Plumbing and Building Queries????? S.A.

[Groggy]

If you reckon kinkos in a tee won't leak I'll give it a go, but I'm a bit uneasy since it is in the ceiling.

The evaporative cooler I mentioned is in the roof. It is the house cooling system and not part of the fridge.

Thanks for the advice guys.

[bricks]

To clarify a little. I could do this myself fairly easily, all the hard work is done. The bit that worries me is the join in the roof. ...... would cause major damage and hassle.

I want the joint up there to be bulletproof and I can't guarantee that.

The last time I worked on the plumbing here was in the kitchen. Every time I fixed a problem the joint behind it gave way. This happened to all the joints on the hot and cold taps under the kitchen sink, all the way back to the wall, and included the fittings for the dishwasher. Incidentally, this is why I don't like the presoldered fittings.

I'd rather not trust the workmanship up there and have someone with insurance and a good knowledge of soldering working on it.

Youve basically hit the nail on the head there Groggy,
If your not confident with what your doing then dont do it, if its not done properly then it usually costs more.

As for tradies and job too small. The thing i was saying about you starting the job, I dont do them either, and i normally use the excuse that im too busy, because most times i do those types of jobs they end up as a complete headache trying to fix a problem and i have to charge buket loads of cash. Why dont i tell you the truth, .. coz i dont wanna have argument about how hard the job is or isnt, you can't convince me im not too busy..

I still rekon the back of your local paper is the best place to get plumbers for small jobs. In adelaide it is the messenger newspaper..

That said if your not confident, seriously dont do it.

[bricks]

If you reckon kinkos in a tee won't leak I'll give it a go, but I'm a bit uneasy since it is in the ceiling.

If your not Confident dont do it..

Read your installation manual to see if you need to put a water filter in before the fridge!

I would'nt use kinkos in the roof or walls or a house myself, it is a solution but kinco's use rubber/plastic to seal. Rubber and plastic breakdown over time, it will eventually leak IMO. Maybe try harder to get a plumber?

[Groggy]

Thanks, some good tips and things to consider.

[silentC]

You can get copper olives for Kinkos, some brands come with them. You just have to watch you don't scratch the pipe or the olive when you put them on because a small scratch can make them leak. The nylon olives deform better and block up any little hollows.

[Bleedin Thumb]

I for one don't trust Kinkos either, copper or nylon. I think that the chances of developing a leak in a soldered pipe once it has been pressure tested is a lot less that with a kinko fitting.

Groggy if your fittings were giving way back from the fitting you were working on it sounds to me that

1. The joins are not up to scratch or
2. You are placing a hell of a lot of movement and pressure on the pipe that your working on.
Either way it shouldn't happen.

But back to my first point I would vote soldered joint over kinko in a wall/ceiling anyday.

I'm not a plumber but do all my own, Easy Peasy Japaneasy as my kid would say.

EDIT I dont like the presoldered fitting either I prefer to see the solder getting drawn into the joint

[silentC]

Yup. My old man is a plumber and he likes the York fittings because it means he doesn't have to drag the oxy out. But there's no way he'd put one in a wall.

Either uses soft pipe, or silver soldered bends.

[pawnhead]

I suppose it depends on how much of a tight @rse you are, and they don't come tighter than mine. I used to soft solder all my stuff, but my porta-gas bottle is so rusty now that I can't get it filled.
I'll be building a new bathroom here eventually, and I'll probably just use compression fittings under the floor, and come straight up through the bottom of my vanity instead of going through the wall. I'll get a plumber mate to silver solder up a shower, and bath assembly so I can just drop it in place and use compression fittings and soft annealed piping under the floor.
So long as everything is done up tight, and it's all saddled up to stop vibration and water hammer, and it's pressure tested, then it won't leak, and I'll save myself a small fortune.

I'd rather save up for my own yacht than buy my plumber one of his own.

[bricks]

Pawny, you seem like a guy with a bit of nouse,
Which means i think youd have the ability to do a proper job out of plastic, if you rented the crimpers ( dont know where from tho sorry). It probably wont save you money but it would be a better job in the end IMO.
All you'd have to weld is a tee for hot and cold with a m/ion thread to connect to. Plastics not good in the sun tho.

I also avoid going under the floor for anything even in copper, but when i do i use 25 or 32 mm electrical conduit with the long radius bends and push the pipe through after, that way if the pipe is damaged, or starts leaking you can get to it comparitivly easier by replacing it compleatly. No jackhammers.

