16 Common DIY Plumbing Jobs Performed at Home

Garden Hose Spigot Valve Upgrade

The old twist knob outdoor spigot was very old and less easy to operate than a nice new easy to use ball valve. The first step is to shut off the water at the water main. The next step is to remove the old spigot. I used a couple pair of channel locks. A couple of pipe wrenches would work too. I then inserted a threaded coupling into the existing piping after wrapping with teflon tape. To tighten this thing there is a shank portion in the middle that will facilitate a tool such as channel locks or a small pipe wrench to secure it. I then wrapped the outer end with a couple wraps of teflon tape. I then screwed the ball valve onto the coupling. I then inserted another brass coupling wrapped in teflon tape into the ball valve. This will now work for threading the garden hose onto. If you check out the below link from amazon and are interested in doing this, it's an angled ball valve made just for this application.

Amazon link to outdoor hose ball valve: https://amzn.to/2Mdohlh

Kitchen Sink Faucet Spout Aerator (Filter) Replacement

Kitchen sink spout spraying all over? Not getting enough water flow from the sink faucet? It's likely the faucet spout filter is clogged. In this tutorial I show you the simple process for accomplishing just that. I didn't realize it until I removed the old one that it needed to be replaced with a new one. This won't be the case all the time as you may just be able to clean the old one off of sediment, plastic, etc and reinstall it. In my case, the filter was damaged therefore not doing it's job. I do filter all of the water but this screen holds back the big particulates. I couldn't believe how much crap had built up on my filter. I'm surprised it flowed as well as it did. Amazing how much stuff is in our water. Changing this thing out is simple. Mine takes a 22mm wrench. Take the 22mm wrench (or vice grips if you don't care about the finish) and turn it counter clockwise to loosen. Once off, clean it all off and inspect for damage. If damaged, then replace. If still good, reinstall. The screen that I removed did not have a gasket but luckily the new one came with a gasket. If you are going to get a new one I recommend you take the old one to the hardware store with you to match it up. Pull it out of the package in the store and be sure it's the correct size and thread pitch. There is not a huge risk here for the most part as many of them are standard size. I believe the technical name for these is a sink faucet aerator.

Order from amazon: https://amzn.to/2rC7SQd

How to Unclog Your Shower Drain-Tips and Tricks

In my DIY How to Unclog a Shower Drain: Quick and Easy Method of Removal video I take you through my process of unclogging the a shower drain. While this may appear to be gross or disgusting to some of you, this is just an average easy job for a DIY Plummer looking to save on some costs of calling in a plumbing company to perform the work. All you need is just a little DIY motivation and a tiny bit of know how. First step is to find yourself a pair of hemostats or needle nosed pliars. Then remove (unscrew) the drain cap on the shower drain. The next step is to grab your removal tool (hemostats or similar) and start pulling out all the junk that's causing this mess. I recommend you grab yourself a plastic bag as well so you'll have a nice place to put your debris. Once you think you've got it all, give it a test run by running some water and making sure you've got clean, smooth, unobstructed flow. Then screw the cap back to it's normal position. Easy as pie.

How to Unclog Your Bathroom Sink

In this video I discuss and demonstrate a method of unclogging your backed up bathroom sink. I start with the least invasive and try to unclog the bathroom sink by using a pair of hemostats to fish out any debris around the drain as this is sometimes the only fix you need to do. This was not the case in this instance of this plugged up drain. The sink stopper needed to come out. This means the up and down mechanism must me disassembled. This is done by going underneath the sink and unthreading the fitting that secures the up and down joint. Once unthreaded it can be pulled out. Now there is a hole in the pipe so if you run your water anymore it will run out the hole all over the place. Now you can remove the stopper from up above. In this instance there was some debris down inside the drain that needed to fished out. After removing all the debris that was reachable I reassembled the parts. The sink was still not unclogged though so I had to disassemble again. I decided to give it the water pressure treatment with the garden hose as I've had many successes in the past using this same method. Once I flushed whatever was plugging it down the drain with the hose pressure, I reassembled all the parts. What you want is a whirlpool or eddy look of the water as it goes down the drain. If it bubbles or gurgles a bit then it means something is impeding the water flow and it's still plugged. Ultimate Hemostat Kit: https://amzn.to/2Hj5PVX

