DIY PIPE SHELVES AND MORE CREATIVE HOME DECOR IDEA THAT WILL WOW

When we get the creative urge to renovate our house, there seems to be very little that can get in the way of planning our dream home. And then you look at the budget and realize how wrong you were. And that’s when you start considering creative home decor. From DIY pipe shelves to pipe table legs, we’ve got all the creative ways you can use your plumbing pipes for everything!

PREPPING PLUMBING PIPES

It goes without saying but we’re going to say it anyway: please make sure you’re only using material that is clean, safe, and sturdy. While we don’t think using sewer lines are in your best interest, it is your house so do as you please. With that said, even for reused sink pipes, make sure to clean them out in the case that maybe you’re used to using coercive acids to clean out your sinks and tubs. This is especially true if you have pets at home or curious toddlers. Additionally, before you start creating those amazing DIY pipe shelves, consider how sturdy they are. If they’re being thrown aside because of burst pipes or other physical damages, you might not want to use them to support heavier items.

Bookcases

Whoever said that a simple look can’t be sophisticated? The major benefit to repurposing plumbing pipes for shelves or bookcases is that they are very minimalistic in nature and can be used in a plethora of ways to match any home atmosphere, be it modern or rustic.

DIY Pipe Shelves

Additionally, consider the direction you want to take with your pipe shelves and their limitations. If you have smaller thinner pipes, you don’t want too much weight against your pipe shelves. In such a case, you can reserve them for smaller items around your house. It helps if you restrict the size of your shelves in order to limit what you can and cannot place on your new shelves.

REUSING SHOWER RODS

Need a way to reuse old shower curtains? May we suggest hanging some plants from a minimalistic and well-strategized place pipe rod? Really, you can use plumbing pipes to hang anything midair. This, of course, includes your coat hangers, desk attachments, shower racks, magazine racks, and toilet paper dispensers. On the other side, need to replace your shower curtains with something new? Use pipes to really add to the creative home decor that wows.

Table Legs

A table is a flat slab of material propped up by four legs. With a strong DIY spirit, you can create some amazing pipe table legs. It’s a killer look with reclaimed wood. And depending on the quality and size of the wood, the possibilities are quite honestly endless.

Curtain Rods

Your DIY pipe shelves don’t have to hold boards to pin what you may need it to. You can directly use the pipes as a pot rack to hand the items you use frequently in your house!

PLUMBING COMPRESSION FITTINGS ARE KEY TO DIY PLUMBING INSTALLS

What is a plumbing compression fitting? These little knob-like fixtures (pictured below) connect pipes securely. Even in cases where two pipes may be of slightly different sizes, plumbing compression fitting allows for secure pipe connections so that water doesn’t leak. Especially if you are pursuing a DIY plumbing install, knowing the difference between plumbing compression fittings vs solder fittings (sweat fittings) and why you may need them both in your DIY plumbing tools basket can configure how you pursue your new plumbing installs or DIY plumbing fixes.

While the idea behind plumbing compression fittings may be simple enough, nothing’s ever really that simple? Some things you need to consider before purchasing your plumbing compression fitting is the size of the fitting and material. If you’re dealing with underground metal pipes, you would clearly want to use metal plumbing compression fittings. Conversely, if you have plastic or PVC pipes, using a fitting of a similar material ensures that you don’t break anything along the compression plumbing fittings install.

Necessary DIY Plumbing Tools

One of the major benefits to compression plumbing fittings install is that the purpose of a compression fitting, as opposed to alternatives, is its ease of use. This will especially become true in the section on compression fittings vs soldering. As such the DIY plumbing tools necessary are rather minimal. Besides the obvious pipes, the compress fitting will comprise of the compression nut, the compression ring, and the compression seat (the actual fitting). For the compression plumbing fittings install, you will simply add both the nut and the compression ring onto the pipe (place the compression nut first). After connecting the pipe and the fitting together (and of course depending on the size of the pipe and fitting), use tongue and groove pliers or small adjustable wrenches to tighten the plumbing compression fitting to the correct seal tightness. You could alternatively use your hands and fingers although (again depending on the size and material), you may risk harming yourself or not accurately tightening it correctly. We recommend using DIY plumbing tools for tightening as they’re more accurate, safe, and easy-to-use.

