX for waterlines and ABS pipe for drain lines.  Compared with commercial plumbing systems the only blue prints that are used by the plumber show the locations of the plumbing fixtures and not the location of the piping used.  Where as commercial plumbing has drawings that show the locations of the pipe.

A plumber that does residential construction will dig trenches, solder some joints, drill holes through the floor and walls, and place fixtures like bathtubs, showers and toilets.

Plumbing Service Edmonton

Plumbing service can consists of repairing or removing and replacing fixtures such as toilets, bathtubs, faucets, and sinks.  A service plumber will also do the plumbing part of a renovation or the plumbing in a basement development project.  Service plumbers do not repair dishwashers or washing machines as these are appliances and not really fixtures.  Even though a service plumber can hook up a washing machine or dishwasher we don’t do any repairs.

On a large commercial dishwasher the plumber will do repairs, along with a qualified electrician.

If you need a plumber or gas fitter for any repair or project that you have please give me a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

Dishwashers in general have become lighter, and more quiet than dishwashers of the past.  The going rate to remove and replace a dishwasher is $250 when the client supplies the dishwasher and has it at the house when the plumber shows up.  We charge by the hour plus material so on average our price works out to $190.

When installing a new dishwasher the easiest procedure is to use a braided supply tube instead of a copper tube.  If you have a poly b water line then you will need to convert that so you can tie in the 3/8ths supply tube.  Some people will take the brass adapter off the existing dishwasher and place on to the new dishwasher.  I wouldn’t do that, you are better off going with a new 3/8 NPT by 3/8 compression thread adapter.  Unless you have the style of dishwasher that now uses a hose adapter by 3/8 compression fitting.

If you buy the newer Samsung dishwasher you will need to drill a hole into the kick space of the cupboard to get thewater and drain lines into the sink area.  Follow the instructions in the pamphlet that comes with the dishwasher.  You will also need to run the water line and the electrical line through the trough areas under the dishwasher, unlike most dishwashers that are open underneath.

The Meile dishwasher sometimes comes with a waterline with a filter system attached.  You will need to cut a larger hole in the cabinet to get this through to under the sink, and you will need to sometimes adapt the waterline to a hose adapter.

The Bosch dishwasher is pretty much standard to hook up except for the electrical.  This has to be plugged into a wall socket instead of being hard wired.  As products change you will need to check with your manual to see if this is the same today.

The electrical should be hooked up by an electrician.

If you are looking for a plumber or gas fitter in Edmonton, Leduc, Sherwood Park, or St Albert then please give me a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

You will need an Edmonton plumber for a gas line bbq hookup.  Even though you can actually pull a gas permit and install the gas line for your bbq yourself this may not be the smartest thing in the world to do.  Afterall we are talking about natural gas is which a highly explosive fuel that can cause you many problems if don wrong.  Even when you do get an inspector to take a look at the job does not mean you are safe.

The plumber you hire in Edmonton should size the gas line in your house at the moment and size the gas line going to your bbq.  A gas line needs to be sized based on the load of the bbq as well as the load of the other fixtures in the house.  If for some reason your gas line is too small to handle the bbq then your plumber will have no choice but to go back to within two feet of the gas meter for the hookup.

Many bar-b-ques now can be almost as large as your furnace and almost always larger then your water heater.  When I say larger I am talking about the btu’s of the unit.  Most furnaces are around 90,000 BTU’s and water heaters are between 36,000 and 56,000 BTU’s depending on the size.  The BBQ’s that I have hooked up have been anywhere between 45,000 and 110,000 BTU’s.  That is a lot of cooking power!

Materials used to pipe a gas line to a BBQ can be type K copper tubing, black iron, plastic for underground, or a flexible gas line.  Any material that is used has a different load capacity than the other materials.  Your plumber will have a chart in his or her natural gas code book.  Except for the flexible gas line.  These charts are found in the spec books provided by the type of flexible line your plumber uses.

If you are running a gas line under ground you can use copper tubing or plastic under ground tubing with steel risers and a copper locating wire to find the location of the pipe in the future.

You will need a gas permit to get the gas line inspected after the work has been done.  Your plumber can do this here in Edmonton.

If you need a plumber or gas fitter for any reason at all please give me a call at 780-264-0878

and remember that you get what you pay for…

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

How much do plumbers charge in Edmonton?

