# Vintage pllumbing needs repair



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

here are a few pics from a job I went to today. The lady said she had a toilet running,bathtub faucet leaking and two lavatory drains clogged. Sounded like 1.5 hrs of work until she told me the address......:wallbash:
I knew right then it was gonna be some old crap. This is what i found.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/oldtoilet.jpg
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/insideoldtoilet.jpg
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/oldtub.jpg
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/drainhandle.jpg
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/tubanddrumtrap.jpg
Now lets play a game......in this next pic you get to guess whats behind the door........I will post a pic with the door open after a few have had a chance to guess. Its wild!!!!:laughing:
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/electricpanel1.jpg


----------



## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

Man, she needs an extreme makeover! What's behind the door, um, electric panel? hahahaha

She also has a drum trap next to the tub, my house has the same thing. Soon to be gone when I remodel soon.


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Lol, you just posted picturs of the plumbing in half of Chicago. I love working on that old stuff.


----------



## leak1 (Mar 25, 2009)

a water storage tank.


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

SewerRatz said:


> Lol, you just posted picturs of the plumbing in half of Chicago. I love working on that old stuff.


 Your not painting a very flattering picture of chicago's plumbing....and if thats true why dont you guys have enough work?


----------



## leak1 (Mar 25, 2009)

wait i know! a 60 in. plasma t.v.?


----------



## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

It's an electric panel, trust me.:thumbsup:

I also have that in my house too, not live anymore, just the door.:laughing: I use it for hiding my stash.


JUST KIDDING!:thumbup:


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> Your not painting a very flattering picture of chicago's plumbing....and if thats true why dont you guys have enough work?


Dude there is a lot of very old homes, with very old plumbing, that still works. These people that have homes like this ether want to keep it that way for the "vintage feel" or are on fixed incomes and can not afford to replace it all.


----------



## ROSELLE PLUMBER (Jun 26, 2009)

the tub faucet leak:


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

ROSELLE PLUMBER said:


> the tub faucet leak:


 Hi there Roselle Plumber, its good to see another from Illinois. Have you posted your introduction in the introduction thread yet? If not please give us a intro so we can know a little more about you. Like how long you been plumbing, do you work for someone or own your own shop, what type of plumbing you do and any other thing you think we might find interesting.

kk thanks


----------



## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

ROSELLE PLUMBER said:


> the tub faucet leak:


Can you give us an intro?:thumbsup:


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

SewerRatz said:


> Dude there is a lot of very old homes, with very old plumbing, that still works. These people that have homes like this ether want to keep it that way for the "vintage feel" or are on fixed incomes and can not afford to replace it all.


 I concur Mr. SewerRatz.....do you rest your case? Hey its friday:drink::drink:.....those are 16 oz glasses of Wild Turkey 101 by tha way..


----------



## Optimus Primer (May 20, 2009)

No, you guys are all wrong. It's the window you would use to pass your specimen through. just like at a doctor


----------



## Bayside500 (May 16, 2009)

nice airgap on that tub filler LOL


----------



## Ron (Jun 12, 2008)

Can you say cross comtamination hazard.


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

I have seen that style tub in a brand new home.. has two RPZ's attached to the mixing valve.


----------



## Tankless (Jun 12, 2008)

ummm, behind that door will be a gimp. Used for torture or reward


----------



## Bayside500 (May 16, 2009)

i got the door open, and what did i find ? ....................


----------



## ILPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

Ron The Plumber said:


> Can you say cross comtamination hazard.


I tried just now. Yes.

Next question....


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Ok heres whats behind the door.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/electricpanel.jpg
Nobodys noticed that the toilet is fed from the top and has a fluidmaster in it


----------



## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> Ok heres whats behind the door.
> http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/electricpanel.jpg


OK I do not care how old a home is in Chicago.. I never ran across electrical like that. That is scary looking stuffs.


----------



## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> Ok heres whats behind the door.
> http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/electricpanel.jpg
> Nobodys noticed that the toilet is fed from the top and has a fluidmaster in it


I have the exact same panel in my home, no longer active. Vintage 1916 home.


----------



## Proud Plumber (Sep 15, 2008)

That is crazy


----------



## breid1903 (Feb 8, 2009)

*30a 120v*

i lived in a house with the original remc service. 1 30a 120v service to house. fuse box was mounted about 5' high and exposed on living room wall. 1 circuit for the whole house. that sounds bad about 1 circuit, but there were only 4 lights and 4 recps in house. we never blew a fuse. we hippies so we had a lot of friends during summer.