[pawnhead]

You spend your life in the game and you pick up how to do just about anything just by watching the pros and asking a few questions. That plastic looks pretty simple but I've never seen it used. They ought to let unlicensed owner builders do their own plumbing with that stuff. I reckon it looks pretty fool proof if you read a manual.
Drainage is a different matter though. That's where the health risk lies and there's a bit more nous in getting that right with all the regs. Although I suppose if you sling the inspector a nice enough backhander you'll get an easy ride.
I've got a bit to do here, turning the original bathroom into an ensuite, and building a new one in the dining room, moving the laundry into a kitchen cupboard, and moving the water heater outside. Eventually getting instantaneous gas on before I renovate the kitchen with new oven/stove, but I'll get my plumber mate to do that after I dig the trenches. I hope the main is on my side of the street so I don't have to tunnel.
I've got a good half metre under the house so access isn't a problem for the water. I might just buy a new porta gas for soft soldering since the fittings are heaps cheaper. Can you put soft soldered joints in a wall?
The council probably would have lost the plans for this place anyway. I've been here for thirty years and they've been sacked a couple of times since then.

[bricks]

You spend your life in the game and you pick up how to do just about anything just by watching the pros and asking a few questions. That plastic looks pretty simple but I've never seen it used. They ought to let unlicensed owner builders do their own plumbing with that stuff. I reckon it looks pretty fool proof if you read a manual.

I hope the main is on my side of the street so I don't have to tunnel.
I've got a good half metre under the house so access isn't a problem for the water. I might just buy a new porta gas for soft soldering since the fittings are heaps cheaper. Can you put soft soldered joints in a wall?

Mate only the water/sewer/and gas authority can dig up roads and connect services in S.A. You should have connection points at the boundary to your property ( normally water meter, gas meter sewer Inspection point) if you dig into the road id say your in trouble.
Soft solder im assuming is welded copper joins, pretty sure thats all your allowed to put in walls unless its a part of a manufactured fitting. Check you local.
Make sure you comply with all back flow requirements.
In S.A. if your renevation is more than 50 square meters you have to install expensive water saving devices also so check your local rules.

[celeste]

Hi groggy

I was told the best way to get a tradie for a small job is -
Hop in the car drive to the nearest new estate with lots of building happening, park the car, hop out and go and ask if any one wants a cashie. Oh take 1/2 doz beers.

I bet you will find a 3rd of 4th year apprentice who will do it on the week end or after work.

Celeste

[celeste]

Hi all

A question for the master plumber - is it legal for me to disconnect all the tapes and sinks etc ready for the plumber to move and or reconnect the new gear?

Can you also, tell me what order do you use when installing a bath with a brick hob.

Celeste

[pharmaboy2]

no-one mentioned kemblas Kwik fittings yet

http://www.kembla.com.au/plum_kwikfit.html

easy peasy, fine for behind wall use, and re-useable, reconnectable - best find I ever made in a hardware store!

[pawnhead]

Mate only the water/sewer/and gas authority can dig up roads and connect services in S.A. You should have connection points at the boundary to your property ( normally water meter, gas meter sewer Inspection point) if you dig into the road id say your in trouble.

I'm not talking about digging up the road. I'm talking about getting a dude in with a small hydraulic ram to tunnel under it.

Guided boring was first introduced into the industry in 1991. Guided boring machines
or directional rod pushers were used mainly for under-road crossings for the
telecommunications, gas and water industry for conduit installation typically in the range of 20mm diameter to 150mm diameter
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cachenDgTbljfFIJ:euskills.netxtra.net/download.php%3Fid%3D86+hydraulic+ram+tunneling+under+a+road+for+gas+supply&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=22&gl=au

There was a guy doing that next door a while back, although I can't remember what was being installed. It took him half a day to get across the road.
I thought the plumber was supposed to do all the work apart from tapping the main and installing a cock?

Soft solder im assuming is welded copper joins, pretty sure thats all your allowed to put in walls unless its a part of a manufactured fitting. Check you local.

I'm talking about the stuff that comes in big sticks that draws after heating the fitting with a porta gas. Those skinny sticks the plumbers use won't draw unless you put more heat in, i.e. oxy torch. I suppose I could hire one when I've got all the joints sorted out, but a new porta gas would probably cost the same.

Make sure you comply with all back flow requirements.

Well I've installed a new charged gully out the back, that's 100mm below FFL, and there's an existing gully out the front that's a good 1.5 metres below FFL. Backflow won't be a problem.

In S.A. if your renevation is more than 50 square meters you have to install expensive water saving devices also so check your local rules.

I don't really care, and no one else will. It was like that before I moved in. I just re-tiled the joint is all I did. Honest Injun guvna.