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1
Laundry tub faucet repair for a new customer on Edna Lane in Fort Wright Kentucky. Customer contacted us (new customer) explaining a situation where the faucet was losing hot water excessively while not in use.

Pictures were sent via phone text which showed an old laundry tub faucet. Dunbar Plumbing came supplied with replacement seat washers to take the faucet apart, replace the defective seat washer and reinstall.

Stem removal was simplistic, retightened handle and reassembled with no difficulties. Turned water back on and no leakage was present. Property owner stated that the faucet rarely gets used, and the priority was stopping the leakage as the water and gas bill was becoming excessive.

This property owner was pleased with our efforts, went on to mention that additional work was needed in the kitchen of this property, a kitchen sink faucet replacement, garbage disposal and new drain piping. We look forward to addressing these issues when the time comes.

2
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/dining/2013/05/17/tom-and-chee-swim-with-the-shark-tank-and-get-a-deal/


A great success story of two guys that got tired of working for the big man, started with a 10' by 10' tent and made a go at it selling grilled cheese sandwiches in a variety of many styles and choices.


The idea has worked so well that the makers of "Shark Tank" have committed to 600 grand towards the success and growth of the business.


With that investment, hard math divulges what the cost of that opportunity truly is.


The owners of Tom and Chee wanted the luxury of 5% ownership for $600,000.00 and the reality became the counter offer of 30% of ownership to obtain access to that 600 grand.

That is a sizeable amount of ownership, considering they just made a deal with the devil for that promise of growth in opening multiple locations. Add in taxes, there's almost 70% going somewhere other than your back and a lot of people are making money by your efforts to pull off the success story.

Sometimes business ownership can be touch and go, and sometimes defeating. We all understand that in business, there is sacrifice, always. This sacrifice means spending a lot of money, a lot of work, and a lot of patience waiting for the gift of success with others following the design to make you money. Not always does it work, but I give anyone credit for trying very hard to grow and become bigger.

Sometimes though, getting "bigger" is not always the prudent answer. There's the implied rush when in business when it comes to money. The more you make, the better you feel the more secure you think your next decision can be. What can become of that feeling can lead into a dangerous spot, especially when spending changes of those you rely on to pay the bills.

I wish the best of Tom and Chee in their endeavors. Their company name is catchy, I've never heard of a grilled cheese food restaurant before and like always, success costs money to happen. Hopefully this thread can be revisited years from now and they have a national reach with many lining up out the door to sample their good food.
:sign0098:

3
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/development/2013/05/bacon-bacon-aroma-set-end
This is a situation whereby the smell of good business is forcing its closing.

"Bacon Bacon" is the name of this business in San Francisco. Haight Ashbury Improvement Association has stated that they don't mind the business operating but the numerous code violations and repairs, along with a correction of bacon grease being directly deposited into the sewage system must be dealt with.


From an outward view of this situation,


This fellow gets more recognition by "not" playing by the rules, as this news story has done well in reaching all parts of the united states and probably further than that.

Also, it would be expected that these lodged complaints might of arised from neighbors of the business that were muslim, considering that their religion is against anything related to pork products.

 :sign0099:  Seems that someone has it out for this business of meat candy. Maybe a call for cooperation, not opposition is the best suggestion for this company to go forward and make it right with the city. Otherwise this story leaves the world and so does the business that smelled of success, too much so that forced all the flying pigs to fly away...

 

4
A repeat customer of Dunbar Plumbing that recently moved from the Glenhurst subdivision to Harris Pike in Independence Kentucky contacted us for an outside hose faucet that the handle was stripped and/or spinning freely.

Upon arrival of the residence we asked to have the water shut off, proceeded to dismantle the Woodford outdoor hose faucet. This revealed that the handle was not stripped. Upon removal of the faucet's stem, it appeared that the operating end of the faucet was stripped where the device is made to catch and turn, screw inwards to seal off the water connection into the faucet.

It was an 8" Woodford Frost Free Hose Faucet, and the faucet we brought matched both the size and model brand of what the property owner had.

Sold the customer the complete assembly of the faucet brought to the residence as the potential always remains for future possibilities of an outside faucet left on accidentally that can freeze and burst the faucet. The price for 'stem only' assembly is nearly 2/3rds the cost of the faucet in total, so it was feasible to sell the faucet as a whole.

Customer was able to restore the use of this faucet without any necessary work inside the home where this faucet connected to the water lines under the kitchen sink. As always, we enjoy being a reliable service provider to those who over time move from to home and request our services. A small discount was given for the short time we had at the property resolving the issue.


