My whole life I’ve had to move around the sprinkler all around my yard, and sometimes it is just the last thing on my list to do, but if I forget then I start getting those ugly yellow patches in my yard. I finally got a sprinkler system installed and I love not having to worry about it anymore. If you are thinking about installing a sprinkler system here are a few tips to help you out.

If you are doing this all by yourself you’ll need to call and find out if there are any restrictions in your community or any regulations about backflow prevention or pipe sizes. If you hire in someone they will already have this information.

You also need to know about your utility pipes or electrical wires that you have running about your yard. It would be horrible to hit one of these and have no light in your home for a couple days. If you hire someone they will find out and plan ways around these things.

Find out about your water pressure. If your water pressure is too low it can cause problems reaching all areas of your yard, but if it is too high you can face other pressure problems.

You’ll first want to plan out your system throughout your yard. You’ll want to have it start at your water source and work out from there.

After you know where the utility lines and pipes are, as well as knowing where you want to lay everything, your next responsibility is to dig. You will have to dig out all the trenches for your pipes to lay.

You’ll have to choose your pipes, sprinkler heads, and risers that you prefer. Before you start gluing anything, have your pipes laid out perfectly flat in the trenches.

If you choose to do this yourself you will have to measure everything exactly as well as cut your pipes. To get the best cut use only PVC ratcheting cutters.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

Remember your trenches should be no deeper than 8 inches. After you have laid your pipes in them, go around and double check everything again to make sure that you have the right cut and length for all your PVC pipes.

Now take everything, your risers and pipes, and fit them all together. Don’t glue anything; we’re not to that step yet. Go over your plans and make sure that everything looks exact and in place.

You might have some grass in your front yard that has cement separating the sections of grass that you don’t want your sprinkler to miss. If this is the case, dig out where you want it on the separate section of grass. Then, place tap on the end of the pipe that will go through to the other side, and push it over so that it comes out on the other section.

Next, you’ll want to make your connection to your water supply. Connect a t-connection to it.

This is also a good time to set up your manifold. This includes your emergency shut off valve or any other switches.

Now that your system is all perfectly laid out you can go ahead and glue everything together. Make sure that the glue you bought says PVC pipe glue. There is other pipe glue that wont work on PVC pipes very well.

Now, you want to give your new system a go. Using your controllers, or any other system you have set up, turn on your water and watch to see if you have any leaks or any other problems. You want to make sure everything works now before you can move to your next step.

Now that you are done setting up your sprinkler system go ahead and bury all of the pipes. Make sure that when you bury your risers that they are secure and stable. If this job seems too big for you there are always professionals that can help you out.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

Have you heard of high pressure jetting when it comes to cleaning out clogs in your drains? I’ve found that plumbers have mentioned it to me as a solution before but what exactly is high pressure jetting and when is it necessary to use it?

Plumbers haven’t always had the ease of using an auger, these are the instruments that plumbers will stick into the pipes to clean them out. They used to have to take it apart and even dig it up. Augers do a wonderful job at pipe cleaning, but what do you do when they can’t hand the job?

Grease, food, and other things can make for a really tough clog. Things like this built up over time can become very strong and an auger wont work at all on some of them. You can work hours and hours on it but to no avail.

Some may think that these types of clogs are usually just found in restaurant, but that is not necessarily true. Many homes can build up these types of clogs as well. High pressure jetting will be the only thing that will be able to free up your pipes from this type of clog.

You have to love all of the developments that science and inventors have been able to do to make our lives easier. Because of these developments, most plumbers now are able to own a high pressure jetting system.

Because of the price reduction for plumbers, this seeps down and makes it an easy and affordable solution to any household or commercial clogging that you might be facing.

If you need high pressure jetting in your home or business, don’t rent and try to use a jetting system yourself. The best thing is to allow the professionals to work it. This way you can ensure that the problem will be taken care of.

Because of the results, jetting should never have to be done in your home more than once a year. If you think you have a clog that it just not coming out even with an auger, call a local plumber and ask if they offer high pressure jetting.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

The warm summer is coming to a close and we’ll be preparing for winter soon enough. As you begin to prepare, start thinking about some other great heating options you might enjoy, like a new fireplace. These are not only beautiful but a great way to pass those cold months by.

If you are exploring options of getting a fireplace in your home, here are just a few things to think about as you do it.

The first thing that you have to do when thinking about getting a fireplace is picking out the perfect room in your home. I love having ours in the family room so that we can gather around it at night. It’s always smart to add it to a room that tends to be used more than the others.

The next thing to think about when adding a fireplace is to think about the size. Once you have the room this should be an easy decision. You also have to think about if you want a gas fireplace or a real one.

Real fireplaces in the home aren’t extinct yet. People still love gathering around them. I will have to say I prefer the gas fireplace with the easy turn on and off button though.

If you are looking into getting a gas fireplace, you really have two options; ventless fireplace and a vent fireplace. A ventless fireplace doesn’t need any external vent so you can place it anywhere in the home. With a vent fireplace you are limited because you must place it at a place in your home that has either a chimney or other venting system.

