# Bad days in resi service can break a man



## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

1st job) Install a gas grill. No problems
2nd job) Turn a hose bib on for an old lady for free. Cool
3rd job) Mystery leak near toilet. OK.

So I get to the leak job and head to the basement under the main floor toilet. When she flushes water comes down. Nice. Wax ring and I should be good to go. Oh, it's also leaking at the cpvc riser. OK sweet, let me just shut the water off, won't fully shut off. Whatever, I've worked with less. 

Pull the toilet and it's a crap cast flange. Every time I set this toilet back I have about 2 inches of wobble. So I take it outside and flip it over. Someone decided it was a great idea to use silicone around the flange! Scrape all that off and head back in. I set the toilet, no leaks. Cut the new bolts down and tighten them. I give it one last wobble test and SNAP! The flange breaks. Amazing. So I pull the toilet for the 4th time, chip out the old flange which at this point is just disintegrating, get a Sawzall and hack the closet L down so it's flush to the floor and drop in a ****ty pvc repair flange. All good right? Set the toilet on the flange and it won't set right. Pull the toilet, find a chunk of the old flange stuck to the toilet and remove it. Set the toilet AGAIN. Test flush about 7 times with no leaks. Set it and go. 

That was the longest I've spent at a simple job. Things like this drive me insane. I still can't shake the frustration. 

I'd rather be doing my underground, knee deep in dookie juice.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Haha that's nothing, start reading my soap thread. :vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


There's a French saying that goes like this : Having froth in your hair bangs. It's one of those memorable jobs where your face gets red...


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

SlightlyAmused said:


> 1st job) Install a gas grill. No problems
> 2nd job) Turn a hose bib on for an old lady for free. Cool
> 3rd job) Mystery leak near toilet. OK.
> 
> ...


Those are the days that make us better! F’king pisses you off, makes for a ****y day but on the next ones over the years you’ll remember your nightmare and remember lessons learned.

I prefer drain cleaning myself. I don’t really care for plumbing. Setting a tub and surround?! Gag me! However I’ve done it so many times I don’t care anymore. Get it done and you’re done.

These **** show jobs still happen to all of us, even very experienced masters. 

As my Master says, “you’re getting paid to learn a college education.”


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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

Ehhh, we all have these days. 
Charge more for the extra time/material. 
It all works out in the wash. 

Today:
-I changed an Oring in a frost free, 
-cleared the lower jet in a w/c,
-Changed a moen cartridge, 
-Snakes a bath tub drain, 
-And changed a kt faucet. 

Today was an Easy day,
I left at 10 am, and was home by 4. I had lunch in my truck..
It was a big $ day, it feels like I’m just driving around collecting money. 

Some days doing service work, you work harder and longer, but in the end most days are easy.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Today I have to get some stuff at Roona and I know the cashier is going to throw a fit because they don't want you there for contractor hours before 8 if you don't have an account. Regular diy can get in at 8. Told the right hand man manager of the plumbing section looks like the store doesn't really want contractors buying 10 times as much compared to a regular consumer.

Then 1st job gotta replace a frost free, 2nd job unclog a laundry tub line. The guy called in panic saying the last plumber told him he had to redo the whole basement for 40 thousand dollars. Kicker is he didn't even snake the line. I had to calm the guy down he was getting hysterical. I'm going to try to get the name of that company. 3 times in the last 2 years I've heard that story. Last time the guy faked the snake using the 15$ dollar store snake. :vs_OMG:

3rd job leaking toilet in the basement. I bet the flange is improperly set.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

SlightlyAmused said:


> ............
> That was the longest I've spent at a simple job. Things like this drive me insane. I still can't shake the frustration.............................





I used to get real pissed at jobs like that and occasionally still do. It's always a pitd to redo your work over and over. But I have grown to hate those jobs less as while they may be laborious, they are easy. Easy mentally. 



