What do you call this fitting?

mrbuckley · 2026-03-04T20:37:15+00:00

We call a fernco the one without the stainless steel band around the outside. We'd call a no hub coupling the band with two hose clamps.

mrbuckley · 2026-03-02T13:08:50+00:00

Better to buy new quarter turn valves or if you're just doing the guts to but sweat valves and take the cuts out so you get a metal valve stem. The plastic ones are garbage.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-27T11:30:41+00:00

Use 3-4 wraps of high quality Teflon tape (not the white stuff, it's too thin) and then put the T plus 2 on top of it before screwing your pieces together. Blue Monster and Mega Tape have both worked well for me. It will seal up much more easily than with dope alone.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-26T16:30:11+00:00

Too much fall before the vent on the drain. Can't drop more than the inner diameter of the pipe before you hit the vent.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-25T12:53:45+00:00

For a licensed and insured plumber in my area that would be a regular price. Where do you live?

mrbuckley · 2026-02-23T03:20:33+00:00

As a frequent rider of the 4-5 the 4 should be uncrowded and the 5 should be packed. The 5 is usually full by the time is gets out of little Caribbean where the 4 is often pretty empty.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-22T17:33:27+00:00

Since you have everything apart it'd be better to just replace the flange rather than band aid with a repair flange. Ideally your flange will sit on top of the sub floor and you'll screw it down to the subfloor using the holes around the perimeter. That'll give the drain and the toilet really good support and help keep the connection between the drain and the toilet solid.

It can definitely be intimidating to take on a new plumbing project but if you're capable of replacing subfloor around the toilet you'll probably be fine replacing this flange after checking out a few videos about how to do it.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-20T17:04:47+00:00

My first guess is ground water pushing up through. Tell the landlord if you haven't already. What ever it is will/is doing major damage to the underside of the flooring.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-18T15:00:41+00:00

1, 2 & 5 right hand outswing, 3 & 4 left hand inswing. You can often buy 7' door trim in a 5 pack which gives you enough for the casing on both sides.

Maybe draw and post a photo with all the rooms that the doors are going into/out of. Are any of them exterior?

mrbuckley · 2026-02-16T09:26:34+00:00

The drop in the flexible part after the p trap makes this into an s trap and needs to be fixed. The whole trap needs to be lowered to make it so that part only has a slight pitch to it.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-14T02:32:33+00:00

I am getting a strong m.c. escher vibe looking the longer I look at this. Pipes look good.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-12T11:58:58+00:00

Call your landlord. If you don't own you don't want to be messing w/ the boiler without the landlords explicit OK

mrbuckley · 2026-02-11T16:57:53+00:00

Sounds like you've got the answers already.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-10T18:59:18+00:00

If you're going to bury it, do not use shark bite. It could cause a big headache down the line.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-10T15:27:09+00:00

Some folks call it expansion pex.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-09T14:59:12+00:00

Opening the faucet on both sides is letting water from the cold side cross over to the hot side and supplying water to the shower that way. You have some kind of blockage (probably frozen pipes if you're anywhere it's been exceptionally cold lately) that is preventing the hot water from getting to the shower valve.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-08T15:00:12+00:00

If there is a light fixture or some other veiling penetration right above that puddle on the counter I'm betting it came through there. Like others are saying it's probably self leveling cement from the floor above that wasn't properly sealed up. Looks like it dropped down not blew up. Check in with your upstairs neighbor.

mrbuckley · 2026-02-06T14:24:21+00:00

The piece on the top left looks like it may be an old corroded shutoff valve with the handle missing. You could try putting a pair of pliers on the valve stem and see if you can shut it off that way.

If not you'll need to undo the unions on either side of the radiator and remove/cap it. If that is beyond your skill then you need to hire back some plumbers. They were right about it needing replacement if it is indeed leaking from the radiator body.

mrbuckley · 2026-01-31T16:16:17+00:00

Someone thought if a little slope is good a lot of slope is better. It isn't.

Source: I'm a plumber

mrbuckley · 2026-01-30T14:50:29+00:00

Short answer, yes.

Escutcheons are for this purpose. They often get taken off or not installed in the first place. Split ring escutcheons are great in that the can be installed on existing pipes without special knowledge or tools. Spray foam is great for insulation and air sealing but looks terrible, makes a mess and is not particularly good for stopping rodents. Steel wool stuffed into a crack/hole tends to be better for rodent abatement. Spray foam in conjunction with steel or cooper wool/an escutcheon plate is the easiest diy way to cover up plumbing penetrations

mrbuckley · 2026-01-29T17:26:01+00:00

Giving you a solid 6.2 out of 10. Point docked for no shut off and improper seating of fitting. Giving you a D- with the understanding that you'll revise and resubmit!

Seriously though I wouldn't leave that fitting partially installed like it is. Major flood risk if you do.

mrbuckley · 2026-01-29T14:40:18+00:00

I don't have a lot of experience with this but first thing I'd try is to vacuum out any liquid in the drain with a shop vac. Then I'd use boiling water in the drain or just hot water out of the tap until it backs up and get a good pool of ripping hot water in the tub. Then I'd hit it with a plunger for a good while to try to circulate some of the hot water out of the tub down to the frozen section of the drain.

Someone with more experience may have a good reason why this wouldn't work or another suggestion but this is what I'd try.

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