How to Unclog Your Shower Drain With Standing Water

Shower drain backed up and not working? Sometimes it's a pretty simple DIY fix if you're willing to do a little dirty work. These types of jobs can also save you quite a bit of money in the long run. If you figure if you had to call a Plummer every time your drain got clogged you are saving quite a bit by doing it yourself every time if possible.

https://the-avant-garden.blogspot.com

These hemostats are a must have for drain cleaning and about 10000 other DIY tasks as well: https://amzn.to/2HXU7lg

DIY Showerhead Upgrade and Replacement

This "How TO" Step by Step Tutorial on replacing your bathroom shower head head shows you an easy beginner homeowner style process that you can do yourself without the headache or expense of calling someone else to do it for you. Follow along with me while I perform this DIY Bath Showerhead Installation Tutorial "How To" Style Video and you can get rid of that old showered in no time flat after you (or likely your wife) have picked out the ideal showered from the Lowe's, Home Depot, or other home/hardware store. The first step is to turn off the main water supply. This is a great opportunity to locate your main water supply shut off to the house if you haven't found it already. You don't want to wait until there's a huge flood from a burst pipe to attempt to locate your main shut off. Once you've secured your water at the main shut off valve you should go ahead and start carefully unthreading your old shower head. It's a really good idea to use two wrenches on this to apply counter torque as you don't want your connection inside the wall spinning. So ideally you would hold the elbow coming out of the wall completely still with slight torque in the tightening direction while you unthread your old shower head connection. Once you've carefully removed the old one now bust out your brand new one and get all your parts played out and pre-assembled as much as possible. Put some teflon tape on the end of the connection coming out of the wall. This will keep water from spraying all over the place when you turn it back on. Be sure your new shower head has the rubber gasket installed before threading it on. Now thread it on. Be sure your connections are tight and turn on the water supply. Good luck!

Amazon Showerheads: https://amzn.to/2Nd3cYS, https://amzn.to/2PSwwpc, https://amzn.to/2oKNzhV

How to Fix a Leaking Toilet-Wax Replacement Tutorial Demonstration

You're either going to pay to have this done or do it yourself. Don't be intimidated, do it yourself. It's really simple. If I can do it, anyone can. You don't need to be a plumber. This job started when I got notified about water on the floor. It would get cleaned up with a towel but show back up again. It would get worse after every flush of the toiled. I checked for the quick and easy stuff first. The toilet wasn't continually running, meaning, the float inside was good. I checked really good around the water supply valve, it's associated hose, and it's connection to the toilet. All of this was bone dry. This meant one thing, Toilet was leaking around the base.

This meant I had to perform the following steps to pull the toilet and replace the wax ring:

Step 1: Turn off the water to the toilet

Step 2: Flush remaining water in the bowl

Step 3: Disconnect water supply hose

Step 4: Remove the two caps over securing nuts on toilet base

Step 5: Unthread the two securing nuts

Step 6: Pull (remove) the toilet

Step 7: Remove old wax ring remnant

Step 8: Install new was ring

Step 9: Re-install toilet onto new wax ring

Here's a wax ring kit: https://amzn.to/2RKA9it

Annoying High Pitched Bathroom Faucet Squealing DIY Remedy

Get rid of that annoying whistling sound that is made when the bathroom faucet knobs are turned on. As goes with troubleshooting anything, start with the easy stuff first. I went right for the easiest thing in trying to figure out what causing this bathroom sink faucet to make this horrendous high pitched squealing sound. I took a pair of vice grips and unthreaded the spout filter which is many times called an aerator on a kitchen sink. Once I loosened it and inspected it, I found that it had debris caught it it. It looked like some small plastic debris. It's amazing what gets into our water lines but this did it's job in preventing it from potentially being ingested. After cleaning out the plastic debris in the oriface I pulled the aerator apart just to ensure I got everything. I reassembled it after the clean out. No more high pitched squealing. Simple and easy fix for free when you DIY.