Some days when the brain is sharp complicated jobs can be fun. But as time goes on and my kids turn my mind to jello I have grown to like the jobs where the next step is obvious. I can tackle complex problems on my own time when I am bored.






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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

SlightlyAmused said:


> 1st job) Install a gas grill. No problems
> 2nd job) Turn a hose bib on for an old lady for free. Cool
> 3rd job) Mystery leak near toilet. OK.
> 
> ...



many times our frustration is brought on by trying to take short cuts or thinking its just an easy toilet reset...
the red flags to problems where there..it leaked... then you said the cast flange was falling apart....
whenever lifting a toilet it would behoove you to clean the horn area of the toilet before resetting...that would have saved you several times lifting and resetting..
second if the flange was in that bad of condition..tell customer it MUST be replaced...that would have saved several more attempts...
so in the end you had to change the flange with a new wax ring...all that could have been done in 1 lift and reset....
not bashing you, but sometimes you have to take a breath and say..what needs to be done and do it...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Tango said:


> Today I have to get some stuff at Roona and I know the cashier is going to throw a fit because they don't want you there for contractor hours before 8 if you don't have an account. Regular diy can get in at 8. Told the right hand man manager of the plumbing section looks like the store doesn't really want contractors buying 10 times as much compared to a regular consumer.
> 
> Then 1st job gotta replace a frost free, 2nd job unclog a laundry tub line. The guy called in panic saying the last plumber told him he had to redo the whole basement for 40 thousand dollars. Kicker is he didn't even snake the line. I had to calm the guy down he was getting hysterical. I'm going to try to get the name of that company. 3 times in the last 2 years I've heard that story. Last time the guy faked the snake using the 15$ dollar store snake. :vs_OMG:
> 
> 3rd job leaking toilet in the basement. I bet the flange is improperly set.



So I went to see the backing up floor drain/washing machine line and the guy told me 2 different companies came in and told him it was counter sloped and the house had sunk and had to repipe to the street. I asked him did you see a drain cleaning machine? Nope and I noticed they didn't do anything because the squeeze in BWV was fubar. So that means 2 companies tried to scam him. WoW!! Made excellent money and I'm sure he'll call me back eventually.


And this job check out the leaking toilet in the Winne'rs thread :


https://www.plumbingzone.com/f7/winners-65210/index219/#post1241646


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> many times our frustration is brought on by trying to take short cuts or thinking its just an easy toilet reset...
> the red flags to problems where there..it leaked... then you said the cast flange was falling apart....
> whenever lifting a toilet it would behoove you to clean the horn area of the toilet before resetting...that would have saved you several times lifting and resetting..
> second if the flange was in that bad of condition..tell customer it MUST be replaced...that would have saved several more attempts...
> ...


Thanks. I think my biggest difficulty right now is I'm stuck in a weird place where I have an idea of what to do, but want to try to do it as fast as possible in order to do more, if that makes sense.

If I would have walked in and right off rip said "this flange is garbage and an accident waiting to happen, it needs to be replaced" instead of trying to set it and forget it I'd have been done sooner and felt better about it all.

Lesson learned.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

SlightlyAmused said:


> Thanks. I think my biggest difficulty right now is I'm stuck in a weird place where I have an idea of what to do, but want to try to do it as fast as possible in order to do more, if that makes sense.
> 
> If I would have walked in and right off rip said "this flange is garbage and an accident waiting to happen, it needs to be replaced" instead of trying to set it and forget it I'd have been done sooner and felt better about it all.
> 
> Lesson learned.


It'll take a while to realize to slow down and realize the only way to make it work is to do it right. By trying to do more you'll be hacking it and you'll get call backs or better yet they'll call me to fix your mess and I gain a new customer. There are many companies here that will never be called again because some customers are angry at their sloppy work and will call another plumber to fix it even if it's under warranty.