Compression Fittings VS Solder (Sweat Fitting)

Sweat fitting or soldering requires heat meaning you will need to consider heating and cooling time. As a result, it may take a much longer time, especially if you’re attempting to compound or compile many pipes at various joints. Additionally, the material required in Soldering is more expensive as it will require a blowtorch and is extremely labor-intensive compared to its compression fitting counterpart. That is the major difference between plumbing compression fittings vs soldering. In fact, if soldering is an option you want to consider, we highly recommend you schedule a consultation with your local plumber to discuss the precision needed for the pipework. Especially if you’re looking to pursue compression fittings, this is the option you should be pursuing. 

Common Compression Plumbing Fittings Install Problems

While the installation process can seem tricky at first, the actual process can prove to be rather simple and speedy. With that said, here are some issues you may encounter and how to avoid them altogether.

Tightening Pipes Too Hard.

 Our gut feeling during the compression plumbing fittings install is to tighten the plumbing compression fittings tight enough so that water doesn’t leak. And indeed it would make sense that tightening the knots would prevent leaks; however, by tightening too hard, there’s a chance of risking inside ring damage. These rings are the component of the compression fittings that allow for the compression between pipes and when sustaining damage, they may be unable to do their jobs. So, when tightening pipes through compression fitting, do so by ensuring pipes are sturdy and connected but that pipes and fittings that do not belong together aren’t put together. By that, we mean turn until you start to feel resistance and then go AT MAX only a half turn more.

Multi-Use Error.

The compression fittings for your DIY installations are able to be used multiple times. However, the rings are meant for one-use only and are stationary. So if you want to move pipes around the house, you will need to buy a new compression ring because it won’t compress in the same way as before. As for the compression fittings, note that they are each designed for specific pipe sizes so don’t try to over-exert compression fittings. Use them for similar (if not the same few) pipe sizes.

Not Lubricating The Compression Nut Threads.

Be sure that during the compression plumbing fittings install process, you lubricate the ring and the nut threads. Lubricating will increase the success rate of securely connecting plumbing pipes throughout the house. As a result, you’ll be able to securely tighten with the compression fitting to your liking.

Pairing Different Material Tubes With Fittings.

As mentioned earlier, plastic pipes and metal fittings simple won’t work. Or at the very least, they carry a risk of breaking during the installation process. Especially as different levels of pressure are needed between plastic fittings and metal ones, pairing the correct material together is vital for proper installations.

In Summary,

The plumbing compression fitting is a great way to easily and securely connect plumbing pipes throughout your house. With the DIY plumbing tools being pretty minimal, the plumbing compression fitting is a relatively economical option to employ throughout your house compared to its alternative counterparts. There are instances, however, that may be more intensive, especially if you’re attempting to align pipes within walls that are not easily accessible. If you still have questions regarding plumbing compression fitting, whether it be best DIY practices, or simply for help with the entire process, feel free to reach out to us our comfort heroes will be more than happy to assist you in the installation process.

WHY DOES MY TOILET KEEP CLOGGING?

Every toilet, even the newest state-of-the-art toilets are prone to the occasion clog every now-and-then. That’s not to say that older toilets may need to be repaired or even replaced, but you may want to consider if maybe the reason your toilet constantly clogs is due to some maintenance or repair issues. Just like any other appliance, as time goes on, the performance of your toilet deteriorates and requires more and more frequent repairs and servicing. Here are 4 reasons why your toilet keeps clogging and what you can do about it.

