Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Have you ever had one of those rashes that just won't go away? Hemorhroids maybe or even a recurring cold sore? That is how the plumbing is in this place. Way back in the days when I was really stupid, we paid a plumber to install the waste system and vents. The work failed to hold air and I fixed it. Then it failed inspection and I had to replace a third of the pipe so it would pass. Then there was the 10 inch center toilet we had to special order when we have 3 perfectly good 12 inch toilets laying around because "Placebo the Useless" couldn't measure 12 inches from the wall. Now I have this to deal with



The Stanley knive is there for scale but indicates that the top of the flange is a full inch off the floor. This is after laying in the half inch backer board! If we lay ceramic tile with a thick mortar base I can only go up a half inch at most so I am going to have to make a separate riser to place under the toilet to raise it off the floor and stop it from wobbling. Then I have to conceal the gap. This is why I no longer pay people to screw something up when I can screw it up perfectly well myself for free.

Can you say "incompetent moron" boys and girls? If this plumber didn't have hemorrhoids he would be a perfect asshole!
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7 comments:

  1. K9/13/2006 2:56 PM

    Hee hee, great last line!

    So how come so-called "professionals" are always messing stuff up?

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  2. John9/13/2006 4:38 PM

    That looks like PVC in the photo. As much as it would suck, wouldn't it be easier to cut out the offending plumbing and replace it? Or, are all the walls, ceilings, etc already sealed back up?

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  3. Nystral Djo9/13/2006 5:21 PM

    I agree with John. We had the same problem with our PVC toilet pipe and used a flat, bendy handsaw to cut off the offending protrusion level with the cement board. That fixed the problem quite nicely.

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  4. Derek9/13/2006 8:14 PM

    I had to fix my own screw-up, similiar problem, mine was all in concrete though, so I had to break up new concrete. I think they make pipe cutters that cut from the inside, or just a bendy hack saw. I suppose it depends on how much pipe you have between the flange, and any elbows. You'd need enough to add a coupling.

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  5. Gary9/13/2006 11:49 PM

    There is no wiggle room on this pipe. The joints butt up against joints so cutting would involve taking it back to the main stack and rebuilding. Unless there is a special fitting to insert after cutting the flange off I am screwed. It would be easier to pour a 1" thick cement base to match the toilet base and tile around it using the grout to color the exposed edge of concrete after the toilet is in place.
    Placebo Plumbing would be a good name for his business. His motto could be "We make you think it's fixed."

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  6. Anonymous9/14/2006 1:11 PM

    How about laying your tile and then laying some 12X12 marble (black & white) tile over that to bring it up enough to match the throne. If you make a rectangle so that it shows all around the back and front a little, I think that it would look pretty darn cool and old fashioned. Alot less trouble and a more solid base.

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  7. Anonymous9/14/2006 1:39 PM

    There actually are insert flanges that you could use. Cut off the old flange and you PVC glue the new one inside the existing drain pipe. I do not know how it would stack up height wise... I just read about it in the latest issue of the "Journal of Light Construction.'

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