I've had people call me 2 weeks after a reno to fix the other company's crap. They didn't want them in their house ever again.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Tango said:


> So I went to see the backing up floor drain/washing machine line and the guy told me 2 different companies came in and told him it was counter sloped and the house had sunk and had to repipe to the street. I asked him did you see a drain cleaning machine? Nope and I noticed they didn't do anything because the squeeze in BWV was fubar. So that means 2 companies tried to scam him. WoW!! Made excellent money and I'm sure he'll call me back eventually.
> 
> 
> And this job check out the leaking toilet in the Winne'rs thread :
> ...


I can’t tell you how many of my customers are incredibly loyal to me who originally called me for a second opinion and I fix their problem without digging or busting up the floor!

I up-sell all the time, but only if I think they need it or they’re open to suggestions. After a short time, as long as it’s in their budget, they will usually take my advice. Especially if I save them money.... some you just can’t help though.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

OpenSights said:


> .....
> I up-sell all the time, but only if I think they need it or they’re open to suggestions. After a short time, as long as it’s in their budget, they will usually take my advice. Especially if I save them money.... some you just can’t help though.





You can lead a horse to water......


I have this one idiot lady that I have to snake her main line like 2-3 times a year. She refuses to fix the broken section. She even replaced her water main and they hit the waste line like 20' from the bad spot and she still didn't fix it!!!!!!!:vs_mad::vs_mad::vs_mad::vs_mad:


At least it's a yard c.o.






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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

skoronesa said:


> You can lead a horse to water......
> 
> 
> I have this one idiot lady that I have to snake her main line like 2-3 times a year. She refuses to fix the broken section. She even replaced her water main and they hit the waste line like 20' from the bad spot and she still didn't fix it!!!!!!!:vs_mad::vs_mad::vs_mad::vs_mad:
> ...


I had one of those too! Every three months! It would back up every two months, but he would have to save the third month. High wall. He would have totes to catch the sewage in, in a finished basement.

One ugly weed tree planted right on top of the cast/clay. The rest of the line was 160’ long because it was on a septic out the back and wrapped around the house to the new city. Bellies, flat....

Don’t know how many Times I told him to rip that stupid tree out! Sometimes you can’t fix stupid.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

SlightlyAmused said:


> Thanks. I think my biggest difficulty right now is I'm stuck in a weird place where I have an idea of what to do, but want to try to do it as fast as possible in order to do more, if that makes sense.
> 
> If I would have walked in and right off rip said "this flange is garbage and an accident waiting to happen, it needs to be replaced" instead of trying to set it and forget it I'd have been done sooner and felt better about it all.
> 
> Lesson learned.


 the more you do the more $$$ you make...so if from the beginning you changed out the flange and cleaned the horn, it would have been a 1 time set the toilet and done and a pocket of money instead of the short cut of aggravation and how many times you set it for the same price...that ended up taking probably twice the time...
there is a difference between hustling and getting work done and rushing through a job and making mistakes YOU have to pay for..it all comes in time and experience being your own boss...


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

SlightlyAmused said:


> Thanks. I think my biggest difficulty right now is I'm stuck in a weird place where I have an idea of what to do, but want to try to do it as fast as possible in order to do more, if that makes sense.
> 
> If I would have walked in and right off rip said "this flange is garbage and an accident waiting to happen, it needs to be replaced" instead of trying to set it and forget it I'd have been done sooner and felt better about it all.
> 
> Lesson learned.


Just so you know, we aren’t trying to be Aholes or anything! I can tell you for a fact my Master is the nicest Azzhole there is! SRDH might come close, but I can’t say for sure... but probably pretty close.

I use to try short cuts too when I was an employee. Sometimes they’d work, sometimes they wouldn’t cost me but my employer. I still got paid, but at what cost to my employer, time and material?

Eventually it will be like, “This again! Let’s just get it knocked out and be done with it!”