If you are trying to be more cost efficient, the ventless fireplace tends to be less expensive than the vented fireplace. I love the fact that with a ventless fireplace you aren’t limited on where you can place it in the home.

The above are just some basic choices that you have as you choose the perfect fireplace for your home. Look through and educate yourself with the help of a professional to find out what is right for you.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

Some small business owners will find themselves in a trap when they first build their office or restaurant. In their desire to save money they will take on the extra load of plumbing, maintenance, and supplies. Sometimes this can be very counterproductive.

You need to think about the long run and save money by hiring a professional commercial plumber. They will be able to make sure that you have the perfect professional atmosphere that your office or restaurant needs.

With all the paper work you will already by handling you might not want to add on more by doing plumbing by yourself. Many commercial buildings will already have plumbing, but if you are remolding and need to change anything you will need to check out the requirements that your state or city has laid out for you.

If you want to cut down on adding more to your to do list, bring in a professional to help out. Professionals will already know about the city requirements and will be able to fill out any paperwork that may be necessary.

If you are starting out a new restaurant it might be even more difficult to do everything by yourself. Work with a plumbing company that will not only be able to install and the restaurant equipment that you will need, but also one that will be able to help you choose between different options.

A company’s bathroom will say a lot about the company. You want it to look professional and follow the same plan as the rest of your business floor plan. You might needs some professional assistance when you are doing any restroom upgrades.

If you are looking for plumbing or renovation help, make sure that you are looking in the right place. Don’t hire any plumber. You want those that are experienced in commercial plumbing and renovation. These are those that will know the requirements and restrictions that your city has for your commercial property.

It never hurts to double check the work of those that you are planning on using. Find out if you can get any references and talk to those that have used these services before.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

Waking up in the freezing morning can be dreadful, but what is worse is when you go to turn on a warm shower to find no water coming out. Temperatures during the winter months can cause frozen pipes. If you would like to avoid frozen pipes, here are some suggestions.

1. Insulation is the key to keeping your pipes from freezing easily. Insulation is meant to retain the heat that is already in the pipe, however. It is not going to be adding heat to it. Fiberglass insulation proves to be the best insulator for pipes, though it can irritate your eyes, skin, and lungs. Rubber insulation is less expensive than fiberglass, and is easier to work with. However, it does not work well with heat tape because it doesn’t provide any barrier for vapor. If you have exposed pipes under your home or outside you could also try using insulation “tubing”. Tubing is also relatively easy to work with, and provides good insulation for colder climates. Use pipe insulation tape on areas that are harder to fit.

2. If you have a bathroom that is exposed to the winter air more than the rest of your house, try a home remedy to keep the pipe from freezing. Pour a cupful of windshield washer fluid into the sink and shower drains and leave them over night. This provides an anti-freeze effect.

3. Open the cabinet doors underneath your sinks. This allows warm air from the room to circulate around the pipes. Focus on the bathrooms and kitchen cabinet doors.

4. If you are a “snow bird” who leave their homes for a length of time during the wintertime you could also purchase a freeze alarm, or an alarm that monitors the temperature of your home. These alarms can be programmed to alert you or a neighbor if the temperature drops below where it needs to. They can also be handy for those who are vacationing and don’t want to worry about coming home to busted pipes.

5. After you remove your hoses outside for the winter, be sure to shut off the valve that supplies water to the outside tap. You should also drain all the standing water from the pipe. Keep the outside tap open until the weather gets warmer, and then you can close it and turn back on the water supply valve.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

Clogged toilets, sinks, drains, and tubs can happen without notice. Sometimes the clog is due to poor plumbing, but many times it can be fixed with some plumbing tools. Here are the top 5 tools for de-clogging your pipes.

1. Plunger: A plunger is the first tool to use when de-clogging your drain. It can be a very handy tool, especially when trying to clear blockage with toilets and sinks. Plungers can dislodge clogs without you having to take apart your pipes to fix the problem.

2. Snake: A snake, also known as an auger, is a more advanced tool to get rid of clogs in your pipes. A snake is a coiled spiral cable, and you push the “snake” down the pipes to push on whatever is clogging the pipe and get it dislodged. Snakes have a crank handle to move the snake down the pipe.

3. Toilet snake: A toilet snake is very similar to a regular snake, but it is used specifically for fixing toilet clogs. They are more rigid than the other snakes, and they only have a short cable. It also is fitted with a rubber sleeve so the snake won’t hurt the porcelain of your bowl as it is cranked.

4. Sewer tape: Although sewer tape is not as effective as a snake, it can dislodge clogs that a plunger can’t. The name sewer tape may be a bit misleading. It actually is a flat, metal band with a hook placed on the end of it to uproot the clog.

5. Drain Cleaner: Drain cleaners can be very useful when there is buildup in your pipes causing clogs. Drain cleaners use chemicals to clear up the clogged drains. Liquid drain cleaners are easy to use, and will dissolve everything in the pipeline on its way down. A lot of times grease and hair cause a lot of buildup in drains. Drain cleaners will almost always contain a combination of chemicals to dissolve these two pipe problems. Don’t try to combine cleaners, as they are using chemicals and they might not mix well.

