Sunday, January 15, 2006

Plumbing Woes
My bathroom sink was all backed up again and in the process of trying to fix it, I broke the pipe under the sink. In my defense, I think the original installation was Mickey Mouse to begin with. It wasn't even like a real pipe but more like a plastic slinky thing and it was all brittle and probably needed to be replaced anyway.

I decided that it can't be that hard and I would do the homework to fix it myself. Who wants to spend all that money on a simple home repair? I found an online tutorial. First, I read the one about how to clear a drain and it said not to beat up on the pipe too much or you'll break it and cause yourself a bigger problem.

Well, that would have been a helpful reminder an hour ago.

During the "working with plastic pipe" tutorial I learned there are three kinds of pipes PVC, CPVC and flexible PB and they come in difference sizes like 3/4" 3/8" and 1/2" and that I should cut them with either a tubing cutter, hacksaw and miter or power miter or some other thing I didn't write down the name of and apparently you need to make a good cut to make it work right (I was planning on using an old kitchen knife so I wouldn't have to buy any tools).

Then I need an emery sheet and primer and cement and make sure I get the right kind for my application. I'm sure they aren't sold under the kind, "for fixing broken pipe under bathroom sink." I figured by the time I drive to the plumbing supply store, figure out what the hell to buy, probably be humiliated by some know-it-all plumbing store staffer who insists on knowing exactly how I broke the pipe because to be honest, I was pretty much beating up on it, get back home, try to actually fix it, tear my hair out, start drinking at 3pm rendering the rest of the day and evening a total wash: it might just be worth it to pay someone to come in here and do it for us. So that's the plan.