Many of you are pretty handy with tools and like to save money doing your own repair work around the house. We all like to save money and if you are capable of repairing or installing your own plumbing devices, go ahead and tackle the job.
But be forewarned. Hardly a week goes by when we don’t handle a service call from a do-it-yourself home owner with a self-inflicted problem. Sometimes it’s an emergency call pleading for us to get there right away to stop water from spurting all over the house. People are astonished to discover how forcefully typical household water pressures of 45-60 pounds per square inch (psi) can propel a stream of water. This is one repair that can’t be solved by duct tape, although we’ve seen some people try!
DIY projects seem so easy the way they are explained by the friendly folks at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Many of the plumbing products they sell come with instructions and diagrams showing how to change out a faucet, toilet, etc. Sometimes they hold classes showing you how to do things, and they may employ former plumbers to talk you through procedures. You can even consult You Tube for video demonstrations. What could be easier?
But before you give up a good portion of your next weekend off, let me tell you about some of the pitfalls our professional plumbers encounter when they are called on to rescue a DIY project gone haywire.
No matter how simple a DIY project may seem, the real world often intrudes with unexpected surprises. The best laid plans get stymied by rusted nuts and bolts or worn threads that refuse to budge. The result may be bloody knuckles or a broken pipe. The package you bought at the home center may be missing a tiny nut, screw, washer or O-ring, or you may not even notice the little item missing until you finish the installation and you can’t figure out why it doesn’t work the way it should.
Some of these mishaps seem almost comical, but we encounter others that are no laughing matter. DIY water heater installations can be particularly dangerous if someone doesn’t correctly install the pressure relief valve or the flue pipe responsible for venting carbon monoxide to the atmosphere. We’ve heard of people trying to construct a flue pipe out of materials such as PVC pipe (which can melt) or aluminum foil (which easily crumbles and corrodes). Things we’ve seen done with electrical wiring can literally make your hair stand on end!
Not every DIY project gets bungled, of course, so don’t take this as advice never to tackle your own plumbing issues. All we’re saying is, if you run into a jam, we’re here to help. We’ve done it many times before and I’m sure we’ll be called upon many times again.