We have used www.tsci.com. They are specific tenant screeners. We get the criminal background check, employment verification, credit, etc.

Dan B

Posted by: dbarufaldi at October 15, 2009 10:42 AM in response to Credit Report

We have used www.tsci.com. They are specific tenant screeners. We get the criminal background check, employment verification, credit, etc.

Dan B

Posted by: dbarufaldi at October 15, 2009 10:42 AM in response to Credit Report

Glad you heard my comments in the voice I meant them. E-speaking sometimes gets miscontrued.

I would just have the plumber do the whole thing, and here's why. If you connect the pipes when you could have capped instead, then you are heating the cabinet space unnecessarily, for all eternity. If you connect, and then the plumber gets there and says "you could have capped", he will have to either undo what you did (he won't likely wait for free while you do it), and then charge the system, or he'll have to come back, and charge another service call. Of course, you could just leave it connected at that point, but if I could avoid adding an unnecessary coupler in the heat system (another possible point of leak, which in the cabinets would be expensive), and also avoid all that heat in a cabinet, I would. If you go the route of connecting, ask the plumber if insulating the pipe would be wise.

In the end, the big $$ for this job is going to be getting the plumber to the door. Once there, connecting a few pipes (if easily accessible) should not add that much to the bill.

By the way - can you see where the pipes come from and go to? Are they exposed or in a wall?

Dan B

Posted by: dbarufaldi at October 15, 2009 10:28 AM in response to Hot Water System Help

AstralOil -

With all due respect, your questions indicate a level of knowledge with the systems that would lead me to recommend you call a professional. If you can't answer the questions you are asking, there are other variables you may not know to consider, which could be costly or even dangerous.

You are probably right about connecting the supply and "return" pipe (which, depending on your system, may be another supply line to a radiator downstream, if connected in series). It's also possible that capping could work, but it all depends on the design of the system, and how the supplies and returns are run. This should have been decided during the renovation. If you just connect the pipes, and they are exposed, you will have a very hot pipe running through the room. There are enough variables in this project that a consult with a plumber would be a very good investment.

If there was any doubt, your question about the water heater answered it. Water heaters, except in rare situations, do not provide whole-house heat and is not what is supplying hot water to your radiators. What you are looking for is a boiler, and you can't simply open a valve to "recharge" the system. There are issues including system/head pressure, based on the elevation of the highest radiator in the house, and may other variables. Do you know what tests to conduct to ensure the entire system is charged to the correct pressure, that all the air is out of the system, that the flue damper is opening when the burner kicks on, etc etc etc.

I am a very ambitious do-it-yourselfer, and I love to save money and feel a sense of accomplishment. There are just some jobs that I don't have the knowledge for, and need a pro. I mean this in the kindest way possible - you're in over your head on this, and should call a plumber.

Dan B

Posted by: dbarufaldi at October 15, 2009 9:53 AM in response to Hot Water System Help

It really depends on a bunch of things

- Do you have chimney capacity for three boilers? If not, you'll have to remedy that with some combination of chimney liner/con mod vents or other.

- Are all the pipes in the house already divided in the basement, by apartment (I'm guessing no). If not, that has to be done, and that alone can be a budget killer.

- Do you have any asbestos?

- I don't have oil, so I know nothing about disposal of the oil tank, but I'm guessing that could be pricey.

- Are you going to separate out the hot water, too?

We got a price a while back to replace our existing gas boiler (1940 vintage) with three small, high efficiency boilers, and to do the pipe separation. The cost was $30K without the $3K in asbestos abatement. This did NOT include doing the pipe separate for the hot water system.

Good luck.

Posted by: dbarufaldi at August 4, 2009 12:58 PM in response to Ballpark Boiler Pricing?

I agree with above. You get hot water from the sink after the shower is hot because they share a supply line. You can insulate but that's often difficult if the pipes run inside walls, etc.

The only device I know of to cure this is a recirculator. It's a pump and loop in your plumbing that basically returns the cooler water in the line back to the water heater (rather than down the drain), and it does it often enough that you have instant hot water. Of course, in retrofitting, it probably will cost more (way more) to have a plumber come put it in than you'll ever save in water costs. Hotels and bigger buildings have these in place, which is why you don't have to wait an hour for hot water on the 5th floor of a hotel (they often also install multiple heaters in various locations).

I guess the other way to "fix" it would be to put an under-sink, 3-6gal electric water heater in place, which would heat the water you need now until the hot water from downstairs makes it to the faucet. Same issue with cost, though.

If you're concerned with wasting water, shower with your honey :)

Dan B

Posted by: dbarufaldi at November 25, 2008 2:19 PM in response to Delayed Hot Water

I think you can probably do a little deductive reasoning to help you narrow it down.

- Run the shower with the drain covered. If it doesn't leak, it's in the drain system, not the supply system (seems like that's the case since both shower and toilet cause leak, and you state it's during flushing the toilet, not filling)

- If it's in the drain system, and both the toilet and the shower leak, then you can look downstream of whichever device is closest to the main sewerline. In other words, if the shower is upstream of the toilet, but you get a leak from both sources, the leak is at or downstream of the toilet. Vice versa for shower. It's possible to be in between the two, but highly unlikely if the rest of the DWV system is installed correctly.