Installing a Bosch Brand Silence Plus Dishwasher-Super Easy

I purchased this Bosch Silence Plus Brand Dishwasher from Lowe's and trucked it back to the installation location. I used a dolly to cart it into the house. If you have two people you can move it without a dolly. I bought a new voltage sensor, some zip ties, teflon tape, wire nuts, electrical tape, wire strippers, a new hose and threaded brass elbow connector. Some models already come with this and you may possibly be ablate re-use the existing one. Once I got it the house and unpackaged I made sure to turn off the power at the breaker. I verified that the power was off with my voltage indicator so as not to get shocked. I then removed the old dishwasher. I then ran the new steel braided hose through the cupboard hole to the water connection and hooked it up. Then I hooked up the drain hose from the back of the dishwasher to the sink drain. I then adjusted the dishwasher legs to it fit level and flush. I pulled the existing wiring up to the and through the electrical connection box on the dishwasher. I then wired it up to the electrical box. Ended up not needing the wire nuts or electrical tape. I've installed these before where the existing house power cable was not long enough so I'd have to add a splice to make up the distance to the electrical box on the dishwasher. Once everything was tight I turned on the water to check for leaks. I made sure there was not even the tiniest drop of water came out. The connections have to be completely tight. After verifying electrical and water connections were satisfactory I slide the dishwasher into place and secured it to the surrounding cupboards with screws so it didn't move when opening and closing the door.

How to Install an Automatic Ice Maker

How to Install and Automatic Ice Maker. This installation was for a Frigidaire brand. IMEZC000 model. Automatic Ice Maker Installation kit. After unboxing the ice maker, you'll notice that there is an electrical connector that needs to be hooked up. Keep that in mind. The ice maker will need an on demand water supply so you'll need to run a water line to the fridge. Almost all models nowadays have a standard hook up in the back of the fridge for this. When I did this, I removed the thread protectors from the fridge connection and used teflon tape around the threads. Then I hooked up the hose, turned on the water and checked for leaks. In this video you'll notice my incoming water valve demonstrates some leaking while operating the valve. Once it's either in the fully open or fully closed position, the leak stops. I did end up replacing this valve just for the purposes of upgrading it and made another video on it as well. After the water connection at the fridge was satisfactorily checked for water leaks, I pushed the fridge back into it's spot. Now it's time to mount the ice maker. The electrical connections are uncovered inside the the freezer. There are some plastic screw hole protectors in the side of the freezer that need to be removed to allow for the mounting screws to be inserted. Then I inserted the mounting screws that come with the ice making kit. Don't screw them in all the way. Pull out your ice maker and plug the electrical connection into the receptacle in the freezer. Also there is a plastic ice slide that needs to be installed as shown in the video. After plugging in the electrical connection I hung the ice maker onto the mounting screws and then drove them in all the way to secure it to the side wall of the freezer. I then plugged the fridge back in had ice in no time flat. This ice maker installation was so easy. Link to similar ice maker on amazon; https://amzn.to/2JUTwRO

Toilet Float Replacement-Simple to Fix

Is your toilet running constantly? Do you have to shake the handle before it'll shut off? Your toilet float is likely bad. This is a really simple DIY project if you don't mind getting your hands wet. Don't worry you won't have to put them where the poop goes. If your toilet is running constantly and you are on a septic system you can put a strain on it whether it be a pump system or gravity drain. I've had my high level alarm on my septic go off just due to a long running toilet. If it does keep running go ahead and turn off the valve. You can turn it on again in order to use the toilet as a temporary measure and turn it off again. For replacing the float you will need a float kit. I've posted a link to one you can order on amazon below or go down to your local hardware store or Lowe's or Home Depot etc. and grab a float kit. Once you have the float kit in hand, perform the following simple steps:

1. Turn off the water supply (if not done already)

2. Pop the top on the back of your toilet

3. Drain the water by flushing handle

4. Unscrew old float

5. Unhook drain tube by simply pulling it out

6. Unthread (unscrew the old float)

7. Disconnect water supply hose (hold bucket underneath to catch water)

8. Pull old float out

9. Open new float kit and lay out parts

10. Each one is a little different. Understand how to set water level i.e. extending/retracting the base. 11. Insert new float and thread in the base

12. Thread on bottom plastic wing nut

13. Clip on new drain hose to drain tube

14. Re-install water supply hose to bottom of float

15. Turn on water supply

16. It's now ready for action

New float kit here: https://amzn.to/2DoINL6

Brand New Double Kitchen Sink Drain Plumbing-Easy to Install

Don't pay the plumber to come and do this for your. Do it your damn self and save a couple hundred bucks. Head to your local hardware store and pick up the easy to connect kit for a double sink drain. In this case I needed the drain plumbing that contained the dishwasher drain connection for my adjacent dishwasher as is the case for many houses. Hopefully watching this video you'll get an idea what you need. The parts are pretty cheap at Lowe's and Home Depot. There are many custom applications especially in old houses where you'll need couplings and reducers etc. This was the case in for this job. If you're striving to be a DIY-Technican, just take your time and make sure you make the correct cuts and connections based on your plumbing configuration. Good luck and happy plumbing.