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

OpenSights said:


> Just so you know, we aren’t trying to be Aholes or anything! I can tell you for a fact my Master is the nicest Azzhole there is! SRDH might come close, but I can’t say for sure... but probably pretty close.
> 
> I use to try short cuts too when I was an employee. Sometimes they’d work, sometimes they wouldn’t cost me but my employer. I still got paid, but at what cost to my employer, time and material?
> 
> Eventually it will be like, “This again! Let’s just get it knocked out and be done with it!”





gee thanks..I think......:vs_whistle:


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> gee thanks..I think......:vs_whistle:


Complement you azzhole!


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

OpenSights said:


> Sometimes you can’t fix stupid.


The guy today with the clogged floor drain I told him his water main valve started to leak and he said to me it'll be next year! What the F?? looks like he wants his basement floor destroyed. So I wrote down it needed to be replaced asap. Whatever onto the next job.


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

I don't see anyone as an azz yet. Everyone seems pretty cool. I ended up calling that customer back on my own time to follow up. I still don't like how the job turned out but eh. It's a learning process. One of the joys of being on my own I guess.


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

Best laid plans of mice & men........:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

opensights said:


> complement you azzhole!


lmao......those are rare.....


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

Just a follow up on the horrible toilet situation.

So I called the customer back on my own time. I couldn't shake the feeling that it could have been done better. She told me the flapper broke and that she bought a new one and couldn't get it on. So I swung by after work and installed it, just to see the toilet was still uneven and not sitting right.

I've never dealt with a toilet like this and I had tried everything I could think of up to that point. Looking into the tank I saw it had been rebuilt at some point with some Frankenstein parts so I offered what is probably the dumbest thing I could have.

If she bought the toilet, I would install it... Free...after work. I wouldn't see a dime in any way.


Of course she jumped on it. So I just installed the toilet a little bit ago and it fit like a glove. Not a single problem what so ever. She was estatic and I can finally put my mind at ease over the job.

Did I take a loss? Yes. Did I do a horrible thing and work for free? Yup. But I also gave my customer a real solution and showed that I give a damn. That seems worth it to me.

Thank you for your advice here. I've really started to think more of "That needs to be replaced, just do it" instead of the "hack around it and make it work" and it's saved me countless hours.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

SlightlyAmused said:


> Just a follow up on the horrible toilet situation.
> 
> So I called the customer back on my own time. I couldn't shake the feeling that it could have been done better. She told me the flapper broke and that she bought a new one and couldn't get it on. So I swung by after work and installed it, just to see the toilet was still uneven and not sitting right.
> 
> ...



well you said you are working for yourself...sooo how much do you spend on advertising ?? if any..?? look at it this way, if she refers you to a few people and you get those jobs you win and can scratch your time up to " an advertising cost"..always look at the big picture of whats in it for you down the line..you paid if forward this time, with luck it will payoff down the line..I many times give goos customers little freebies and it makes a BIG difference in a good way, I dont give the house away, but if im doing a big renovation or job and the customer has a leaky faucet ill throw in some washers..so it cost me some time and nothing in materials, but what it means to the customer is allot more...
try printing up some $10.00 off the next service call or job coupons and hand them out to customers and number them to keep track and tell your existing customer if they get you a new paying customer with the coupon you will give them $20.00 off their next job, and also give them a $10.00 coupon for themselves ontop of the $20 if they get you a new customer..its almost like a pyramid scheme that the more customers they get for you the more money they get off a plumbing job..you win both ways..its amazing what people will do to get $$ off of a job and at the same time expanding your customer base..and always remember..you have to spend money to make money.... BIG corps spend billions on advertising and all kinds of slick ways to get and keep customers...
the big picture is a large customer base that will be your bread and butter down the road..


