# Our jacklegs are better than yours!!



## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

Commercial customer of mine called a two days ago wanting me to fix a leak on a 2" galvanized water line. I told him it would be a couple days before I could get to it, he said he would get another guy he knows to see if he could fix it, I said no problem. Well, today he called wanting me to go by there and that his guy would be there with a mini excavator and have it dug up. The line was supposedly repaired last year by our local septic pumper company and had started leaking again. I arrive and spotted one problem, pumper man used plastic dresser couplings and one had cracked, here comes the good part, customer's guy had installed a 2" Fernco in place of the cracked one and was dumbfounded when it blew off!:thumbsup:
Picture of my repair below.......


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## incarnatopnh (Feb 1, 2011)

Nice work. We don't have that luxury here. The local water dept. requires full replacement of a leaking galvanized waterline. Good money for us, tough pill to swallow for the customer.


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

incarnatopnh said:


> Nice work. We don't have that luxury here. The local water dept. requires full replacement of a leaking galvanized waterline. Good money for us, tough pill to swallow for the customer.


Wow! That's a tough position by the W/D to require a full replacement. This particular w/l is probably 500' and under 8" of old (HARD) concrete of a Trucking Co. lot. Hopefully he will get a new tap/meter closer to his property and abandon this line.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

Since when did septic guys have a fargin clue about plumbing? We have a jackleg outfit like that here. Recently I went to look at a job where a guy had a Urinal and wash sink in his garage/shop. Never was vented when it was first installed. Septic guy installs the POS black AAV on the drain and tells the guy "If this don't help, then a vent through the roof won't make a difference." 

My response to the homeowner was "Since when did a guy who pumped septic tanks for a living become a plumber? Oh, yeah that's right he isn't one!"


What about using trenchless to replace the line? Ask plbbiz he knows all about them.


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

The man who owns the pumping company was grandfathered in as a Master Plumber back in the late 70's, don't ask me how he was qualified though. Our code here allow's AAV's and the new construction plumber's here use them liberally!
I was told not to put on anything that pumps like W/M, sewer ejectors etc. but, that don't stop em' from doing it.
And no, the inspectors around here don't know their azz from a hole in the ground, majority of them have been hired through the buddy system.


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

Plumbergeek said:


> The man who owns the pumping company was grandfathered in as a Master Plumber back in the late 70's, don't ask me how he was qualified though. Our code here allow's AAV's and the new construction plumber's here use them liberally!
> I was told not to put on anything that pumps like W/M, sewer ejectors etc. but, that don't stop em' from doing it.
> And no, the inspectors around here don't know their azz from a hole in the ground, majority of them have been hired through the buddy system.



I see your location is Georgia, but you must be misdirecting us. You gotta be a plumber in Northeast Indiana with what you are saying. 

I hate that Grandfather rule, and I am glad those who got in, but don't know their a$$ from a hole in the ground are retiring. How the hell you gonna give a guy a license with no real proof he knows what he is doing. 

My old boss was a great guy, sharp on service, could fix anything, and I mean anything. But when it came to code, he would laugh at us and say "You guys and your code. I always plumb with common sense." One day I had to draw him a picture of what I meant by calling something a trap arm.  While he got it right many times, he still would on occasion create a s-trap, and admitted it after my explanation. 

Don't get me wrong, he knew way more than me about a lot of different things, and code rarely worked its way into our daily lives.


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

Dang, yall got a code :laughing::laughing: Around here they don't even plumb using common sense. Majority are illegals who have just found the convenience of indoor plumbing and the rest are crack heads!


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## user2090 (Sep 26, 2009)

How you like this work? :laughing:


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

Indie said:


> How you like this work? :laughing:


We always install the water fountain closer to the crapper here in Ga. You need to replenish yourself when having a diarrhea attack!


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## incarnatopnh (Feb 1, 2011)

Plumbergeek said:


> Wow! That's a tough position by the W/D to require a full replacement. This particular w/l is probably 500' and under 8" of old (HARD) concrete of a Trucking Co. lot. Hopefully he will get a new tap/meter closer to his property and abandon this line.


Yea how do you think I felt having to be the guy enforcing those rules. I had to tell an old lady who had nothing that she had to replace her whole line for a pin hole leak... Now I'm on the other end trying to fight the absurd rules. Much better on this side. At least I can sleep at night!


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Indie said:


> ...What about using trenchless to replace the line? Ask plbbiz he knows all about them.


I'd give it a shot. Break it into four 125' pulls. :thumbsup:


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

plbgbiz said:


> I'd give it a shot. Break it into four 125' pulls. :thumbsup:


Brain Fart on my part, I have a guy that bores W/L replacements for me on residential jobs, It never crossed ny mind about doing this job
See what happens when you get to 50everything starts to go faster!


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## stillaround (Mar 11, 2009)

If we think the galv will shift or pull we have put on ground clamps and a thick wire to keep the dresser cpl form moving...


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Plumbergeek said:


> Brain Fart on my part, I have a guy that bores W/L replacements for me on residential jobs, It never crossed ny mind about doing this job
> See what happens when you get to 50everything starts to go faster!


Directional Boring and Pipe Bursting are 2 different animals....


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

Yes, No pipe bursting around here, but this guy I use can bore in a new line.
The question is will the owner go for it? He is a tight wad afterall.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

Redwood said:


> Directional Boring and Pipe Bursting are 2 different animals....


 I've had very, very good luck with directional boring.

Most of the time when I'm having it done it's to preserve landscaping or to run a waterline through an existing easement without disturbing the neighbors property.

The guys I use can hit their target within about 8".


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Widdershins said:


> I've had very, very good luck with directional boring.
> 
> Most of the time when I'm having it done it's to preserve landscaping or to run a waterline through an existing easement without disturbing the neighbors property.
> 
> The guys I use can hit their target within about 8".


But they sometimes hit things as well...

I've managed to find 1 gas line in a sewer so far...
Fortunately the customer said the problem happened right after the gas company did something.... :whistling2:

We hit something and decided not to work it very hard.


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## Plumbergeek (Aug 16, 2010)

Found another "great" handi-hack job today! Is this the proper way to do a re-pipe? They ran CPVC and joined back to the galvanzied drops with compression unions:thumbup: I can't beleive they lasted as long as they have, This is a lady lawyers office that she has been in since 1999. I capped off the lines and told her the gavanized needs to be removed at all fixtures.


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