I Did It!!!!!

[Ninn]

I fixed my own plumbing today!!! I went to the hardware store and bought that cute little racheting tool for cutting small diameter pvc pipe. I bought pipe and couplers and went home. Then I had to go BACK to the hardware store to learn how to use the tool. Now you just KNOW that place was empty when I bought the tool and full of men when I went back!!! When they were done laffin at me, I said "at least I was woman enough to come back and ASK somebody instead of winding up 65 miles from where I wanted to be.".........lol. They laffed. Then I went home and fussed around all night trying to figure out how to get the tool in between the drain pipes to cut out the broken section. Went in the bathroom, opened the cupboard and played with those pipes-found out I had about 4 inches of play in the pipe. Went outside, pulled the pipe out, cut it off and proceeded to repair it in less than 10 minutes. !!!!! I let the glue dry for about 15 mins, wrapped the new heat tape on the water feed, plugged it in, and turned on the water. NO LEAKS!!! ANYWHERE!! So, I insulated the daylights out of that chamber (including underneath my porcelain on steel bathtub) and cut a door filler out of insulation. 3 inches thick!! Put the access hatch cover back on and called it good. All I have left to do is put new pipe insulation on over the heat tape, as per the enclosed instruction sheet, and I am all done underneath the house. YAY!!!!!

[kitaye]

Congratulations. Doesn't it feel wonderful to complete a job yourself?

[Jennifer L.]

Good going! Makes you feel pretty good doesn't it? I use a hacksaw on PVC, then just run my jacknife around the cut edges to get the burr off of there. I don't have the handy cutter.

Just think what you'll be able to do the NEXT time!

Jennifer

[sisterpine]

People can be amazing when the need arises! Way to go! Sis

[Cyngbaeld]

Good deal! Proud of ya!

[Ninn]

The next project has already reared it's ugly little head. The kitchen drain pipe still leaks. However, the trailer sits so low to the ground on that end that Twiggy is the only person who could ever fit under there. So, now I get to play with the sawzall and cut out the floor in the cabinet underneath to change that out. Should only take me about 2 hours, including reinstalling the flooring. However, it is gonna hafta wait a week. The battery to the sawzall is almost completely dead. Once it gets a good charge, I am SO on top of this plumbing. I've been doing my happy dance all day. I can now understand how people get addicted to re-doing their homes. I can't wait to start doing the walls and such.

[roadless]

Nin, you go girl... I know how great I feel when I am wearing a tool belt and conquering the projects aroung the house. Congrats!!!

[hoofinitnorth]

WOO HOO! Doesn't it feel good? We have felt so empowered since finishing this place - the only thing we didn't do was SOME of the plumbing, the very first set-up of the power coming into the house, and the drywall. Everything else was on us and we learned SO MUCH. We are ready to tackle just about anything now due to the change in attitude about such things - we just look at it and say, OK, get me the book and I'll look it up or go online and ask how to do this.

Oh, on insulating pipes, be sure you insulated on the COLD side - don't put insulation between your heat source and your pipe, unless you WANT the pipe to stay cold! The inspector told us he couldn't believe how many people - pros too - make that mistake and they don't find it until the pipe freezes! Glad we didn't make the mistake - would not be fun to find & fix.

[big rockpile]

Whats the big deal its all House Work or Womens Work which ever way you want to look at it.

Wife went over to her folks place did some electrical work for them.

big rockpile

[suitcase_sally]

Originally Posted by Ninn

I fixed my own plumbing today!!! I went to the hardware store and bought that cute little racheting tool for cutting small diameter pvc pipe.

Don't want to bust your bubble but you didn't need that tool. You can cut PVC pipe with a string.

[Jan Doling]

I am so impressed....I've been working up my nerve to try it and you may just have given me the nudge I needed!

[Maura]

You go girl!

[Jenn]

Ninn Power! way to go woman!

[Old Vet]

If you put your mind on it you can do almost anything. I find that the best plumers are women. They make neat work everytime. I have taught people to build many things but the most fun I ever had was getting a bunch of women to put up a chain link fence. When they first started none of them knew what to do but when they finished they were almost proes.

[Pony]

Ninn, you are so COOL!!

You rock AND roll!

Pony!

[MyHomesteadName]

lol @ "cute" ratcheting tool. Thats a new one.

[Ninn]

Originally Posted by suitcase_sally

Don't want to bust your bubble but you didn't need that tool. You can cut PVC pipe with a string.

Why didn't you tell me that BEFORE I spent 15 bux on a tool?.........lol.

[Ninn]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

Whats the big deal its all House Work or Womens Work which ever way you want to look at it.

Wife went over to her folks place did some electrical work for them.

big rockpile

OK, I know you're only teasing. But to me, the big deal is that A) I learned a new skill. B) I didn't have to wait for a MAN to do it FOR me. C) I got it right the first time. D) Now I don't ever have to ask anyone to do it for me again. Give me a fish, I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime. \

It may not be a big deal to someone who has more experience. But for someone who has always hired it out or done without, it was a HUGE thing to learn to fix it myself. I have already changed out the wax ring on the toilet and purchased the pipes and fittings for the kitchen sink. Just waitin on that battery charge. (I swear, cordless tools are not all they are cracked up to be).

Right now, I think electrical work is a little beyond me. But I can see it coming-the light fixture in the bathroom shorted out again, and the outlet next to the kitchen sink needs to be converted to a GFCI as soon as possible. See, I just keep right on learning? Isn't it cute ??

[Ninn]

Originally Posted by hoofinitnorth

Oh, on insulating pipes, be sure you insulated on the COLD side - don't put insulation between your heat source and your pipe, unless you WANT the pipe to stay cold! The inspector told us he couldn't believe how many people - pros too - make that mistake and they don't find it until the pipe freezes! Glad we didn't make the mistake - would not be fun to find & fix.

You won't believe this. My little brother just did that over at my stepmom's, and her new hot water heater pipes burst all over the place. He put the insulation between the pipes and the heater. Mine is between the pipes and the walls, trapping the little bit of radiant heat there is and keeping the pipes from freezing. I also used the round insulation that goes directly on the pipes. The hot water heater hatch is probably the warmest place in the whole house right now!!!

[hoofinitnorth]

Ninn- don't let others belittle your achievement. It may be simple to those that have learned more but the first step is always the scariest, hardest, and most important. Look at you now!

For electrical - it helps me to think of electricity flowing like water. Just be sure you get yourself a good voltage tester and turn off your power before you do anything. Converting an outlet to GFCI is really simple - just take the old one off and follow the directions in the box to hook up a the new outlet. Voila! GFCI breakers are a little more work but that happens at the breaker box (not hard either but you have to take the panel off and cut all power (preferably to the whole house at the input just to be safe, especially if someone else wired that panel). Finding a short in a fixture can be a little more difficult, especially if your walls are already closed up... Hang in there though - you're on the right track!