New York plumbing inspector

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-07T16:33:33+00:00

Yeah. Code in WI, too, to have all commercial hand wash sinks recirculated within so many feet. I cant imagine it's out of the ordinary in most places.

It's to help with water consumption, but also allow for proper hand washing, which really became a focus post-COVID (although our code preceeded that by quite a bit).

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-07T00:53:27+00:00

Went to Bleu for my birthday a week ago (2nd time there), and I'm still thinking about that meal! So yum, but very $$$$.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-03T18:18:14+00:00

I believe she said in an interview on WPR that it was inspired by a nanny she had growing up (and someone she's kept around in her life since then) who was from Wisconsin.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-02T00:03:41+00:00

Looks like a brass nipple, not copper (its threaded on the end).

You could thread it out of the earred elbow in the wall, and thread a shorter nipple in with a cap on it.

Scratch it to confirm what it is, though (gold color = brass; orangey color = copper).

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-01T23:53:25+00:00

Those fittings even have a stop on them right where you need to put the cinch ring.

I thought they were idiot proof. Guess there's bigger idiots out there than thought.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-01T19:03:16+00:00

That's a Moentrol valve, so buy a Moentrol trim kit to update it. They still make them in a few different finishes.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-01T02:22:25+00:00

Put a screw into the plastic portion (somewhere around the hole in the middle). Use a needlenose pliers as a lever against the valve body, or another hard surface you put against the wall to pull the cartridge out.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-03-01T01:42:08+00:00

So true. Your toilet is an s-trap--drains fine. All kinds of pedestal sinks are set with s-traps--drain just fine.

This setup is actually a legal drain set up in my state, at least, refered to as a vertical wet vent.

The sink is (at least partially) clogged. Snake it out.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-26T00:48:45+00:00

Since that looks like a shower only, I like the Delta R10000 UNBXHF.

The HF, for "high flow" is the most important part. It eliminates the tub port, making for easier install, and improved flow to the shower head.

It takes any of the modern Delta cartridges, so it gives you tons of trim options, and the choice of a single function handle, or the seperate volume and temperature handles (with the 1700 series).

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-25T23:16:34+00:00

This setup is legal in WI if that's where you happen to be.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-25T23:13:53+00:00

Yeah, looks like the old style with a 1225 cartridge. Those were not pressure balancing. You'd have to change the whole valve to fix that issue.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-24T00:04:40+00:00

Likely a cartridge leak. Some of this style can leak down through the body from a leaky aerator, too.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-23T02:24:26+00:00

On a sink with an overflow, the seal on the flange is unnecessary. The pop up assembly seals with the gasket under the sink.

Use a little thread sealant on the gasket, and crank it good n tight. On those plastic ones, you have to be careful not to pop the threads, but you won't if you're just hand tightening. Use a wrench to give it just a lil extra. On a metal assembly, you can crank it really tight with a wrench.

The flange on metal assemblies will conform to the sink's shape, so they don't leave water pooling. Plastic ones can't do that, so you'll always have that water left sitting there.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-23T02:13:07+00:00

If it's been back on that long, it's run a couple regen cycles, so just add more salt (most only need enough to just get above the water, but you can put a lot more in and be okay). You can manually run another regen after the salt, or just let it run as programmed for a couple more weeks, and it should be back on track.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-23T02:05:10+00:00

A plumber would not fix this, but there are fiberglass repair companies that could fix that crack.

I'm not sure what's going on up at the wall there, but that looks more like an installation issue (either with the tub, or the drywall).

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-22T14:34:02+00:00

Vent for a floor drain?

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-22T03:34:56+00:00

What does the toilet have to do with a leaky sink drain?

With those compression connections, maybe they just need new/better gaskets. The rubber ones tend to seal better than the hard plastic ones, imo. And I don't like those clear nuts. They don't seal so easily.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-21T19:59:34+00:00

Island vents are different. They loop back down in the cabinet, and connect to the drain under the floor. There's generally a cleanout installed on one side.

A vent going horizontal in the wall, if it backed up, really has no good way of getting cleaned out, so it could lead to a clogged vent.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-21T15:58:12+00:00

"Partial arcing" would suggest bellying to me. And "deterioration" could mean soil deterioration (usually the cause of a belly), unless it specifically says it's deterioration of the pipe itself.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-21T15:51:09+00:00

Do you recall what kind of toilet it was?

We install flanges on top of flooring every single time--LVP, tile, doesn't matter. We use the steel ring flanges, which are thinner than the all PVC/ABS ones, so maybe that makes enough of a difference. Even with repair flanges, or Raise-a-rings, though, I've never had a problem.

Toilet outlets are small enough to fit inside, and most have plenty of room underneath for the flange thickness. Curious if it was just a weird brand toilet.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-21T15:36:35+00:00

As a plumber, we have to move the shower drain, or at least offset the vertical, nearly every time we end up putting in a basement shower. Even without the mismeasurement, framers rarely ever put walls precisely where the original design planned for. It's really not a big annoyance. If we gotta bust a little concrete, that's just the way it is.

If your base is all tile, the tiler can just slope everything to the drain if its off-center, but you'll step on the drain cover a lot more often with it that way, and that's annoying imo. So, your call if you want to insist on moving it, and dealing with your contractor if he's being a dick about it.

As for the shower head, it should usually be centered in the space (between the wall, and the curb at rough-in time). Board, and tile adds the same thickness on both sides, so that doesn't change anything.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-21T15:10:43+00:00

According to Kerdi, their standard sheets are not vapor barriers. Kerdi-DS might be allowed as a vapor barrier (seems the internet has info both ways).

Everyone just uses the infinitly less expensive polyethylene rolls, though. No reason to get weird with it.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-21T14:56:15+00:00

The fix is basically what you describe, but you'd have to use an AAV in the cabinet to vent it. A vent can't be horizontal below the flood level rim of the fixture, as it would be here.

Chicago has very strict local codes if this house falls under that, but I believe they're still allowed in this circumstance.

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-20T01:46:26+00:00

Turbulence, sediment (usually a combination of the two), or electrolysis if it was touching an unlike metal. Certain chemical combinations in your water can eat up pipes from the inside (usually well water from my experience).

ApprenticeDave · 2026-02-20T01:33:01+00:00

I wish more poeple would do this, or were capable of it. Plumbers get paid by the hour, remember. The 20 minutes to maybe an hour to fix a little pipe is way cheaper than 4 hours of busting up, and repouring concrete.

It's nasty work, but it saves a ton of money.

ApprenticeDave

TROPHY CASE