This post has been written in collaboration with Plumbing Detectives
This week has been a busy plumbing week for me. While I haven’t been on the tools, I’ve had emails from interstate and local, requesting plumbing advice. I love it. I love being able to share my knowledge to help these friends out.
Except in most of these circumstances I had to tell them to get a plumber in to fix the problem. There was no magic solution I could offer to fix their plumbing problem.
Plumbing problems can’t always be fixed from getting advice from a plumber off the phone or on the internet. Sometimes, the advice can be right on the money, and the problem can be fixed.
But not all plumbing problems are the same and the labour time can differ on two plumbing problems that require the same solution.
For some reason, I always remember the bad jobs. Or the jobs that challenged my patience and plumbing ability. One example of an easy plumbing job turning into a nightmare was when Dad and I replaced all the washers in a house, only to be rung up the next day and told the new washers were causing dreadful water hammer in the ceiling of the client’s house. The worst part was the water hammer happened at night over the master bedroom when the client would go to sleep and their teenage son would rock home and have a shower.
We bought some water hammer arrestors and tried to work out how to fix the water hammer. We tried changing the tap washers, installing two water hammer arrestors, and the water hammer STILL wasn’t fixed.
We were dubious that the tap washers caused the water hammer at all and that it must have been a problem before we touched the washers, but the client was adamant the water hammer only started after we changed all the washers.
When dad and I were about to lose hope with the situation and call it a day by offering a reduction on their invoice (because we couldn’t prove one way or another if we caused the water hammer), dad asked if there was a tap outside. The washer was replaced in the hose tap and would you believe the water hammer stopped.
That job is a great example of how a simple fix created another problem without us realising it. The routine job turned into a longer exercise than expected. This is why asking a plumber how long they will be should be regarded as an estimate and can’t be banked on for accuracy, because who knows what type of plumbing has been plumbed into your property. No job is the same when it comes to plumbing.
In a way, plumbers need to be detectives because it can take time to find a solution for a simple maintenance issue.
Plumbing Detectives in Sydney know a thing or two about investigating plumbing issues and providing an economical solution to fix the problem.
They are even experienced in using a new product called ROOTX, which can eradicate tree roots growing in your sewer by the tree the council refuses to remove, and you have to foot the plumbing bill over.
The best advice I can offer when you have a plumber come to your property is to be mindful that not all plumbing issues can be fixed instantly and sometimes fixing one problem can reveal or cause another issue later.
Ever fixed a problem only to find it caused another problem to fix?
I’m linking with With Some Grace for FYBF.
This post has been written in accordance with my disclosure policy.