How to Remove a Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink

Getting new granite countertop installed so it's time to replace the whole sink as well as the hedge lodge plumbing underneath. As you can see by the zip ties and everything, it's long overdue. The first thing I did was turn off the main water supply. I then disconnected all of the drain piping underneath and used pot to collect any residual water. I then disconnected the dishwasher water supply line as well as it's drain hose/piping. I then disconnected the water line going to the faucet. The sink and faucet assembly came right out.

How to Pull Your Toilet For Unclogging and Wax Ring Replacement

After plunging for a half and hour then snaking it and trying everything to get this to drain it had to be pulled. Whatever is clogging this is not readily coming out so it has to be pulled using the following steps:

How you pull a toilet and replace the wax ring.

1. Turn off water supply valve and flush to empty tank.

2. Pop the plastic bolt cover caps on the base w/flathead screwdriver

3. Unthread the two bolting nuts on the base. Set aside for reinstall.

4. Disconnect water supply hose from toilet.

5. Grab toilet at mid/centerline and lift off floor. Set on towel.

6. Scrape the old wax ring off the floor and install new one.

7. Set toilet back down on wax ring while lining holes up with bolts.

8. Push down until base is touching the floor.

9. Reinstall bolting nuts and caps, water line.

10. Turn water supply line back on.

I never did show what was in the toilet but it was a little kids toy lodged in there. Only accessible from bottom side after pulling toilet. It was not coming out the way it came in=).

Link to wax ring: https://amzn.to/2ILDEAi

DIY Leaky Kitchen Sink Faucet Spout Aerator Removal and Cleaning Technique

Abnormal kitchen sink faucet flow? Here's the easy fix. The aerator on the faucet spout is likely clogged with particulates that are causing some of the holes to be clogged up which obstruct normal water flow through it. A little bit of this is tolerable but after time as it gets worse and worse from sediment and other foreign material in the water line system it can highly restrict flow and end up spraying all over the place. The fix is simple. The aerator is located on the very end of the faucet where the water comes out. To remove this the proper way is to find an open ended wench of the correct size and turn it to the left to loosen. One common problem I've seen is that the aerator on many water systems and faucets has never been removed so through the process of time corrosion byproducts, they are frozen in place causing the use of the correct size wrench to be ineffective. The next tool to use (as shown in the video) is a pair of channel lock pliers. The problem with using these is they completely wreck the finish on the outside of the component. One technique to avoid marring the finish is to try to wrap it in a cloth and grab it that way before you slap your channel locks on there. This isn't always going to be 100% effective as some of them just require brute force. Once you've remove the aerator, clean it out and inspect it. Once all the particles are removed and your are happy that it's not damaged then go ahead and reinstall it. One thing to keep in mind is that many of these are old and are prone to damage thereby allowing these particulates that they were designed to catch flow through into your glass (hopefully water filter). If you find that it's bad, old or damaged, run down to the hardware store and pick up a new one. Many of them come standard but bring the old one with. you to match it up while you're at the store. They are pretty cheap to replace so it's not a big deal. The end result is happiness to the user. If you want to order one on amazon I'll post a link below. https://amzn.to/2QfaR

In this video I got through the steps on unclogging a bathroom sink. Many times the problem can be a super easy fix that will require you to get your hands dirty. This will save you a couple hundred bucks though. In the case presented in this video I was able to unclog this bathroom sink just using a pair of cheap hemostats. I'll post the link to some below but I must say, they are well worth what you may pay for them as they have many uses and I've used them to unclog numerous sinks over the years along with many other uses on various jobs.

Link to hemostats on amazon: https://amzn.to/2YnpNGy