With all of the rain we are getting many of you are probably looking to install a new sump pump in Edmonton.  I have installed 6 sump pumps in the last couple of weeks.  Which is a little more than most years, but every four to six years we get a lot more rain here in Edmonton which means your sump pump is working a lot harder than normal years.

A good suggestion is to test your sump pump at the beginning of the season.  This will help to make sure you will not flood your basement, but will not guarantee that the pump will work the whole season.

Another thing you could do for peace of mind is install a high level alarm that will sound if the water gets above a certain point.  If you buy one of these and install it yourself make sure that the setting is a couple of inches above the maximum your float can go.  This way the alarm will sound before you flood your basement and not before the pump will kick on.

Most sump pumps only have a two year warranty, so if your sump pump is five to six years old or older then some preventative maintenance might be a smart idea.

Call us today if you would like a new sump pump installed, 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

I have not dealt with any home inspectors here in Edmonton, but I have had a few clients that have.  In both cases I was not impressed with what had been written up in the report.  In the first instance a friend of mine had a house inspected.  He then called me up to repair everything that the inspector said was wrong, so he sent me the full report ahead of time.

In the report I read that all of the sinks in the house were draining slowly.  There were a total of four sinks.  I then read that all of the ABS drain lines under the sinks were leaking slightly.  Also the showers were draining slow and the toilets were not flushing properly.

When I got to the house I checked out the sinks by filling each one to the top and letting it drain while the water was on.  Each sink drained perfectly.  I then looked under the sink to find the drains were not leaking and were made of PVC pipe not ABS, which is not a bad thing, just listed wrong in the report.  The showers were fine and one of the three toilets flushed great.  I did change out the other two toilets as they were very old.

The second house I was in had a home inspection done by the potential buyers.  In this report they had said they furnace was in need of repair due to the age of the furnace.  Which is funny since the furnace was only 10 years old.  Which might be old for a car, but like a roof a furnace should last you 25 years.  Yes you should do some upkeep, but just by looking at it I would say it should be fine.  Of course it never hurts to get a heating tech to take a look at it, but to get it replaced is a little bit shady if you ask me.

As soon as I find some decent home inspectors I will list them here.

If you hire a home inspector in Edmonton make sure they at least catch any major problems you might have like roofing, foundation, past flooding, leaks, burn marks from electrical, burn marks above the furnace and anything else that is major.

If you need a plumber for any plumbing or gas fitting work in Edmonton please give me a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

Today I went to a house that I have been to a few times, through upgrading their kitchen, bathrooms and fixing a few things here and there.  Today I went to fix a leaky faucet they had in their shower.  The faucet was a delta shower faucet that was installed in 2005.  There was just a small drip in the faucet but needed to be fixed.

When you repair most types of single lever faucets today you can just take the part to your plumbing supply store in Edmonton and exchange it for a new one.  In this particular case that is what I did, with one small but expensive exception.  The house did not have a water softener so the handle was very corroded and the set screw was ceased in place.  After trying a little rust removal I tried to to loosen the set screw and stripped it on my first try.  I then had no choice but to drill out the set screw and get a new handle.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not in any way knocking Delta, as I feel these are the best faucets you can buy for the money.  You can buy better faucets but at a much higher price so if you are looking for value then Delta faucets are the way to go.

Even though in this case the job became expensive it was still cheaper to repair than to replace.  To replace this set of Delta shower faucets would have cost more than double as the only access would have been breaking tile in the front of the shower.  If there was access from a closet behind the shower then the cost would have been the same except for the price of the new Delta shower faucet.

Here is how I rank shower faucets, Grohe or Han Grohe, Delta, then Moen, then nothing else.  Of course I am thinking of my own home which I would recommend you do as well but that is your call.

If you need a plumber to change out your shower faucets, repair any plumbing in Edmonton or any other plumbing service call or job please give us a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

It is that time of year again, and about every 3 to 4 years the flooding is worse than usual.  Over the last two days I have changed out 3 sump pumps in Edmonton for people that have had sump pump failure.  I have had two other calls but was busy on other jobs and during a time of flooding these things need to be changed as fast as possible.

Every year you should fill your sump with water to make sure that your sump pump is working in Edmonton.  In some areas of Alberta your sump pump might work throughout the year depending on the temperatures, but in Edmonton you will find that most likely the pump has not been on in 6 months and when it starts up in the spring is often the time that the pump will cease.  This is not always the case, but is true 75% of the time.

Another solution is to buy an high level alarm that will sound if the water level in the sump barrel reaches a certain level.

Your holding tank fills fast as your weeping tile flows into the barrel whenever it rains.  Then when the water gets to a certain level the pump float will activate the switch and turn the pump on and pushing the water up and out of your house.  Depending on where in the city of Edmonton you live this could flow out of your house towards the street or in some areas will flow into Edmonton’s storm sewer system that then goes to the river.

The job I went onto today was to replace a sump pump that starting to work shortly before I got there.  As the tank that was used for this sump was about four times larger than a normal sized tank we were able to add a second pump that would tie into the same line.  Since there was no check valves on the first pump I added one for that pump and a second one for the new pump.  This will allow the water to flow out of the house if one of the pumps does not turn on.  Without the check valves one pump will flow water up and then back down through the other pump.  Sort of defeats the purpose.

If you need your sump pump changed please give me a call at 780-264-0878.

