You have received a lot of good (IMHO!) advice so far. If the waste
stack is cast iron, IDEALLY, it should be replaced completely with PVC,
from each and every drain, all the way to the city sewer or your private
septic tank. This would most likely not be a trivial job.
The "lug nut" you mention: is this a collar around the pipe that joins
two pipes together, or is it a drain plug? If the former, then clean the
area, and use some sort of epoxy (JB Weld or similar) to seal the leak.
If that fails in the future, then you are looking at replacing the cast
iron pipe- bad news. If it is a cleanout drain plug, remove it, clean
the threads where it screws in with a wire brush, and install a new plug
using teflon tape- small job. Even better if the new plug is PVC.
(You might want to search for home improvement TV shows such as "This
Old House" on the subject of replacing a cast iron waste stack. The big
hassles are the weight of the pipe, the heavy-duty tools required, and
not to mention, what has been going through the pipe!)
As for the supply lines: a plastic pipe (PVC for cold or CPVC for hot or
cold) will be best. Cast iron pipes rust, build up scale, and fail more
quickly than plastic. Someone else mentioned PEX pipe, which requires
special tools and experience to install. PVC and CPVC are handyman
friendly, PEX is not. PEX is flexible, which may be a good thing in an
older home.
A hot water heater tank allows any sediment to settle in the tank. It
should be periodically flushed by turning off the power/gas, and opening
the bottom valve until the water runs clear.
I have a whole house water filter and filters at the darkroom sink. The
whole house filter keeps the water heater and toilets cleaner, and the
filters in the darkroom are backup- suspenders and a belt! When you are
developing film, you can't have too many water filters!
I think the best solution for you is to sell your home, and buy my
studio, which already has a working darkroom installed!
Ken Hart
On 10/04/2015 11:10 AM, Adrienne Moumin wrote:
Hi, group,
After being out of commission for several months, from photography and life, due to being sidelined by a broken foot, I am slowly coming back to life to tackle the piles of overwhelm that have accumulated during my incapacitation. I have two issues in my darkroom, one brand-new and one not as new, that are bedevilling me. Our 1949 money pit continues to wreak havoc on my art and my life, 10 years on...
_Issue 1_: The other day I had our neighborhood handyman/renovator over for a toilet issue on the 3rd floor. He asked about the main waste stack, which of course is in my basement darkroom - in a corner behind the sink. When I had the darkroom built about 8 years ago, I painted everything, including the ugly chipped-paint waste stack (original to the house), to make it all look clean and new. Everything was (I thought) fine, until the other day when I took my renovator down there, to discover a huge brown drip (now dried), which began at the place where the (sic) lug nut is, and extending down past the point of the sink top, where I can't see how far down the drip extends. It looks more like rust rather than anything else, but the fact that any liquid at all came out of there is worrisome to me - since it means total dismantling of the sink and its plumbing and all the chemistry etc. stored below...let's just say after 10 years of incessant home repair issues, I have dug in my heels against the life-disruption of any more except those which cannot be avoided. I prefer to do my art in a house that is an eyesore, than to give up doing the things I love and have my time stolen from me, in service to any more of this unending nonsense.
My renovator friend tried to tighten this huge lug nut thing, to no avail. He told me I could "fix" this by cleaning up the rusty drip if I was bothered by it, and then running a bead of silicone caulk around where the drip emanated (which he said is merely screw threads so it's not a huge surprise that something leaked). But I am nervous about this as a solution, since it has never leaked before. He also said he could remove that whole section of the waste stack, and replace it with newer material.
_Issue 2_: For about 6 months, I have noticed that replacing the water filters, results in them getting rusty/filthy VERY quickly, even though I only use the darkroom sporadically. The hot filter is much worse than the cold, although I noticed the other day when I was in there with my renovator, that the cold is also affected over the past few months of my not being able to get in there.
This is has happened a number of times - to the point where I have taken to buying water filters in groups of 6 and replacing them nearly every time I use the darkroom, which is a ridiculous remedy and does not solve the issue. It seems to have gotten worse after I was compelled to have my friend replace some of the metal plumbing connectors which were actually corroding since they were not meant to be wet, and leaching small chunks of metal into the water (why the original builder of the darkroom would use such connectors in the first place is beyond my comprehension...)
I have read that nearby excavations can cause excess rust in water coming in to a house - and there is a TON of excavation going on all over the neighborhood, for new construction, new roads, etc. But I'm not sure if this is the cause of this (rust?) building up in the filters or not.
So I thought I would ask all of you, fount (font?) of collective knowledge and experience, if anyone may have dealt with either of these issues, and might have some insight.
With thanks,
Adrienne
/Adrienne Moumin
Handmade B&W photographs and photo collages:/http:// <http://picturexhibit.com>picturexhibit.com <http://picturexhibit.com>
NYC and Silver Spring, MD
212-602-1809
