So you are a do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowner. You’ve discovered you have a leak and you think you can fix it yourself. Or maybe you want to renovate your bathroom. You want to do all the renovation work. The problem is you are not a plumber. But you might think, “It’s only pipes! How hard can it be?”
Although there are several tasks in plumbing that you might be able to do yourself, there are also some jobs that are more than you might be bargaining for. Those are the ones best left to the plumbing experts. So for a few laughs, we’ve thought about some plumbing disasters that were homeowners could have avoided.
There is no doubt that DIY projects can save you money. But duct tape is not a money saver when it comes to repairing leaking pipes. If you are a homeowner that thinks you can use duct tape when your pipe breaks, don’t! Duct tape works on lots of things, but eventually, the water will find a path to leak out.
When replacing lines in a plumbing system we have seen many homeowners try using a bunch of piping parts, random hoses, and other objects to help connect the pipes. But beware. Those random hoses and objects change the diameter that the water flows through, creating pressure areas that are susceptible to leaks. We’ve seen underneath sinks that have mazes of pipes, hoses, and other objects going every which way. And the DIY project caused a mess of leaks!
How about getting water from a faucet where the water flows purple? It would seem that this DIY homeowner plumbed a pipe into something other than a water line.
Speaking of leaks, what do you think happens when a homeowner changes a plumbing fixture and forgets to turn off the water shut-off valve to that fixture? Water, water, everywhere.
You think fixing a little part on your toilet is easy. When anyone uses a hammer on a little part and hits the toilet, the toilet will crack very easily. Repairing the part is no longer your problem.
When the DIY homeowner sees a leak on the wall it might seem obvious that the leak‘s origin is directly behind the wall. But once there is a series of holes in the walls from trying to find the leak, they will know otherwise. Water can travel before it shows itself.
And finally, don’t do what this homeowner did. He saw water outside seeping from the ground. There must be a leak. He started to dig immediately and found the pipe was fractured so it seemed reasonable that was the problem. What he did not realize is that the shovel he used to dig up the pipe hit it and fractured it. The real problem was a few feet away.
Don’t risk it! When you have a problem with your plumbing, call an expert. High Priority Plumbing has Master plumbers ready to assist you.