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Plumbing in the Home/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Thermal expansion tank | 4/13/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I was looking in our equipment room the other day and noticed that the thermal expansion tank on the ... A: No, it is correctly mounted on the cold water side. The way the expansion tank functions allows any ... | ||
| slow draining toilet | 4/13/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: My toilet has been draining slowly for the past two years. My 5 year old daughter went to potty on ... A: Good morning Glen, I have one that most repair plumbers miss.. Look down at the bottom of the bowl. ... | ||
| Stuck Shower Valve | 4/12/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I have a push-pull type shower valve in our bathroom. It showed symptoms of being hard to push in ... A: The problem you describe is not uncommon with, particularly, the Moen single lever valve. One ... | ||
| Venting clothes dryer | 4/11/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: but it is to me. We are renovating a two-story building in New Orleans--two apartments up and two ... A: Good morning Jerry, As far as I'm concerned it's a no-brainer. Tie the two exhausts together and ... | ||
| Water in the bottom of dishwasher | 4/11/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: Intermittently, Over the past 3 months, my wife has found pungent water in the bottom of the ... A: Hey Ajay, Does your sink back up? I'm not all that sure that you have a drainage problem. There ... | ||
| water pressure | 4/11/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: How can you increase water pressure? I live in a home where the water pressure seems to be lower ... A: You should have a pressure regulating valve next to where the water service enters your house. ... | ||
| Tankless Water Heater | 4/11/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: What is your opinion on tankless water heaters? I am considering replacing my gas W/H with a ... A: I will give you the response I just two days ago gave to another inquirer. Tankless makes perfect ... | ||
| Repiping | 4/11/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: How much tightening do the Qest fittings require? Is there a danger of overtightening? Believe it ... A: "How much tightening do the Qest fittings require? Is there a danger of overtightening?" Crank down ... | ||
| toilet reinstallation | 4/10/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: Cate, I am installing ceramic tiles in my bathroom. After removing the toilet and installing the ... A: Yours is a common problem yet easy to solve. I have enclosed a link that will show you a picture ... | ||
| Repiping | 4/10/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: Greetings from snowy Colorado! I live in a thiry-two-year-old mobile home with galvanized plumbing. ... A: Hey Herb, Greetings back atcha from sunny Florida, ( I have one daughter in Denver and another in ... | ||
| remove/reinstall of automatic dishwasher | 4/10/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: Followup To Question - A new vinyl tile floor is in our very near future in the kitchen. This ... A: Good morning Jacqui, "When disconnecting from the sink drain, will we still be able to use the sink ... | ||
| Tanklss water heater | 4/9/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I live in Colorado, foothills of the Rocky Mountains at about 8500 feet above sea level. I am ... A: I will give you some generic information. If you have anything specific afterwards you can always ... | ||
| Toilet replacement | 4/9/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: After empting the tank how do I get the water out of the toilet? A: After empting the tank how do I get the water out of the toilet? I dip out what I can and sponge ... | ||
| Water Hammer Effect | 4/9/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I have one faucet in the house which produces what I believe is called a water hammer noise each ... A: You have "water hammer" alright. Back in the 60's we were required to to put shock absorbers,(air ... | ||
| Water Hammer Effect | 4/9/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I have one faucet in the house which produces what I believe is called a water hammer noise each ... A: Good morning Ted, There are several tpyes of noise. One is a loud "BANG" when you close a faucet ... | ||
| Sulfur Smell | 4/8/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I installed a brand new electric hot water heater. Now, the water coming from the hot water faucets ... A: There is a anode rod located just under the large hex nut on top of your heater. In some cases ... | ||
| bathtub refinishing | 4/7/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: The bathtub in my basement bath is really ugly. It would require tearing out the vanity, a wall, the ... A: "My son is convinced that we can just sand it off, bondo the chips, primer it and use car paint with ... | ||
| water pressure | 4/7/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I was able to replace the metal holder and washer at the base of the stem. Now it works like a ... A: Glad it was just a simply thing. All pipes have minerals built up in the pipe walls. You just ... | ||
| water pressure | 4/7/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I was able to replace the metal holder and washer at the base of the stem. Now it works like a ... A: Hey Stuart, Glad you got your hose bib problem repaired. Sounds like you dislodged some crud in ... | ||
| Replace Furnace and Water Heater | 4/6/2005 | Carolyn |
| Q: I've been quoted $3,000 CDN to replace my gas furnace and water heater, includes warrenty, 5 year ... A: Hey Miss Mary, That does sound reasonable to me, I spent that much alone just to replace my heat ... | ||
| hot water | 4/6/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I have a hot water tank which isn't working properly no hot water. It has 2 side entry points one at ... A: I will try to help you Mike, but you really need someone who is more familiar with your area. I am ... | ||
| water pressure | 4/6/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: This is the 2nd time this has happened. When we turn the water off for the whole house (in order to ... A: You may have mineral build up in the water heater that gets disturbed when the pressure is changed ... | ||
| sink | 4/5/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: i am putting a new drain in my metal kichten sink do i need to use putty or can i use somethin else A: Hey Danny, When we install a drain in any fixture we run a "rope" of plumbers putty around the ... | ||
| remove/reinstall of automatic dishwasher | 4/5/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: A new vinyl tile floor is in our very near future in the kitchen. This will necessitate the ... A: If you have unhooked the water supply and pulled the dishwasher clear of the enclosure all that ... | ||