5
Dunbar Plumbing replaced a defective Sewage Ejector Pump on Kimberly Drive in Union Kentucky. Kimberly drive is off of Kilarney Drive off of Frogtown Road. The entrance onto Kilarney is directly across from the Union Post Office. Kimberly Drive is also paralell with War Admiral Drive in the Triple Crown Subdivision.
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Customer is a former acquaintance and recent facebook fan. Our Facebook Fan Page: http://Facebook.com/NorthernKentuckyPlumbers/ 
.
This job replacing a defective sewage ejector pump is never a clean job and rather disgusting.  :sign0137: :sign0137: 
 
 :iagree:  When we arrived on site to address the issue the customer had already removed the sewage ejector out of the pit. The unit was still wired in to the outdoor switch that served the pump inside the tank. The job started with the removal of the wiring from the switch so the new pump system could be installed. Here is an image of the sewage ejector pump installed. The product name is Liberty Pumps

LE41A 4/10 horsepower all cast iron housing http://www.libertypumps.com/Data/SalesLiterature/LE40web.pdf
This unit has a 2" discharge port as most sewage ejector pumps have.
 
 

7
http://g.co/maps/7tmdh
 
A service call regarding water hammer isolated to a toilet on the first floor of the structure.


Inspected the toilet, age of fill valve was original to the toilet (1993) and replacement of the fill valve along with the toilet supply line was necessary. Along with solving the issue of the old fill valve the pressure was gauged at 80+ pounds. The time of the day (around 4-5pm) indicated that the majority of property owners were arriving home at that time, doing laundry, cooking meals, doing dishes and a vast array of uses involving water demand.

Water pressure if unregulated will fluctuate throughout the day determined by peak/non-peak demand. The very best time to check your water pressure for its maximum or highest point is in the middle of the night, around 1-3am in the morning.

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This is the best time to test as the majority of people are sleeping across the nation, and more volume is present in the water piping system in the ground. More volume equals a higher static line pressure in a standstill position.

Water Pressure cannot be measured solely by water flow emitting from your spout. It takes a pressure gauge that measure the water pressure. Here is a pictures of a Water Pressure Gauge:
All plumbing components (faucets-fixtures-valves) are engineered with the pressure of 60 pounds as the governing rule for operation without premature wear or tear.

Operating your plumbing with an elevated/raised pressure has the same results as the following:
Overinflating your tires
Ignoring high blood pressure
.
With high water pressure, there are no winners. It is the slow breakdown of O-rings, gaskets, seals, seat washers and many other items in your plumbing system that is subjected to the same dynamic as overuse.

On the front page of our website is a link that offers a better representation of high water pressure and its cause and effect.

8
A new plumbing customer to Dunbar Plumbing contacted us regarding a clogged toilet at the home. It was mentioned that plunging and the recent purchase of a closet auger did not rectify the situation. Below is an image of a closet auger and its use.

Picture of a Closet Auger

 
 
 

9
Dunbar Plumbing was called out to a repeat customer to replace a 50 gallon gas water heater in the residence. Jonathon Way is located in Independence Kentucky off of Pelly Road. Liberty Orchard Subdivision. The customer supplied us with a new 50 gallon GE Rheem gas water heater from Home Depot.

GE Rheem water heaters are a common product sold at Home Depot for water heaters. When we arrived at the residence, here is the situation we were presented with...



As you can see from the picture above, the flue venting for the furnace along with the water heater are incorrectly installed. This was done by the new construction plumber and HVAC contractor when the house was built. The double wall B-vent that's extending down into the basement. This forced the situation given the dimension of the piping and the fittings to make the connections to the furnace and water heater.

If you look closely, you'll see that the draft diverter hood is altered/smashed down in order for the installation to take place. Here is another picture of the situation once the water heater was cut loose.


10
A repeat customer of ours contacted us to address a leak in the garage of their home on sylvan drive. Sylvan drive is located in independence kentucky. Dunbar Plumbing has done numerous plumbing tasks at this location and the house was built in the 1970 era.

Given the age of this home, Cast Iron was the majority of drain stacks inside this home with the rest of the branches done in copper drain piping. Copper drain work was something that simplified the installation of plumbing and due to the cost of piping in 3" or 4" copper, the use of cast iron was the preferred method. However over time what results in the aging of copper piping, the piping has a predetermined "life" before issues result in its use.