- Where does the sink drain? If it's downstream of the other two, and it doesn't leak when used, then the leak is between the sink and the other two sources. If the sink is on a different drain line, then it wouldn't be leaking for the same reason.

- Where is the water coming out in the kitchen? If it's already damaged the sheetrock in the kitchen, pull that out to see if you can see the leak. Either way, you're probably going to replace the sheetrock unless the leak is fairly minor and recent. Sometimes leaks come out and follow a beam to a different exit point, or follow electrical conduit to exit in a fixture. It seems to me that if you've already finished the bathroom (assuming tile on floors and wall), you'll want to try to access the drain from below. The kitchen ceiling is easier to patch than the tile floor.

Does that help at all?
Dan B

Posted by: dbarufaldi at August 8, 2008 2:41 PM in response to leak detection

Don't use pool supply diatomaceous earth. You want food-grade, which is available from several online sources. Google for the food grade stuff.

Posted by: dbarufaldi at March 5, 2008 4:43 PM in response to Prepping for a summer attack! Waterbugs.

Have you found where it terminates? I suspect you might be looking at a vent line. If so, it will go all the way up, and through the roof. Do you have roof access? If so, see if there is a pipe coming out of the roof at that point. If so, DO NOT block it off - this is a critical part of the waste system.

Posted by: dbarufaldi at January 23, 2008 4:15 PM in response to strange waste line = roaches?

I contacted a site called "Dirtworks" for the diatomaceous earth; I would not recommend using them. Try Perma-Guard Inc. in Albuquerque, NM. and specify food grade.

Posted by: guest at March 5, 2008 6:12 PM in response to Prepping for a summer attack! Waterbugs.

Boric acid is an organic product and should not be harmful for pets or children. Also when you apply Boric acid you have to use a very very very light layer they will not walk on it if they know it is there. Home-defense works good for outside but may be a little to strong for inside use. My neighbor has a bunch of those railroad ties and waterbugs swarm to those things in the summer. Its disgusting so I have had to become somewhat of a professional when it comes to getting rid of them. If you are looking for organic use Boric Acid if you are looking to not see them and know they are dead bomb your house (sucks and takes a lot of work to clean up after but it definetly works).

Posted by: guest at March 26, 2008 3:31 AM in response to Prepping for a summer attack! Waterbugs.

We have 'em. First got them 6 years ago when the water heater wore out and started leaking. My exterminator (21st Cent. Pest Elimination Corp.) explained that water bugs can't live 24 hrs without moisture, so thier presence usually indicates a leak of some sort. Then I found out our roof needed replacement, as moisture finally discolored some walls near the roof, but it was not evident from examining the roof. There are still some, but much less. I'm now thinking of them as early warning signs indicating water problems of some sort. Helpers in a weird sort of way ???

Posted by: handygirl at April 7, 2008 9:09 PM in response to Prepping for a summer attack! Waterbugs.

I get waterbugs too, they've freaked me out my entire life. I couldn't think of anything to do, so I just tried to scald them and it worked! If they're any in the sink, I heat up a filled teapot and when it's whistling I take the teapot off the stove and pour the water wherever I think they might be. It killed pretty well. I don't think that'll work anywhere but the sink/bath/shower, though. It'd be a little messy.

Posted by: guest at July 27, 2008 9:33 AM in response to Prepping for a summer attack! Waterbugs.

for those interested:

1) we dug through tile in new bath and through floor of bathroom.
2) the water was leaking from a pipe in between the kitchen (upstream) and bath fixtures (downstream)
3) we found two 3-4 inch holes in pipe
4) water back flows from toilet and shower to point of leak, so it would seem the drainage system is not installed correctly.

We'd rather not dig up the entire floor to the main line. Any thoughts on ignoring the back flow problem? Is the only risk a broken pipe in 60 years from standing water?

Posted by: annon at August 11, 2008 5:46 PM in response to leak detection

Boric Acid..it will make ALL insects go away forever...I used to work for an exterminator and my biggest fear on life is the big black/brown water bugs...the owner told me once if the general public knew about boric acid, there would never be any need for exterminators! Try it. It works 100%! These bugs come up from shower & bath drains as well as sink drains and through pipes and air conditioners...put a thin stip at the baseboards and all around the outside of your home....100%

Posted by: Lizzietish at October 8, 2008 1:45 AM in response to Prepping for a summer attack! Waterbugs.

That price is on the low side of a decent "ballpark".

There are so many variables and ways to do it right and ways to do it so it just kind of works....

Posted by: Master Plvmber at August 4, 2009 3:47 PM in response to Ballpark Boiler Pricing?

Thank you for the info. I have not thought about the piping thing and of course it should be addressed. I still didn't get the inspector in which will say how bad is the burner. basically I should hope that it is not in such a bad shape as I believe.

Btw- doe it include all the incentives? because from what I understand it should bring down the cost by 6-8k...

Posted by: Williams at August 4, 2009 4:29 PM in response to Ballpark Boiler Pricing?

try going on the nyserda website for info on incentives and even contractors.
have you considered a green option such as radiant floor heating?point of service hot water heaters...there are many ways to go so if you are going to invest 30K might as well look at your options.

Posted by: argentina at August 4, 2009 8:09 PM in response to Ballpark Boiler Pricing?

Dan B --> Very well said!! I doubt anyone could have said that better.

Posted by: SenatorStreet at October 15, 2009 10:03 AM in response to Hot Water System Help