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

I would think that plumbing leaks are pretty much the same across the country and throughout the world. But Edmonton does get some plumbing leaks that other locations most likely do not get.  Those leaks are from frozen water lines that have split water pipes and created a leak.

Last winter I was called to a clients house because they had a leak on their outside non freeze hose bib.  The leak was a slow drip that was on the outside of their house and causing are large ice formation.  Normally this may have been ok until spring, but in their case the ice was starting to thaw that was closest to the house.  Since there was no other place for the ice to go the water then dripped back in the basement of their home.

As this was a client that I had seen many times over the years I gave them a quick fix.  We shut off the main water, drained the house, cut the line going to the hose bib and plugged it off.  The homeowner then said he was going to chip away some of the ice so that the thawing would quit.  Come spring I went and changed out the non freeze hose bib and hooked it back up.

Shower Leaks

Troubleshooting shower leaks is a little more difficult than some other leaks.  If the shower is a one piece acrylic shower then this is not too hard, but many showers are not one piece.  There are two piece showers, three piece showers, shower pans or bases and the rest is tiled, and complete tiled showers.  If you have a leak in your shower the leak can be coming from the drain, the grout around the tile, the shower valve, the shower head, or the shower pan.

To troubleshoot this there are many steps that have to be followed.  Pay close attention to when the shower leaks.  Is it all the time or only when one particular person showers.  Does it leak before you get in or after you get in?  How long has it been leaking for?  These are all questions your plumber should be asking you before he/she starts to troubleshoot the problem.

Hot Water Heater Tank Leaks

Leaks coming from your water heater can sometimes be fixed and sometimes it is time for a new water heater.  If the leak is coming from the brass fitting on the side of the tank then the relief valve needs to be repaired.  If the leak is coming from the drain below the the plastic drain should be repaired or replaced.  If the leak is coming from the bottom of the tank then the tank is needing to be replaced.  If the leak is coming from the top then either the tank will have to be replaced or the pipe above the tank will have to be replaced.

Leaks from PolyB

PolyB pipe is the gray water line pipe that was around for about 20 years but is no longer used.  This pipe can become brittle and split and leak everywhere.  The most common leaks with PolyB is at the water heater and close to an outside wall.  I have changed close to a dozen pieces of pipe that was close to the water heater, and many frozen lines that have split the pipe for over 10 feet.

This one particular job I was on was a very cold winter and this guy called me up as water was spraying everywhere.  I discovered the leak to be the waterline that was going to his outside hosebib.  The PolyB had split all the way along the line.  His basement was finished and we had to cut holes in the ceiling to try to find where the leak had stopped.  I finally found a place where we could cut into the line and plug it off.  The guy had just moved into the home and was not very happy with the situation, but was pleased when I could get his water back on.

Leaks from Copper

If you are in an older house you should be aware that if copper lines freeze the line will often split and leak when thawed.  The only real way to fix this is to cut out the split tube and replace with new copper.

There are many other leaks that can happen within someones home, but these are the most common ones.

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

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

Today I got a call to unclog a toilet in an office building.  I was told this particular toilet was plugging every month or two which made me think that it was time for a new one.  When I got to the job I had to auger the toilet three times to get the rid of the clog.  But we had success.

I then took a handful of toilet paper and placed in the bowl of the toilet and flushed.  There was a strong flush, which is generally the case with the first one after unplugging a toilet.  I took a second handful of toilet paper and threw it in and flushed again.  Again we had success.  I did this twice more and the flush was the same each time.

This tells me there is nothing that is in the toilet and everything is working well.  If there was something like a pen or stir stick or something that doesn’t quite make it around the S-trap doing this test would have quickly told me that.  I know I have said in my other posts or in some of my articles that s-traps are illegal, but in a toilet or urinal or any self filling fixture an s-trap is ok in Alberta.  I am guessing since we changed to the Canadian plumbing code back in 1990 that this is true for other provinces as well.

The toilet was Kohler, which I am not fond of.  These toilets are much more expensive than a regular toilet like an American Standard or Crane.  But this is not why I do not like these toilets.  I had a client once with a crack in their toilet in a house that was only three years old.  After calling the service department for Kohler I had quickly learned that these toilets only have a one year warranty.  This is odd as most toilets that I have installed have between a ten and twenty year warranty.   Why buy a more expensive toilet that might crack in two years and you have to go and buy another one at that time?

Back to the clogged toilet I fixed.  I thought since the toilet was older that maybe the reason the toilet was clogging so much because the rim holes or the siphon hole was plugged.  I have seen many times that a toilet does not flush as well if the rim holes and or the siphon hole is starting to clog up with calcium or or mineral deposits.  I have seen many toilets clog because of this reason or because someone uses those pucks that are meant for keeping your toilet clean.  Instead of cleaning your toilet small particles break off over time and clog your rim holes.  This causes the toilet not to break the seal for the s-trap and will not siphon out the water and waste in the bowl.

If you have this problem simply take a coat hanger and gently scrape away inside each one of the rim holes and the siphon hole.  Careful not to be to rough as you could break the holes and then you will need a new toilet.  Which may not be a bad idea as by the time your rim holes are filled with calcium your toilet is most likely over 20 years in age.

If you need a plumber in Edmonton for any plumbing or gas fitting needs please give us a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,

Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat

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