Water Supply

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  Plumbing Pitfalls For Bathroom Remodels

  From corroded pipes and antique fixtures to limited access and impossible working conditions, bath remodels in older homes present a variety of budget-busting obstacles. Here’s a checklist of the most common problem areas.

   

• Kitchen and Bath: The Well Tempered Toilet (Subscriber content)

  Antisweat toilet valves

   
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  Plastic Plumbing Comes of Age

  Ten years of problems with polybutylene piping have made contractors wary of using plastic pipe for domestic water supply. That’s a mistake, according to this plumbing contractor, who has plumbed residential water systems successfully for 15 years using cross-linked polyethylene tubing.

   
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  Kitchen & Bath: Venting Island Sinks (Subscriber content)

  Venting strategies for island sinks

   

• Resources: Primers for Plumbers

  Plumbing installation guides, e-mail forums

   

• On-Demand Water Heaters (Subscriber content)

  For occasional hot water usage, or when fixture groups are located far from a central storage tank, instantaneous or point-of-use water heaters can be an economical option.

   

• Quick Kitchen Estimates (Subscriber content)

  Clients often want to know what their new kitchen will cost before they’ve picked cabinets or decided on countertop material — even before they’ve finalized the layout. This unit-price approach will help you produce rough estimates quickly and with a minimum of guesswork.

   

• Installing Sprinkler Systems (Subscriber content)

  In the U.S., a residential fire starts every 68 seconds. To prevent loss of life, some municipalities are beginning to require sprinklers in new homes. Here’s what you need to know before you design and install a working system.

   

• Fighting for Inches: A Guide to Small Bathroom Design (Subscriber content)

  Fitting all the fixtures into a usable space is the main challenge of small bath design. A house designer describes her favorite small-space floor plans.

   

• NKBA's 27 Principles of Bath Design (Subscriber content)

  Clearances and layout guidelines for the design of safe and comfortable bathrooms.

   

• The Safe Bathroom (Subscriber content)

  More accidents happen in the bathroom than in any other room in the house. An experienced design/build contractor explains how to make the bathrooms you build safer by matching fixture layout and clearances to the physical needs of your clients.

   

• The Dirty Dozen -- Common Plumbing Service Calls (Subscriber content)

  Take a tour with a master plumber as he makes the rounds of the twelve most common plumbing repairs.

   

• Installing Jetted Tubs (Subscriber content)

  Jetted tubs require careful framing, easy access to the pumps and motors, and a mortar bed to dampen vibration. This step-by-step installation guide by a veteran remodeler shows you how to do it right.

   

• Antiscald Protection for Showers (Subscriber content)

  Pressure-balancing valves are the most common way to meet antiscald requirements for showers. A master plumber tells how they work and gives tips for installing them.

   

• Kitchen & Bath: When the Pressure's Off (Subscriber content)

   

• Roughing-In for Kitchens and Baths (Subscriber content)

  Here’s a prescription for installing k&b fixtures and appliances with minimal trouble, by a remodeling foreman.

   

• The Lowdown on Low-Flow Toilets (Subscriber content)

  Ready or not, a federal law that kicks in next January will make low-consumption toilets mandatory in all new residential construction.

   

• Kitchen & Bath: Framing The Bath (Subscriber content)

  Roughing in the bath

   

• Kitchen & Bath: Tying Into Existing Utilities (Subscriber content)

  Tying into existing utilities

   

• Bringing the Bathroom Up to Code (Subscriber content)

  The bathroom is the most regulated room in the house. A contractor discusses the accessibility, safety, energy, and structural requirements you must comply with.