----------



## breid1903 (Feb 8, 2009)

*fluidmaster was the first thing i noticed*

how did they do that? just loop it down an back up and let tubing hold it up. i liked the shut off, also. lol. breid


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

breid1903 said:


> how did they do that? just loop it down an back up and let tubing hold it up. i liked the shut off, also. lol. breid


Exactly. A ballcock use to be installed on that stop valve you see there. You just remove the original ballcock portion and loop 3/4 o.d. copper tube. I use a tubing bender to make my bends and then you use a friction ring and cone washer and flare the copper so it all cant blow apart and flood the joint. The ones I have done,I remove the stop valve you see in the pic and install a regular 3/8"ips x3/8od compression stop valve to fully convert it over to conventional off the shelf parts. The special ballcosk set up for it costs about 80 or 90 bucks i think. I can do it for 10 or 12 bucks my cost and have an easy repair next time i go out. I will make one up and post a pic of it. I light end up using it there anyway...I hafta go back this coming week sometime. I will post more pics of that job. I expect to find some old lead pipe...we will see.
Heres one i just built up.
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/ballcocksetup001.jpg
http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/ballcocksetup002.jpg


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

I had a few old toilets with 5/8 ballcock shanks.....could not find any with 5/8 shanks and the regular ballcock was too large to fit through the tank. The old ballcocls were brass and copper and nothing wrong with the lower 5/8 section,just the top valve portion was worn out. I cut the 5/8 portion off the old valve and sweted that to a new brass/copper ballcock. I had to make my own gasket with the proper 5/8 od hole to seal the valve at its tank connection. FUN!!!!!


----------



## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> I had a few old toilets with 5/8 ballcock shanks.....could not find any with 5/8 shanks and the regular ballcock was too large to fit through the tank. The old ballcocls were brass and copper and nothing wrong with the lower 5/8 section,just the top valve portion was worn out. I cut the 5/8 portion off the old valve and sweted that to a new brass/copper ballcock. I had to make my own gasket with the proper 5/8 od hole to seal the valve at its tank connection. FUN!!!!!



A sign of a good plumber, as was with the Corps, the unofficial mantra:
*Improvise, Adapt and Overcome*

You're a good plumber TM!:thumbup:


----------



## ESPinc (Jul 18, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> Exactly. A ballcock use to be installed on that stop valve you see there. You just remove the original ballcock portion and loop 3/4 o.d. copper tube. I use a tubing bender to make my bends and then you use a friction ring and cone washer and flare the copper so it all cant blow apart and flood the joint. The ones I have done,I remove the stop valve you see in the pic and install a regular 3/8"ips x3/8od compression stop valve to fully convert it over to conventional off the shelf parts. The special ballcosk set up for it costs about 80 or 90 bucks i think. I can do it for 10 or 12 bucks my cost and have an easy repair next time i go out. I will make one up and post a pic of it. I light end up using it there anyway...I hafta go back this coming week sometime. I will post more pics of that job. I expect to find some old lead pipe...we will see.
> Heres one i just built up.
> http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/ballcocksetup001.jpg
> http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww175/Waxsealer/ballcocksetup002.jpg


Thanks for the info. :thumbup:

We see a few of these W/C's in Hyde Park, Tampa. The owners always want them repaired. Just hate the old galvanized piping in those walls, seems all I have to do is look at it wrong and leaks appear.


----------



## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

The only time I've seen a drain handle on a tub, there was a huge mechanism behind the wall with a set of gears and what looked like a shock absorber piston. Turning the handle moved the shutoff up and down in a tube.

That was old, too. The seats in tub faucet were far larger than any tools I had, and the whole thing was encased in gorgeous tile, arched over the tub. The tub handles were more than 8" apart, so it wasn't going to get replaced.


----------



## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm suprised the "tailpiece crew" hasn't come tromping over to desimate your work. I personally think that it looks very good and solves a problem in a common sense way. Does the soft copper have enough ridgity where the fluidmaster doesn't need to be supported?


----------



## HandsomeMike (Feb 8, 2009)

Cool pictures. I love this stuff. Us new construction guys never see this. I always look at pics like this and imagine the home owners surprise when the plumber becomes visibally excited and runs out to his van saying " The guys gotta see this.".


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

gear junkie said:


> I'm suprised the "tailpiece crew" hasn't come tromping over to desimate your work. I personally think that it looks very good and solves a problem in a common sense way. Does the soft copper have enough ridgity where the fluidmaster doesn't need to be supported?


 Ron's just messin around..I like valid arguements and he had one. The old plumbers in heaven helped guide the chief inspector to the proper conclusion on that one. Good for them. The one mocked up has way too long of a copper tube on it...I made it long incase I need to use it when I go back this week,theres no chance it will be short. You just work-harden the copper alittle and make it touch the bottom of the tank and fit tight. Its just hand fit on the job and it stays in place.


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Ok i went back today to unclogg the lav drains upstairs. One drain was simple no problem. The pics I posted a few days ago are of the problem lavatory and as i suspected it had a lead arm in the wall. I opened the wall up from a closet in the next room and I found some of Protechs favorite pipe. The first pic is of the neighborhood the house was in....I'm sure you drain cleaners would love it here..I know i do!!!!. The 2nd pic is the lead joint at the cast sant. tee with a brass bushing.


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Here is one of the bathtub faucet and drain


----------



## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Here is the brass after I cut the lead off and burnt the remaining off with my torch.


----------