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> well you said you are working for yourself...sooo how much do you spend on advertising ?? if any..?? look at it this way, if she refers you to a few people and you get those jobs you win and can scratch your time up to " an advertising cost"..always look at the big picture of whats in it for you down the line..you paid if forward this time, with luck it will payoff down the line..I many times give goos customers little freebies and it makes a BIG difference in a good way, I dont give the house away, but if im doing a big renovation or job and the customer has a leaky faucet ill throw in some washers..so it cost me some time and nothing in materials, but what it means to the customer is allot more...
> try printing up some $10.00 off the next service call or job coupons and hand them out to customers and number them to keep track and tell your existing customer if they get you a new paying customer with the coupon you will give them $20.00 off their next job, and also give them a $10.00 coupon for themselves ontop of the $20 if they get you a new customer..its almost like a pyramid scheme that the more customers they get for you the more money they get off a plumbing job..you win both ways..its amazing what people will do to get $$ off of a job and at the same time expanding your customer base..and always remember..you have to spend money to make money.... BIG corps spend billions on advertising and all kinds of slick ways to get and keep customers...
> the big picture is a large customer base that will be your bread and butter down the road..


He's an employee and went to replace the toilet on his own time after work.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Tango said:


> He's an employee and went to replace the toilet on his own time after work.


in that case..hes out of his fuking mind....do you know the liability you put on yourself and the company you work for??? suppose you got hurt? you company would be screwed with workers comp..its still their job you went on , on your own time...and what if the lady says you raped her?? how do you explain why your there?? you think a jury will believe you went to fix a company problem on your personal time?? if you worked for me you would be fired on the spot...you could have cost your company millions in liability from many issues of what you did...
so im not raggin on you for no reason..but do you see the potential liability??? now again if this was your company and her your customer..no problem as stated in my last post...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> in that case..hes out of his fuking mind....do you know the liability you put on yourself and the company you work for??? suppose you got hurt? you company would be screwed with workers comp..its still their job you went on , on your own time...and what if the lady says you raped her?? how do you explain why your there?? you think a jury will believe you went to fix a company problem on your personal time?? if you worked for me you would be fired on the spot...you could have cost your company millions in liability from many issues of what you did...
> so im not raggin on you for no reason..but do you see the potential liability??? now again if this was your company and her your customer..no problem as stated in my last post...



Based on his intro posts, he seems like he's been only in the trade like 2 years or something.


You bring some very good points. It would of been better to say to the boss how about we schedule during the day a free toilet replacement (labor only).


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

SlightlyAmused said:


> Did I take a loss? Yes. Did I do a horrible thing and work for free? Yup. But I also gave my customer a real solution and showed that I give a damn. That seems worth it to me..........





Doing the right thing is always worth it :smile: Good job buddy :thumbsup:




.


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> in that case..hes out of his fuking mind....do you know the liability you put on yourself and the company you work for??? suppose you got hurt? you company would be screwed with workers comp..its still their job you went on , on your own time...and what if the lady says you raped her?? how do you explain why your there?? you think a jury will believe you went to fix a company problem on your personal time?? if you worked for me you would be fired on the spot...you could have cost your company millions in liability from many issues of what you did...
> so im not raggin on you for no reason..but do you see the potential liability??? now again if this was your company and her your customer..no problem as stated in my last post...


To be fair, our boss has openly said he doesn't mind us doing side work or following up with customers after work, as long as we are not "stealing money"

My "office" (it's a very small shop) was aware that I was going back to the job and had no problems with it. I made sure I wasn't screwing my boss over or doing shady stuff before I went. It's not like I just up and went to their house and did work without checking with my shop. 

You do make good points though about injury and rape lol.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

SlightlyAmused said:


> To be fair, our boss has openly said he doesn't mind us doing side work or following up with customers after work, as long as we are not "stealing money"
> 
> My "office" (it's a very small shop) was aware that I was going back to the job and had no problems with it. I made sure I wasn't screwing my boss over or doing shady stuff before I went. It's not like I just up and went to their house and did work without checking with my shop.
> 
> You do make good points though about injury and rape lol.



