Hello,
I live in Canada, so this may be a question of terminology. I've done
a lot of plumbing in our house (1914) , and the house before, and
replaced all the iron water pipes, redid the house in copper water
pipes. Amazing how useful closets are for running water pipes from one
floor to another.....
Anyway, in all this time, I have never come across the term "waste
stacker". From reading the responses, I have the impression that it
is the main waste evacuation pipe that exits the house and goes into the
street sewer..... it's the term "stacker"; what is it? What does
it do in life? What's needs "stacking"?
Maybe somebody can elucidate me...SVP!
Cheers,
Bogdan
On 04/10/2015 7:45 PM, darkroommike wrote:
On the ABS vs. PVC for DWV lines. ABS used to be quite popular but has almost completely fallen out of use in parts of the USA, I don't know what the issue is, both are allowed by code and ABS is actually a bit easier to work and glue, the only place I still see ABS used is in prefab construction, mobile homes, RV's and the like. There is no good way to glue ABS to PVC, there is something called transition cement, but the inspector may or may not allow it, the only thing universally allowed is a transition fitting, it's a rubber boot, a metal sleeve and a couple of big hose clamps, it's usually called a "Fernco". In my house we have cast iron, galvanized (DIY), copper DWV, ABS and PVC depending on the age. The galvanized drain line was a bad DIY choice by a previous owner of my house, he was a joke as a home improver. As time allows it's all going away and in the end there will be a cast iron stack and all other lines will be PVC. And water lines will be PEX, the PEX tool is a one time investment but the payback is pretty fast, you make great long swooping runs of plumbing with very minimal fittings, very few cuts, almost no elbows or tees; no solder, no glue, no mess. It needs about the same number of supports as CPVC or copper but is much easier to work.
Mike
On 10/4/2015 5:03 PM, Bob Younger wrote:
A small point, but low pressure sewage and drain lines are usually ABS, not PVC. But Ken's point is well taken; they should all be replaced.
Ken, where is the studio-for-sale?
Bob Younger
On Sun, Oct 4, 2015 at 2:50 PM, Ken Hart <kwhart1@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:kwhart1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
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://picturexhibit.com <http://picturexhibit.com>
NYC and Silver Spring, MD
212-602-1809 <tel:212-602-1809>
--
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to
be." - Kurt Vonnegut