While drain cleaners do combine chemicals with their ingredients, it is important that you don’t try to do this yourself. Chemicals can react very badly to each other and should never be mixed. Remember to use safety practices while using any type of chemicals, even ones that seem as safe as drain cleaners.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

It would be nice to never have to worry about equipment and whether it worked or not. Sadly, that is not how life goes. Most technical equipment need to be checked regularly to make sure it works correctly, and swamp coolers are no exception.

Think of your swamp cooler as if it were a car. A car needs to have its oil changed, its battery recharged, its tires rotated, etc. Just like a car, an HVAC needs these regular checkups to be sure that it is working at its best.

HVAC systems are more efficient when they are turned on after the temperature reaches 85 degrees or higher. You should also turn the water pump on at least five minutes before you turn on the fan, that way the pads are saturated with water first. This will make the cooler more effective, and will save on water usage and energy.

Be sure that you give your swamp cooler the proper maintenance. Check the fan belt to be sure it isn’t sagging. If it is visibly sagging more than about an inch it should be replaced.

Be sure the cooler pads are also in good shape. Check for any cracks or holes, or any leaks in the casement or tray. If there are, call an air conditioning repairman.

Next, be sure the water level is where it should be. The water should reach just below the top of the cooler’s tray. If it isn’t, you can adjust it with the float arm. Finish the maintenance check by making certain everything else is in working order, such as the pump and motor.

Winterize your swamp cooler once the weather turns colder. It’s important to clean the buildup deposits so that they don’t harden during the cold months and become impossible to remove. Clean out the tray and drain all water completely.

You will no longer be using the swamp cooler during the winter, so it is important to turn off the water line to it. This will prevent the water line from freezing. Remove the panels during the wintertime every month or so to clean out any debris that gets caught inside to keep the pads from getting ruined by leaves and debris.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

Bathroom sinks tend to clog more than other sinks in your home. This can partly be true due to the large amount of hair that falls through the sink. Here are some steps you should take if you find your bathroom sink won’t drain properly.

Use a plungers to unclog a minor problem. Try this first, since it doesn’t require you to take the sink apart. Add some water to the sink bowl, and then plunge.

Use a force cup plunger and plunge up and down three or four times before stopping. Lift the plunger up to see if the water has drained yet. If that solved the problem, run the faucet for a few minutes to see if it gets clogged again.

If the sink is still clogged you will need to dismantle the sink trap. You will be dismantling the p-trap. A p-trap is the pipe that dips low and then curves.

The p-trap can be taken off with a pipe wrench. The best way to take off the p-trap is to unscrew the nuts on the side. Have a bucket handy to catch everything that comes out of the trap pipe when you take it off.

After the trap is taken off, your next step will be to clean out the trap. The trap will be full of grime and slush that never got a chance to go through the pipe. Clean the inside of the p-trap with a cleaning brush and clean out all the large pieces that could possibly be a clog hazard.

If that didn’t fix the problem, the odds are that the clog is further down in the pipeline. For this type of issue you will need a snake. The best snake to use for this job would be a sink snake, or drill snake.

You can rent snakes from professional plumbers if you don’t own one. Use protective gloves and run the snake downwards, moving it through the pipe. Be sure to move it through the pipeline more than once to be sure the clog has been dislodged. Reassemble the trap and repeat the process, or call a professional, if the problem is not fixed.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating

There are many advantages to using a drain cleaner. However, there may be some things you may want to be aware of before you use one. Here are some pros and cons to using commercial drain cleaners.

Advantages: – Commercial drain cleaners can be used by anyone. It is an easy process, and requires no dismantling of your sink. You simply unscrew the lid, pour the drain cleaner down the sink, and you are done. – Drain cleaner won’t damage your pipes. There won’t be any scraping or metal going down your pipes. Drain cleaners work using a chemical reaction to unclog the clogged grime.

- It won’t damage your sink. Drain cleaners work using a chemical reaction so it won’t damage your pipes. There won’t be any metal scraping down your pipes to unclog the drain.

Disadvantages: – Drain cleaners could possibly have pollutants in them. As much as you may trust the manufacturer, they probably wouldn’t publicize if it has any harmful chemicals in it. The only way you would really be able to know is if you personally researched every ingredient in the cleaner.

- Drain cleaners have to attack a lot of possible clog substances. You may have one issue in the drain, but your drain cleaner won’t know the difference. It will take the time to attack every possible substance in the piping.

- They attack all possible substances in your piping. Even if you have one issue in your pipe that is causing the pipe to be clogged, your drain cleaner won’t know the difference. It will still take the time to attack every possible substance in the piping regardless. – Aren’t as effective as cleaning rods or brushes. Liquid drain cleaners will leave a residue that a cleaning rod won’t. If used enough, the drain cleaner will leave enough residue that it will eventually cause the clogging issue.

While there are a few drawbacks, drain cleaners have provided very satisfactory results. Their convenience and ability to resolve minor plumbing clogs have made them a very popular choice. Decide for yourself whether you should use them or not.

It’s important to have a trustworthy plumber to take care of your plumbing needs and air conditioning, and heating