Wasted $140 on a plumber, could have done it myself.

[IronWing]

DIY gas is usually a bad idea. Electrical, fine, water, makes me a bit nervous, but fine too. Gas, I don't touch that. I don't even think you're suppose to. Need to be a licensed pipe fitter to touch that.

You need special threading tools for gas line too, please tell me you did not solder it. 😱

True story: We picked up a used acetylene welding rig. The acetylene tank a busted and repaired valve handle. The previous owner's dad had welded the handle back onto the tank using acetylene from the tank.

Stop being a giant coward. No one likes a coward.

Personally, I probably would have paid the $250 to have the gas guy do the work and be done with it.

 

[NetWareHead]

Then why are you here whining about the bill?

The $140 was secondary, I knew calling a plumber out to the house was not going to be free. Primarily what was disappointing was that the gas never had to be shut off in the first place and in that case, I could have changed the valve myself. Live and learn...

 

[highland145]

The $140 was secondary, I knew calling a plumber out to the house was not going to be free. Primarily what was disappointing was that the gas never had to be shut off in the first place and in that case, I could have changed the valve myself. Live and learn...

Yeah but your live and learn might not be as easy as the plumbers. Mine never has been.

 

[NetWareHead]

You need special threading tools for gas line too, please tell me you did not solder it. 😱

just some gas approved teflon tape and pipe dope applied to the male end in the correct direction after you deburr the threads. Some guys feel that tape is optional and only use pipe dope. Plumbing buddy suggested to keep the first 2 threads free of any compound and wrap the tape 4-5 times at most. Hand tighten and then 1 or 2 twists with a wrench

 

[NetWareHead]

Yeah but your live and learn might not be as easy as the plumbers. Mine never has been.

This is also true.

 

[chimaxi83]

How many carpets can $140 deep clean cat fuzz from?

 

[Howard]

True story: We picked up a used acetylene welding rig. The acetylene tank a busted and repaired valve handle. The previous owner's dad had welded the handle back onto the tank using acetylene from the tank.

Stop being a giant coward. No one likes a coward.

Personally, I probably would have paid the $250 to have the gas guy do the work and be done with it.

likeaboss.png

 

[Sho'Nuff]

That doesn't sound like a slow 10 second leak! Sounds like the line leaked for quite some time!

He was down there for ~20 minutes, so . . . yeah.

 

[Turin39789]

Can't you just shut off the gas at the meter with a wrench?

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

People do that shit to me sometimes. I'll get called to fix a problem they have been working on for a few days. Show up, spend 5 minutes fixing, 1 hour site visit charge. "But it only took five minutes! I could've done that." Yep, now that you know the answer. Should have done it if you could have done it.

It is like telling a mathematician that you could just as easily have written down a few numbers on a piece of paper, completely disregarding the education they have and the fact that they had to solve the problem to know which numbers to write.

 

[jagec]

True story: We picked up a used acetylene welding rig. The acetylene tank a busted and repaired valve handle. The previous owner's dad had welded the handle back onto the tank using acetylene from the tank.

Stop being a giant coward. No one likes a coward.

Wow.

 

[rudeguy]

People do that shit to me sometimes. I'll get called to fix a problem they have been working on for a few days. Show up, spend 5 minutes fixing, 1 hour site visit charge. "But it only took five minutes! I could've done that." Yep, now that you know the answer. Should have done it if you could have done it.

It is like telling a mathematician that you could just as easily have written down a few numbers on a piece of paper, completely disregarding the education they have and the fact that they had to solve the problem to know which numbers to write.

This was one of my final straws when I was fixing phones. People would try to tell me how easy it was and dicker on price. No...my price is my price. If it's so easy, do it yourself.

I'm the opposite. I will spend 2 months working on something and refuse to give up. I hate admitting defeat. If I do finally give in, it hurts.

 

[Newell Steamer]

As long as I don't have to rip into walls, I handle most of my plumbing problems myself.

Usually, just close the water, put a bucket under the problem pipes/whatever and replace 'til fixed.

Done and dusted.

 

[Hugo Drax]

This is why you should have some money saved up so that spending 140 dollars does not break the bank or get you into debt.

You should always have a little reserve cash as part of a self insurance program for any events such as repairs on your property etc.

Also a trained professional that has years of experience makes things look easy and fast, do not get deceived by this.

You were unable to do it yourself the right way, you spent time and money trying to do it yourself and failed.

Me, I just pay the pros to do stuff, I do not have the time, skill set, tools or inclination to try and wing it.