When we arrived at the home, first inspection of the piping arrangement led to the majority of the drainage system piped in the garage area. This along with minor removal of the ceiling revealed what was leaking onto the floor. A 2" copper drain line that connected into the main 4" cast iron stack had evidence of pinholes in the piping in the last foot of piping before transitioning into cast iron. Here is a brief explanation of what to expect on piping systems where cast iron drain piping and copper drain piping are mixed:
 
Most if not always when copper drain piping is used in older homes, a brass ferrule is utilized in the cast iron hub that connects to the larger piping. This, over time creates a situation where the transition itself starts to corrode and close up the inside diameter of the pipe. When this problem occurs, the waste matter that is travelling through the piping system is slowed down and causes buildup in the copper piping leading to the cast iron hub.
 
This area right before the copper enters the cast iron hub is where pinholes, or thinning of the piping occurs. Back in the day when copper drain lines were introduced, the actual thickness of the copper drain piping is paper thin to begin with, roughly 1/16" of an inch. With products such as detergents, acidic food waste, urine, and any other mixtures of household chemicals and products provides a cocktail of fluids/gels/liquids that travel through the copper drain lines and eventually become lodged in the piping whether it is a coating or clumps, gathering in turns or directions of the piping.
 
Over time, this collection of products serves as the problematic issues that lead to pinholes or deterioration of copper piping inside the system, leading to replacement.  It is common to see homeowners using electrical tape, wrapping the piping where the holes are found to be leaking to 'buy time' before finally replacing the piping. This surely is not the correct way to fix a plumbing problem, but nonetheless it is a method that provides a temporary fix until the piping is replaced correctly and according to code.

11
Dunbar Plumbing was contacted by a customer today in Walton Kentucky. The location of this property was close to Mary C. Grubbs Highway where it intersects with US25. Main Street in Walton is the short 2.5 mile section of US25 that stretches from where Walton-Nicholson road intersects with US25 onto Mary C. Grubbs Highway intersection.
 
Customer had an issue with all three fixtures backing up on the second floor of the house.
 
Toilet
Lavatory
Tub
 
Customer mentioned that when the lavatory and/or the tub faucet was ran, the toilet would start to gurgle instantly. Since no other drains were affected in the house, this lead to the issue being isolated to the 2nd floor only in the structure.
 
The customer already removed the toilet before we arrived, as it was confirmed that the drain system would have to be accessed through that vantage point to clear the obstruction. As we noticed upon arrival, wastewater was sitting in the closet bend and any water ran from the tub or lavatory in the same bathroom instantly raised the water level in the closet bend that serves the toilet.
 
Using our medium machine, we inserted our drain cable into the toilet arm to remove the obstruction. What was immediately stopping us was not known initially as we would enter the drain roughly 2 feet approximate and get hung up badly inside the drain. A quite unusual circumstance as the piping leading from the closet flange is minimum 3" and most if not all structures in the Northern Kentucky Area are 4" when stretching 40+ years or older.
 
We made 4-5 attempts to clear the obstruction with next to no success. It was when the property owner pointed out to us in the lower level of the house that all the piping was visible to the bathroom by removal of a panel. This property is new to both the property owner as well us, and the property is being rented by tenants.
 
The house had also sat vacant for a few weeks before being occupied which would be partially the issue at hand why we were called out to clear an obstruction in this drainage system. Once we were able to get a visual on the piping arrangement it was clear to see "why" the cable was jamming up inside the piping arrangement.

The drain piping immediately went from 3" to 4" cast iron piping. The major issue was a tee laying on its side which is a clear code violation in today's requirements. Serving out of the top of this 4" tee was the 2" cast iron drain serving the lavatory drain in the same bathroom. Once that connected to the tee, the drain continues at a slope heading towards a ninety degree turn vertical into the closet and heading towards the basement.  Being able to see this piping arrangement gave us the ability to understand why the cable was jamming inside the tee as it was trying to head back through the 2" drain serving the lavatory drain.

 
With some much needed trial and error, numerous shots into the drain finally got us heading the cable towards the vertical 4" drain pipe heading into the piping. This instantly addressed the clogging issue allowing the water inside the closet bend to slowly start dropping, signifying that whatever was holding back the waste matter and wastewater was finally leaving the piping system. We continued to run the drain cable machine inside the piping and took the drain cable the full length to make sure that the waste matter was clearly out of the drain system.
 
Along with running the tub faucet and lavatory in the same bathroom at full force while the cable was still inside the drain. This technique is a great way to keep all that was built up inside the drain continuing on out, using the water as the helper to rid the piping of waste matter.
 
It was our assumption that during the time this house sat vacant that possibly the toilet was used for the last time before the house went vacant, the waste matter never made it out of the horizontal bend of the piping. This waste matter then had time to sit and solidify including toilet paper that turned into hard paper mache in consistency. With the new tenants arriving and unaware of this situation, the buildup started against this hardened mass inside the piping and eventually closing off the pipe completely, disallowing flow through the pipe.
 