| kitchen drain | 4/5/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I just purchased a two story house and if water is left on in the kitchen sink long enough (about ... A: It sounds like the kitchen sink and the bathroom lavatories share the same drain line and that you ... | ||
| Water pressure sudden drop | 4/5/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I found out what the problem was with the kitchen sink, the water shut off valve under the sink was ... A: Good, you got part of it so we are down to just the bathtub hot water. The stripped washer retainer ... | ||
| Water pressure sudden drop | 4/4/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I am having a problem with the faucets in my house. I turn on the water, and it runs fine for about ... A: I will try to help some Matt, but we need more information. Are you on city water? Are you on a ... | ||
| Drain leak help | 4/4/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I have a leak in a drainpipe in the basement - it's plastic pipe and it's all glued together, so I ... A: Joe I gotta tell ya! This job is the best advertisment for duct tape I've ever seen. If were me ... | ||
| Drain leak help | 4/4/2005 | David |
| Q: I have a leak in a drainpipe in the basement - it's plastic pipe and it's all glued together, so I ... A: Wow, you got me on this one. I do not know why they have those so short in between but they do. If ... | ||
| remove/reinstall of automatic dishwasher | 4/4/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: A new vinyl tile floor is in our very near future in the kitchen. This will necessitate the ... A: While we don't repair dishwashers, we do install them. Shut off the water to the dishwasher under ... | ||
| Copper Tubing | 4/4/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: First, Thanks for dedicating your valuable time to help others. I'd like to know the difference, ... A: Good morning Derek, Copper pipe is used both by plumbers and for air conditioning (ACR), and the ... | ||
| Outdoor faucetss | 4/3/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: We live in Kansas City, Mo. Both our outdoor faucets leak badly and are very hard for our old ... A: Yes, the weather and age do have harsh effects on the plumbing in general. I am assuming that you ... | ||
| Garbage disposal removal | 4/2/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: My garbage disposal has developed a leak in the unit itself. I need to remove it so I can see if I ... A: There are three steps to removing your disposal. First unplug it from the wall. Then: (1) Directly ... | ||
| sink clog | 4/2/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I did not remove any plumbing. I started the snake at the sink drain. I put the hose directly into ... A: Hey Greg, I don't know where your snake went but I'll bet it didn't get all of the drain. When you ... | ||
| sink clog | 4/2/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I've been in this house for about 5 years now & about every year the bathroom sink clogs. I bought a ... A: That "plumbing curve" is called a trap. Explain exactly how you snaked the line. Did you remove the ... | ||
| sink clog | 4/2/2005 | eric maxon |
| Q: I've been in this house for about 5 years now & about every year the bathroom sink clogs. I bought ... A: . It sounds like you have a grease/soap clog. These are hard clogs to get. Because the snake makes ... | ||
| prvs | 4/2/2005 | eric maxon |
| Q: I just had all pressure valves replaced in my home (ranch style-no basement-copper pipes). I have ... A: ... 1) - pipes must have debris in them. Which can be flushed out. This should have been part of ... | ||
| Blocked Subpump Pit | 4/1/2005 | Leo Luczak |
| Q: I am a fellow expert in the Optometry section and thought I would use the service myself. Recently ... A: The number one thing you want to do is to get the rain water from the roof away from the ... | ||
| Subpump Clogged? | 4/1/2005 | Cortez (cort) Cate |
| Q: I am a fellow expert in the Optometry section and thought I would use the service myself. Recently ... A: Sorry I didn't get back with you but I was out of town this weekend. Yeah, I used one of the ... | ||
| Subpump blockage? | 4/1/2005 | speedball1 |
| Q: I am a fellow expert in the Optometry section and thought I would use the service myself. Recently ... A: Good morning Mike, Always happy to help out a fellow expert. You neglected to tell me how the ... | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Cortez (cort) Cate
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer most questions related to residential and commercial plumbing for buildings up to ten-stories in height. I have excellent knowledge of the UPC and UMC. When I am not sure of the best answer or exactly what you want to know I will at least let you know what I think and try to give you realistic options. Many problems are unique and have no simple answer. In those cases I will try to give you some guidance and you should use that to refine the question further and we, together, can seek the answer via a follow up. Plumbing codes and practices vary around the world--If you don't tell me where you live the answer I give may not fit your locality. I no longer seek ratings for my answers and my time. I am giving my time to you as a way of fulfilling my perceived obligation to share. All the volunteers here deserve the highest rating all the time for their efforts to help and share. Many of you will not take the little time to say thank you; that's ok, it is not required. I am here to try to help you find a solution to your problem. If my answer solves your quest for knowledge that is great and you are welcome BUT most often I will merely be pointing you in the right direction and giving you a little knowledge boost to help you find your answer. REMEMBER, If you want a good answer you need to ask a detailed question and include where you live, type of pipes, type of building, water pressure if it is a water problem, type of heater, age of appliance & building all these and many more are variables that have an effect on various situations. We can't give you a good answer without good information.
Experience
Since 1972 a California licensed B-1 General Building Contractor, C-36 Plumbing and C-16 Fire Sprinkler Contractor; also installing and servicing Heating, Air Conditioning and Sheet Metal operating as C and C Building and Plumbing, California State License 279516. In 1995 I downsized the company to become semi-retired. Still I remain active in the construction industry.
As head of a company I placed personnel and job safety as the number one objective followed closely by training and continuing education. Always seeking to stay informed of leading edge technology in the industry.
Also I have spent several years as an Apprenticeship Instructor in the Pipe Trades Unions.
Additionally I am a certified OSHA instructor.
Education/Credentials
United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Instruction Training, Ann Arbor, MI
Bakersfield College, Bakersfield CA
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA
Foothill College, Los Altos, CA
California Licensed Contractor from 1971
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