If you’ve ever watched a home renovation show, you’ve no doubt seen a plumber make a very basic and costly mistake. Most people probably don’t know that building contractors actually have their own special code for common plumbing mistakes. So what are the most common mistakes plumbers make when installing plumbing?We’ve all seen it and most of us have experienced it first hand. A plumber makes a mistake or two when installing your new faucets or sinks or kitchen or bath fixtures or any other plumbing fixture for that matter. There are many other things that can go wrong when installing plumbing like improper threading, not fastening connections properly, faulty fittings, incorrect pipe sizes, etc. All of these mistakes can be avoided by reading up on proper plumbing installation protocols and following them appropriately while working on your project.
Electricity and plumbing don’t mix! If you want to install a new water heater and have it connected to the same electrical system as your old one, make sure you check the live voltage before starting the installation. This is because the two systems use completely different types of wiring.If your home has an electric hot water heater, you’ll want to turn off the breaker for the water heater before doing any kind of plumbing work. Most electric hot water heaters are 240 volts, so if you have a dual voltage system, make sure you turn off the breaker for the electric hot water heater before adding water to your system. This will prevent dangerous electrical shock.
One of the most common mistakes a contractor will make is using the wrong pipe size. It’s easy to overlook this when you’re installing new fixtures or repiping a house. Make sure you measure your pipes before starting the installation to make sure you’re using the right size. You don’t want to accidentally install pipes that are too small. This will put unnecessary strain on your plumbing system, particularly if you have small families or if you have a high water usage. You should always have a few extra inches of pipe at the ends of a new pipeline. Otherwise, you’ll be at risk of leaks and backups.
One of the most important parts of any plumbing installation is properly fastening pipes together. This will help to prevent leaks and backups, as well as protect your pipes and fittings from corrosion and damage. There are several ways to fasten pipes together, but it all comes down to one simple rule — don’t use glue or other types of adhesive. Adhesive will cause your pipes to fail over time because it doesn’t expand and contract with the same degree of mobility as regular iron pipe connections do.If you need to fasten two pipes together, use a heavy-duty compression fitting instead. These are available in sizes up to 3”.
In most cases, you should run your pipes in an all-necessary fashion. But what does that mean? What does it look like when you run your plumbing in an all-necessary fashion?Well, it’s a lot like building a road. You want to lay down as much base as possible, and then you want to put in the road surface in a way that avoids unnecessary disruptions to flow. You don’t want to create a lot of potholes, and you don’t want to tear up the road too much, either.This means you don’t want to put in too much bends or turns or unnecessary fittings or connections that will disrupt flow. You also don’t want to run your pipes too closely together. You don’t want to have two pipes sharing the same flow space that is too small to accommodate both of them comfortably.
The best way to avoid flooding or low water pressure problems is to install a flow restricter in your shower head or toilet mixer. These devices are small, but they can have a big impact on your household water usage. If you don’t have a flow restricter in your shower head, the water flow will be too great, which can cause a lot of wasted water. This can end up costing you a lot of money as you’ll have to pay for water that you didn’t use. A flow restricter can save you up to 40% in water usage.If you don’t have a flow restricter in your toilet mixer, you’re opening yourself up to all sorts of problems like low water pressure or flooding. You should put a flow restricter in your toilet mixer before you even start the project. You can buy one online or at a plumbing supply store.
There’s no such thing as a perfect plumbing installation, but there are many ways to minimize the amount of mistakes that are made. It’s important to read up on proper plumbing installation protocols and follow them appropriately. You want to make sure that everything is properly fastened, that you’re using the right pipe sizes, and that you’re not running the pipes in an unnecessary fashion. It’s also important to utilize a flow restricter in your shower head or toilet mixer.These are just a few of the most common mistakes that a plumber can make when installing plumbing. It’s important to make sure that you don’t make these same mistakes when you’re installing your own new plumbing.