that was one bit of very important info you left out, if the owner knows your going back then some of the risk falls back on him..
there is an old saying that holds true more often than not.." no good deed goes unpunished"....as much as you want to do stuff like that it can lead to real bad outcomes...and maybe your boss doesnt see that either...this society has become a sue happy country.....so even great customers can go bad in a second...and what would happen if the lady tells you to fix something else for free and now you dont do it??
will she turn around and say you threatened her or worse??
there are too many unknowns and even during normal working hours this occurs....
you need to protect your self from certain liabilities. you may not see them yet and maybe you havent experienced customers from hell or people that want to screw you over from the start..the more you deal with people in business you will find out and learn to recognize the trouble customers and run away from them fast...
ill say its not if you will cross paths with one but when...just something to think about as you work each day and maybe just run scenarios through your mind of" what if this happened"..
now when your boss says you can do side work, is his insurance and license cover you for your side work??
if not then you are doing plumbing illegally and the liabilities for that are through the roof..
and can drag your boss into court for it....if hes telling you to do side work....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

SlightlyAmused said:


> To be fair, our boss has openly said he doesn't mind us doing side work or following up with customers after work, as long as we are not "stealing money"
> 
> My "office" (it's a very small shop) was aware that I was going back to the job and had no problems with it. I made sure I wasn't screwing my boss over or doing shady stuff before I went. It's not like I just up and went to their house and did work without checking with my shop.
> 
> You do make good points though about injury and rape lol.


Doing side work is frowned upon from business owners on this site. We worked hard to earn licenses and then we are undermined by those who do. If you were in my area you'd eventually get caught, brought on criminal charges because it's illegal and as an individual you'd get 5000$ plus fees with would probably total over 8K for each job that you are charged with. With that you'd get a permanent criminal record.

I know some guys who ruined tubs because they dropped a pot of glue and ran away from the job or put a house on fire. Then if people get sick because of a screw up you'll pile on more charges.


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

So I've given up side jobs for the time being, unless it's for friends and family. Good thing I don't have friends though. I've got enough customers at this point who are starting to request me personally that I feel slightly valued and have brought in a new account to my company. 

Still there are days.... Like today. My last job of the day should have been a simple cartridge replacement but nope. Turned into a valve replacement. Nothing but stress. End of the day though I have no leaks. It was the first time I've ever said "Please God don't leak" out loud, meaning every word of it, as I turned the water back on.

First time installing a shower valve on my own, I was stressing pretty hard for a moment but figured out a few new things to make it significantly easier next time and look better. I don't know how you all did it when you first got out on your own and I give you respect. No wonder everyone has a drinking problem.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

SlightlyAmused said:


> .........
> First time installing a shower valve on my own......




You replaced a moen shower valve because you couldn't get the rest of the cartridge out? Was it plastic or brass?







.


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> You replaced a moen shower valve because you couldn't get the rest of the cartridge out? Was it plastic or brass?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Brass. I replaced it after being told to do so.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

SlightlyAmused said:


> Brass. I replaced it after being told to do so.





You need a moen cartridge removal tool. You should also get a square extractor set and a 12pt deep socket set or ideally a tap driver set.

There are two different extractors. One is for the cartridge as a whole and usually works. The other is for pulling just the outer piece when it gets stuck.

A spray bottle full of vinegar would probably help too, though I have never personally tried that.






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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

I actually have two versions of the whole cartridge puller. One of them that I don't think they make anymore has a skinnier hex nut and sometimes can be helpful for fitting on certain valve bodies.


You can get some 1/2" square steel rod and grind your own size specific square extractor. Mind you it won't be quite as hard as a factory made extractor. That could be good though as they can crack from being too hard/you being to rough.


I made one by clamping a piece of angle iron ~15 degrees off perpendicular to the grinding wheel to the rest on my bench grinder. Then I slowly pushed the square rod into the side of the wheel to grind a bevel. Mind you you'll want a fresh grinding wheel with a nice flat side and don't go too fast, you could explode the wheel, they aren't really meant for side loading.



I heated the now tapered end of the rod and quenched it in water or used motor oil to harden it. 