This can vary quite a bit from company to company.  If a company is very busy they will sometimes charge more than normal simply because they do not want the job.  Or if a company uses inferior products, doesn’t pull permits, uses apprentices or handyman on the jobs they quote the price could be a lot lower.

For the most part if you pick the lowest price there must be something that is given up.  You cannot go and buy a brand new car for the price of a used car.  If you think you are getting a deal you might be, but if you think you are getting a killer deal then most likely you are getting taken to the cleaners in some way.

The hourly rate for a journeyman plumber in the city of Edmonton goes from anywhere between $85 per hour to $105 per hour.  If you get a quote on a job this price could end up being higher or lower depending on how the job goes.

In fact if you are getting a quote the plumbing company will cover all of their bases in that quote and the price could be a lot higher than if you had the work done by the hour.  Unless of course the company you higher doesn’t have qualified workers, then the hours can be a lot higher.

If you find a plumber that is going to charge you under $85 per hour then the chances of them coming back to guarantee their work is few and far between.

Whenever I get a job I always ask the home owner what the other plumbing prices came in at.  Last week I did a job for $420, another plumber came in at $475 and another plumber came in at $675.

This was quite the difference in pricing.  And once I was done the job when I added up my time and material my price should have been $480, so in a sense I lost $5.  Not a big deal, and I never did tell the client about that.

But on the other side of things, the company that quoted $675 would have made $195 in extra profit, not profit, but extra profit.  Since I did make a profit.

Other Plumbing Quotes in Edmonton

The other type of plumbing quote to be aware of is the low ball quote.  Maybe this company uses qualified workers and does a great job.  How do they make any profit?  Easy, every little tiny thing that is not in the quote gets added to the bill.

In actual fact a quote is always just a guideline.  No plumber really knows what is inside of a wall or under a floor to give you a dead on price.  Yes, an experienced plumber should be able to give a close price, but since know body can be dead on there are many that take advantage of this.

You might be thinking that your quote should be your quote, but most plumbers will say the quote does not include any changes or any unforeseen situations.

I try to stay within my quoted price all of the time.  In fact the only time I go over is when the client changes something or adds something to the job.  Otherwise I will eat the extra price if I missed on my price.

However this means that I start off higher than a lot of plumbers out there.

A good example is a job I quoted about a year ago.   I went and looked at a job and the price came out to $2200.  The client said I was way too high because he had someone quote $1500.  Two weeks later he called me and said he wanted me to do the job, saying the other guy couldn’t get there for awhile and he needed this done.

I did the job, price came in right where I thought it would.  When I collected from the client I asked about the other guy.  Since I now had a pretty good rapport with the client he was honest with me.  The other guy quoted over the phone, came to do the job and just before he started said he would have to charge more because he was not aware of a few things.

His price was now over $2200, but I do not know how much over.  The other plumbing company was there and ready to work, so most people would have just said fine, go ahead.  But this guy said, fine, get out of my house and called me instead.

Thanks for reading,

Please remember that you always get what you pay.

If you need any plumbing or gas work done in or around Edmonton, Alberta please give me a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878

Sump pumps are very common in Edmonton.  Almost every house that I have gone into has a sump pump from the time the house was built.

The purpose of the sump pump is to take any water that is about 2 to 3 feet below your basement and pump the water safely out and away from your house.  If you are installing a sump pump in your house for the first time make sure that the discharge pipe goes at least 2 feet past your house.

You should check your sump pump every season at some point in the spring.  Fill the sump barrel with water and allow the pump to turn on and discharge the water out of the barrel.

For the most part a pump fails when turning on for the first time for the season.  The reason for this is that initial startup after sitting for the whole winter can cause the pump to cease.

I believe most pumps have a two to three year warranty, but you should still check them every year.  The 15 minutes that it takes to check the pump could save you thousands of dollars in repair costs to your basement if you do have a flood.

Unfortunately testing the pump is not a guarantee that there will not be a problem in that season, but this will catch a good chunk of failed starts.  To really secure your place it is best to place a high level sensor in the pump barrel that will sound an alarm if there is a failure.  These can be hooked up to an alarm company that will help you resolve the situation if you are not at home when the alarm goes off.

If you need a plumber for any reason please give me a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

249 Grand Meadow Cres.

Edmonton, AB

T6L 1W9

780-264-0878