 

[Squisher]

A maintenance welder at work was telling me of work he had to do on a refinery down south. Seems they have a valve go bad sometimes where there isn't a viable shut off valve to isolate it so a welder will have to weld on this tap that cuts into the pipe and functions as both a means to drain the line or as a shut off valve. The thing is these pipes he had to weld on were full of pressurized gasoline.
😱No burn through allowed 😱

 

[rudeguy]

A maintenance welder at work was telling me of work he had to do on a refinery down south. Seems they have a valve go bad sometimes where there isn't a viable shut off valve to isolate it so a welder will have to weld on this tap that cuts into the pipe and functions as both a means to drain the line or as a shut off valve. The thing is these pipes he had to weld on were full of pressurized gasoline.
😱No burn through allowed 😱

Some men have balls of steel. Giant fucking balls of steel.

 

[Perknose]

Obligatory:

 

[Meghan54]

hahahahhaaaaaa...there is a reason we all love ya!!!

Well, honestly, if there was anything around to smoke other than cigarettes, I wouldn't be quite so acerbic, but such is life.

But really, why complain about something you cannot do. Never understood that. It's one thing to bitch about cost, but to say you wasted the money and then say it was a learning experience.....sheesh.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

Obligatory:

 

[Howard]

A maintenance welder at work was telling me of work he had to do on a refinery down south. Seems they have a valve go bad sometimes where there isn't a viable shut off valve to isolate it so a welder will have to weld on this tap that cuts into the pipe and functions as both a means to drain the line or as a shut off valve. The thing is these pipes he had to weld on were full of pressurized gasoline.
😱No burn through allowed 😱

What's that tap called?

 

[Red Squirrel]

A good thing to have on hand is a shark bite valve, a 1/2" and 3/4". If ever you have a pipe burst on you and you cant isolate it (ex: your main valve) you could put it on. I've never tried putting a shark bite on a pressurized pipe so I don't know if it would work or not, but I suppose it does not hurt to try it if you are in a crisis situation.

Having my main valve or the pipe before the main somehow break is one of my worst nightmares. You have 100PSI of water gushing and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. A special tool is needed to turn the outside valve off, and good luck getting to that valve in the middle of winter. I also doubt it would actually turn.

 

[Face2Face]

I saved a ton of money installing a new fiberglass tub, new shower-walls, shower valve and new pex tubing to replace the PB crap in my downstairs bath. I also installed a new water heater as well, to be fair it was electric which is really easy. Still all it took was a plumber to do a 1 hour service call and charge $450 for me to learn basic plumbing.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah plumbers arn't cheap, especially after hours service calls. I had to call a plumbing company to come unblock my main drain line on a Sunday once. Honestly I was expecting to pay more, but it was still like 200 bucks. Not something I could have done myself though. Needed a special truck with a 5000psi hose (yes, 5 THOUSAND psi) to clear it up. I had a cold and the main line just got blocked with mucus and toilet paper. Now I know to flush the toilet several times if I throw stuff like that down there, to make sure it goes all the way to the bigger city line and does not just sit in my line.

Plumbers are also in high demand. Often it's hard to even find one, they're booked solid.

People always laugh at that job and look at it as being a low status job, but hey, people will always need water, and they will always have to poop. Probably one of the most secure jobs out there. 😛

 

[Face2Face]

A good thing to have on hand is a shark bite valve, a 1/2" and 3/4". If ever you have a pipe burst on you and you cant isolate it (ex: your main valve) you could put it on. I've never tried putting a shark bite on a pressurized pipe so I don't know if it would work or not, but I suppose it does not hurt to try it if you are in a crisis situation.

Having my main valve or the pipe before the main somehow break is one of my worst nightmares. You have 100PSI of water gushing and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. A special tool is needed to turn the outside valve off, and good luck getting to that valve in the middle of winter. I also doubt it would actually turn.

Yes sharkbite's are great for small jobs. I will say a $40 crimper was the best tool I have ever owned... well maybe not, but it's saved me more $ than any other tool. My house is plumbed in PB, and I have had over 4 leaks thus far. If I planned on staying here any longer I would have replaced it all, but I plan on moving out this year. I will say, if you want to turn the water off at the street/yard all you need is a pair of vice grips to turn it off. I have the correct tool to do so, but found out after I bought it that I really didn't need it 🙂

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yes sharkbite's are great for small jobs. I will say a $40 crimper was the best tool I have ever owned... well maybe not, but it's saved me more $ than any other tool. My house is plumbed in PB, and I have had over 4 leaks thus far. If I planned on staying here any longer I would have replaced it all, but I plan on moving out this year. I will say, if you want to turn the water off at the street/yard all you need is a pair of vice grips to turn it off. I have the correct tool to do so, but found out after I bought it that I really didn't need it 🙂

That looks very different than ours. Ours are just a round thing in the lawn, with what looks like a bolt.

You need a special tool for that (called a street key), and don't think you're even allowed to touch that, it's equivalent to pulling your own hydro meter. Huge fines. Though if I had the means to turn it off in an emergency I would. Rather deal with a fine than a ruined basement.

Though, my valve is in my back yard, this summer I might try to see if I can turn it, if nobody knows... 😛 Then I could change my main valve. Been wanting to do that as it's just very old and probably due for replacement before it breaks. It also does not shut off all the way.