I used mine for taking out extremely large faucet seats in a very old speakman shower valve that had accordingly very large square broaches. Talk about full flow :biggrin:







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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

I ended up doing a valve replacent at a LTC home this past week.
Was planning on just changing the delta cartridge, so much calcite build up took 20 mins to get the set screw out of the handle was almost at the point were i was just gunna drill it out, on to the next pain in the butt, getting the nut off holding the catridge in place, only had enough room for 1 wrench ended up twisting the body of the valve at that point i new i was cutting a hole in the closet behind the tub an shutting the water down.
Some times all we can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best. I used to get so stressed out over things not going my way but iv just got used to these things in the service world. To many variables.
The harder things are,the better plumbers we become an eventually not to many things phase us anymore. Its just plumbing not brain surgury after all.

As for side jobs an the plumbing police on here...
Eventually my goal is to work for myself, but i cant just quit my day job an wait for work to come my way, i have bills and responsablilities like most people, so i will do cash jobs for friends and family and build up enough clients where the time will come when i know i dont need my 40 hour a week job to support the family.
Go ahead an "arrest me" for changin a flapper for my neighbour. Im a licensed plumber not a kijiji a**hole stealing all your work


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

canuck92 said:


> ........ at that point i new i was cutting a hole in the closet behind the tub an shutting the water down................................... i cant just quit my day job an wait for work to come my way....................
> Go ahead an "arrest me" for changin a flapper for my neighbour. Im a licensed plumber not a kijiji a**hole stealing all your work






First, if you already had the water off to change the cartridge why would you need to then shut water down to the whole place to change the valve body?




I keep spare delta classic handles on the van in short and long, one of each. You can get larger tube sockets than would normally come with a plumber's socket set. Much easier than trying to get channellocks or crescent wrenches on the hex flats.


Second, I totally agree about the side work. It's insane to think you can just be joe nobody from anywhere and expect people to hire you on a consistent basis. The general rule of thumb around here is you don't take work from your employer. We have one or two guys that will do odd jobs but never for our employer's customers. We all get asked all the time about side work. I politely decline and say that regardless of the ethics my life is too busy for side work right now, side steps the issue of telling them they're being aholes for trying to screw the company I work for and put me in a bad spot. 



That's not to say there aren't exceptions, but chances are if I am willing to work for one of my employer's customers I will do it for free because they're some 100 year old on social security with no children to take care of them.




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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> canuck92 said:
> 
> 
> > ........ at that point i new i was cutting a hole in the closet behind the tub an shutting the water down................................... i cant just quit my day job an wait for work to come my way....................
> ...


The delta valve had built in stops ( that were already leaking ), and the nut was round not hex
Kinda had everything working against me lol.
Yea i dont seek out more work or advertise in any way but if im approched an asked and i have the time ill do it. It would sound stupid to say no sorry i cant legally fix your whatever the issue is cause i didnt give the government a bunch of extra cash.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

canuck92 said:


> The delta valve had built in stops ( that were already leaking ), and the nut was round not hex
> Kinda had everything working against me lol.
> Yea i dont seek out more work or advertise in any way but if im approched an asked and i have the time ill do it. It would sound stupid to say no sorry i cant legally fix your whatever the issue is cause i didnt give the government a bunch of extra cash.





Half the customers who tell me they think plumbers charge a lot are the same ones who make remarks about me having a good job that lets me raise so many kids. The mental disconnect there is baffling. Where do they think the money to pay employees well comes from?







.


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> canuck92 said:
> 
> 
> > The delta valve had built in stops ( that were already leaking ), and the nut was round not hex
> ...


Tbh i havent had too many people express that the prices are too high. Can probably count on my one hand.
This past week i actually got $100 in tips from people. As much as i hate small talk an socializing, spending an extra 15 mins chatting an listening to people or the " we hd one of your guys here befour did a crap job" and just say well let me tighten that faucet down for you, goes a long way.
Not only is it good for company reputation but my own too cause i know one day ill be doing my own thing.
Guess it all depends in the area we all serve some people are strapped for cash and probbly bi*tch more in places like toronto


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