This happens quite frequently when homes are vacated and no one is there to keep the water running through the drains. This situation can happen both in a new home where pvc pipe is commonly found for drainage piping, just as much as say an older home could have with cast iron piping, galvanized or copper. If you have a home whereby you're going to sell in the near future, make sure that when you leave the property for good that the toilets and all fixtures are ran heavily for repeated times to remove any waste buildup inside the piping.

This will prevent the unexpected surprise when the new property owners move in, looking at the previous homeowners like they hid some disasterous piping inside the home that's going to be a chronic problem. (they think)

 
The customer in this case (since the toilet was already pulled) reset the toilet after our job was complete. This was a cost saving measure afforded to the property owner to save money on our expense to show up and resolve the issue. This was a first time customer that reached us via internet through Google trying to find someone to resolve the plumbing issue 'today' as it was the only bathroom in the structure serving the needs of 3 people living in the home.


13
Here is a video of a three handle to single handle tub and shower faucet conversion in a bathroom. We provided the new delta faucet along with remodel plate to cover the existing three hole pattern in the wall.
 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRUD-sdvd1s" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRUD-sdvd1s</a>
 
 
This job was located on Marilyn Drive in Independence Kentucky. Repeat customers of Dunbar Plumbing.  We are Northern Kentucky Plumbers providing service plumbing work in the Northern Kentucky area.

14
Been slowly watching this all unfold from the great plains with concern for all the people who have lost truly everything, including some that lost family members.


It's always easy to surmount what loss is to some, but unless you've lived what these people are going through... it's like leaving for work one day and all you come back to is nothing. No clothes, no food, no property to speak of because it was blown a mile one direction away with no chance to find it.


Many prayers to those families struggling right now and it will be many months before they have anything to call home in the time to come. I would say fema trailers will be their makeshift living acquisition in the meantime.


On another note,


I'm fascinated by the destruction in the method of how the internet and technology now records these events in a real time design. The weather channel was pulling live feeds all day yesterday that was showing the formation clouds becoming a tornado.

Here is a tornado ripping a truck to shreds. I personally have never been able to witness the destruction as it happens, only from a past tense point of view with mainly still frame pictures.


Here are pictures of what Oklahoma went through last night. I'd say insurance companies are going to be spending more than they are making this year in premiums.

Here is a loop feed reflectivity map of the United States from any vantage point to see the current weather patterns. I have it set to my region but you can click on the boxes below to see any incoming weather 24-7.

Here is the facebook Weather Channel Page that deals directly with all the latest information that has important warnings and emergency information.

There is a live feed that also will have streaming video that is taken from storm chasers in the area where the storms are currently in.

Here are some videos that are currently updated from time to time of weather caught on tape.


TOR:CON Index is a rating given to predict the likelihood of a tornado.

15
Dunbar Plumbing was called out to an emergency service call to repair a leaking delta shower faucet. This house was located on Landview Drive in South Covington Kentucky. Landview Drive is off the Hands Pike Subdivision that is the major road that serves both Ridgeport Subdivision and Crystal Lake Subdivision. Hands Pike to Tamarack Drive, to Evergreen Drive to Hawks Ridge to Landview Drive. Homes in this subdivision are over 12 years or newer in construction. Most common faucet brand in this subdivision is Delta Faucet Company.
 
This leaking tub and shower faucet was leaking and was attempted to be repaired by a friend of the family. Our first concern was whether the faucet had been damaged beyond repair but that did not seem to be the case. Here is a picture of the type of faucet we worked on to stop the leaking.
 

 
 
After speaking with the owner of the home, I was able to find out that the faucet had never been worked on in regards to replacement of the cartridge inside of the faucet. In the Northern Kentucky area, Delta Faucets had an issue with their pressure balanced cartridges that are designed for the monitor series faucets. The single handle tub and or tub and shower or shower only faucets. A problem with the plastic housing where the balancing spool was that could cause interference in how the balancing spool effectively slides back and forth when there are pressure fluctuations. Delta came out with a better and improved cartridge that solved this problem, providing the cure to the ongoing issues.
 
Here is a picture of the NEW type pressure balanced cartridge that Dunbar Plumbing installs to correct the issues of the older ones.
 

 
 
I'll return to this post and show how we remove the cartridge on these faucets and give some more information as to why these cartridges fail over time, regardless of replacing the internals inside the cartridge.
 
 
 

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