For those who Patch, Before Repair, Replace, or Correct the Problem in Your Home

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Dunbar Plumbing

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The reason for me posting this thread is multi-faceted and I'm going to give a few 'recent' experiences. There are plenty on the internet of proof that this happens very often.


This is a pointed statement more towards men in general, those of you who take care of your home and maintain it, keep it from disrepair. I don't care if you are in your teens up to your 80's and you make a habit to keep your house safe for you and your family.

This is a revelation from a Licensed Master Plumber, a plumber who has been doing plumbing for nearly 23 years and I want to make it known what those of you do to your loved ones when you no longer can. What I am talking about is the common household repairs, whether it be mechanical ones, electrical ones, plumbing ones...I don't care what it is. I work on these homes sooner or later.

When you die, become sick, cannot provide for yourself, let alone walk down to your basement for the simplest of things, there now is a woman in your life who you've either made a life of making her life miserable, or you made a life of respecting her greatly, worshipping her every move because the single life would really SUCK for you and you don't want that. :p

When there is a repair in your home, you take no purpose of being a money saver when you do that task wrong. Plain and simple. I don't care if it is a light switch, don't care if it is a flapper, don't care if it is a filter on a furnace.

When you do it wrong, and you disappear due to your health or anything, divorce, travel, jail....you now poise the situation for the one you left whether you love them or hate them in a pretty bad situation.

Here's an example and then I'm really going to let you have it.

Woman I'm working for is widowed, she's a snowbird and jets to florida in the winter since she has arthritis issues and can't handle the cold. Her husband died unexpectedly about 3 years ago, just retired from a career of being a machinist. Work keeps the majority of people alive, that's a fact.

This fellow in such a crass way thought his comedy act of half-assing everything in his home to save a buck was cute, and since he raised a family and blah blah blah times are tough we didn't have meatballs with our spaghetti at one time BS...he found ways to modify/alternate/literally butcher up all that was correct, initially.

In this home I worked in last night, I couldn't even count the hundreds of electrical connections that were taped to numerous unsimilar kinds of wiring that pose a electrical hazard, but just a costly one.

Taking that into consideration I was there to deal with the monstrosity of plumbing issues that I swear if there was an angel in the house, I would of shaken the angel's hand for not killing the spouse this fool left behind.

His T&P on his water heater, the Temperature and Pressure Relief Valve that is the safety device for protecting the occupants inside the structure, had a plug in it. :eek: His non-educated way of fixing a leak. Fixing a symptom and not a problem. Trying to save $11 at the cost of a house and everyone in it, including grandkids from time to time.

So what if you was the breadwinner for all those years, "making ends meet" like it gave you excuse to endanger your family? Is that the blue ribbon of merit you're holding because you saved a dime to fix it another time?

I can't even count, there is no way to count the number of jobs and the tens of thousands of dollars I have earned in my profession working for widows, watching them suffer, strain, sacrifice because some fool thought it was a gain to hack their home up because they felt special to keep money spending to a minimum when things went wrong.

I don't care how much you loved your wife and family; they are now dumping tons of money to fix everything you put your hands on because now it's not a matter of anything but fixing the damn problem the right way, as is expected of a licensed professional you pay to do work in your home.

It's apparent to judge someone when they leave this world; just ask the family/wife/kids how many thousands they had to spend to fix your damn crackpot repairs in your home now that you're not the gratis novice to fix it now.

If you want your family to suffer, keep hacking your house together one roll of electrical tape at a time, one squeeze tube of silicone at a time, one bent over nail or string, inappropriately used drywall screw that no one in their right mind would accept as normal.

You are ruining your reputation as someone who had the best interest of their family in mind heart and soul. You are not incapable of finding the resources by the library, internet, even a neighbor who understands that incorrect methods cause a host of problems you leave behind.

So in summary,

This scripted rant for those who don't do this will be a read that doesn't apply to you and you'll agree for the part of leaving burdens on loved ones to fend for themselves.

Those of you who participate in this misdeed...I want you to think tonight before you go to sleep if you love your family and wonder if you don't wake up the next day if you're leaving everyone in a lurk because you're cheap, incorrect and names that can't be typed on this internet forum. Think of your family consistently writing out checks to numerous companies/service providers for all the times you butchered something up in the basement because hose clamps and radiator hoses were the tall order of the day. Someone is now paying for that huge mistake because someone needs a properly working home along with the ability to use it the way it was designed to be.

Don't think you're special that licensed professionals like myself can hack in the same work the way you did it and "Well hell it worked for years the way I did it!" ?????

Then why I am in your home after you're dead, fixing your F-ups?? Your wife/kids are upstairs crying poor at the door because they didn't realize how expensive repairs are in the home, and now they find out after you pulled the wool over their eyes all those years.

If I cut a price break for every time I worked for someone in this situation, I'd be out of business. It happens that often. Stamp yourself while you are alive with the facade of dignity you have everyone believe, until you're dead and gone and everyone has to see your mass destruction of a home you left behind...for a family that has to spend to infineon to finally fix it right. Those of you who follow this practice will not forget these words.


Would it of killed you to do it right? Obviously, it did.
 

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Posts were removed due to a request by a reader/poster not of my own doing.
 