1. Stuff Is Being Flushed Down That Shouldn’t Be

If you ever accidentally spilled water on toilet paper, you’ll know that the way it absorbs water is very different than that of paper or even facial wipes and tissue paper. Toilet paper is designed to eventually dissolve in water as to avoid clogging issues in toilets. As such, placing content besides human waste and toilet paper creates a risk of clogging. As a result, you are prone to see your toilet constantly clogging.

If you are dealing with a clogged toilet, the first go-to advice is to use the toilet plunger. Note that this is different than what you may currently be using. If you’re imagining the red cup with a wooden stick, you’re thinking of a cup plunger which is actually ideal for sinks and tubs. Toilet plungers typically have a more rounded end to accommodate the surface of the toilet and offer better traction. And in the future, consider placing a small garbage basket next to the toilet so that you and/or your guests can dispose of trash properly.

2. Your Flapper Might Need Re-adjusting

Your toilet flapper may be causing some issues with how your toilet is able to use the water in your tank. The purpose of the flapper is to move water from the tank and into the bowl when your toilet is flushing waste down the bowl. If working properly, your toilet is able to deliver an appropiate amount of water that scrubs and rushes remaining waste down. Otherwise, you’ll notice that your toilet constantly clogs due to some issue with the flapper. It may be prone to get caught or stuck so ensuring it’s in good position is important for proper toilet maintenance.

Open up the top of your toilet and give it a flush to make sure everything works properly. If not, check out how another toilet in your house operates and adjust your wonky/broken toilet accordingly. Or, simply watch a quick tutorial on Youtube to see how you should manage the flapper. Essentially, you want to fix it so that the valve opens up all the way and water rushes down the toilet as it should.

3. Check The Toilet Trap

If the above two issues are resolved yet you notice constant and/or occasional toilet clogging, you may need to look at your toilet trap. This may be a reason why your toilet keeps clogging. The toilet trap is an S-shaped tube separating the toilet and the drain. This is what you have to thank for not smelling the scents of the sewer in your home 24/7 as opposed to something like an outhouse. Referring back to material like facial wipes that may get stuck, the toilet trap is the likely suspect of where all the debris may be hiding.

While some of these issues can be resolved with the toilet plunger, if you have a hard item like a toothbrush that fell in or (one time in my case) a mini toy boat my 4-year old thought should be flushed in and “delivered to the ocean”, a toilet plunger won’t do the trick. You’ll need to get to the bottom of the toilet which can be a hassle. Try exhausting other options before getting to this one. And if necessary, reach out to a plumbing professional for help.

4. Your Toilet Is Old

Try as hard as we may, there comes a point where maintaining an old toilet becomes more expensive yearly than the cost of investing in a new toilet. And while you may be dreading the cost, toilets can run for pretty cheap depending on where you find yours. Additionally, there are many energy-efficient that can reduce water use that, in the long run, can save you money over time. The rule-of-thumb is that if you find yourself calling for frequent repairs or your toilet is clogging up over basic fixes, it may be time to replace your toilet altogether.

If all these options fail,

Consider that the issue may extend beyond your toilet. If you notice that the tubs and sinks face similar issues to clogging like your toilet, or is slow to remove water, there might be some damage with your pipes leading to your house or away from it.

• Check Your Pipes and Water Level. Try turning off all your water to your house and see if the water meter still reads above 0. Ideally, it would be zero when no water is flowing to your house. If it doesn’t, that might mean you have a leak affecting the amount of water flowing to your home. This will cut the performance of your toilet as you won’t be able to flush water from your toilet tank to bowl to properly dispose of waste. 
• Check Your Sewer Lines. The clog may be in your backyard and not your home. Tree lines may create clogging in your sewer lines that affect your home’s ability to discard of waste properly. Or, there may be other issues affecting your sewer lines that are keeping waste and water from leaving that demands repair and maintenance. This is sure to not only affect your toilet but also your tubs and sinks. If you notice issues across your home, make sure to investigate your sewer lines.