Kingsotall

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Bravo on the service provider standpoint! One of my plumbing textbooks even refers to plumbers as sanitarians. :cool:
 

hj

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rant

Now all you have to do is get the people it is directed at to read it, and apply it to themselves. But, even if they do read it, their reaction will be, "What dumb people those were. I am glad I don't do things like that".
 

Tjbaudio

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I do agree with you. As an avid DIYer I have also helped out friends and family in similar situations.

Having said that, I have hired several contractors in the last few years. I was too busy or tired to do all of the work needed in our remodel. I now regret some of the work that was done by a "professional." I rebuilt my garage roof. No leaks. Had contractor rebuild my kitchen ground up. THAT roof leaks :mad: He also smashed a cold air return. Good thing I noticed before he blew in the extra 6" of insulation I requested. Oh yeah, he only put in 3"
Same project, old part of roof has insufficient support. Both my self and building inspector said it needs 2 added rafters. Contractor baulks. The list goes on. This guy was not the low bid. He was some one I had worked with on other projects and I thought he did good work. Guess I was wrong.

I hired another contractor to put up siding. Work was good. Other than the 5 lb of nails I have to pick out of my yard. Tho they had the air nailer set a little high. I found nails INSIDE my house where they missed the studs.


SO this is just a return rant about those few "professionals" who make the truly good tradesmen look bad. Right now I hire out very little and watch them like a hawk when I do. To those who are DIYers: Take the time to find out the right way to do things! Get permits and inspections. At the vary least you will know what to look for if and when you do need to hire any one.
 

NHmaster

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Nice post there Rugged. That's the kind of "on point" rant that only an old grouch like me can appreciate. :D
 

Dunbar Plumbing

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Unfortunately the people this is directed at will never learn or listen



Ahh.....but that might be wrong Dave.


Someone that has a heart, a genuine respect for their family will read that and maybe 'try' to realize that someone may have to pay for the mistake, when they are gone.

It breeds being selfish, plain and simple.

Priority should be what doesn't leave your loved ones in a huge jam if you cannot do it anymore, especially if you are deceased.
 

Expressway

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I just want to say welcome to all forum members! I am very new to this forum and looking forward to more new updates or services for getting knowledge about plumbing and sewer cleaning.
 

hj

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removals

I guess posts are removed when they are completely irrelevent to the subject, or contain erroneous or misleading advice, or ask extraneous additional questions.
 

SewerRatz

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Rugged, Thank you for a well put post. I too see to many situations where I am amazed at what was going through the persons head when they attempted a repair. I am currently working on a house that a really nice lady is trying to sell but the village will not let her due to all the code violations in the plumbing and electrical. All the issues are from her boyfriend trying to help save a buck.
 
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Terry

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Rugged,
I've run into some dozies too.
I work for one family, with business properties and rentals.

I went to repair one toilet down the street from me, the chain had gone bad on a $2.99 flapper, the black rubber kind that only lasts 2 years.

He had strung paper clips together to replace the chain, and kept using the worthless piece of rubber called a flapper.

And then since the tank was sweating, he installed a tempering device to the toilet. The only tempering device in the Seattle area that I have ever seen. It's not humid here. If you replace the $2.99 flapper, there isn't any sweating.

The patriarch of the family left millions behind for his kids.
They weren't lacking for that.
But like you say, it was a game to see how badly repairs could be made.
They had built their own home in the 30 or 40's I believe.
I was asked why the plumbing acted so strange.
I took a look at the pipes in the basement.

No vents, anywhere.

The kitchen sink was dumping into the back yard, attracting critters.

And the funny thing was, I always cut them a deal, and they had more money then my family.
They just seemed poor.

And when a plumber sees a plugged off safety device like a T&P
There are only two things you can do.
Write up a work order to replace it,
Or let the local plumbing inspection office red tag the home.

We all know what kind of damage a water heater can do to a home.

http://www.waterheaterblast.com/
 

Redwood

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Ah come on Rugged....
Don't be so hard on the old guy...

He was really the victim in this...
He was working day and night under budgeted trying to keep the house going while she was a stay at home mom with arm loads of kids socking the money away in an aggressive retirement plan for herself to have a winter home in Florida and a summer home in Kentucky after she worked him to death...

Let the poor guy rest in peace... :D

My wife will kill me if she ever see's this post...:eek:
 

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Terry

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Snowbird?

Well, it's hard to keep up two or more homes.
I can see her point.

If I see that someone wants me to subsidize their life style, then it's time to lose them as a customer.
There are plenty of middle class people that understand that we all have our bills to pay.
Some people just need to learn their limits.
 

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Engineer Ben

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Always liked "Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintainance" on this one: Personal standard of quality.
 

Dunbar Plumbing

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Ahh I love the pictures!

But here's the reality of snowbirding:



But here's the reality of the situation. <<< example


I was asked the day I was over there looking at this job if I knew anything about trailers, mobile homes. Told them I wouldn't touch them.

The lady that owns the house owns a mobile home down there. Apparently their daughter's boyfriend who is the father of her child and he's useless.

I take that back; he doesn't work and can't work on plumbing. Apparently the parents bought this place for their daughter and her struggles.



So she basically leaves KY and heads to FLA to stay away from the cold and fix all the problems that her daughter can't afford.


Not exactly posh....but just like her home up here and trailer park living down there.

The palm trees are nice however. a2.gif
 
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