t-hak
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Hi,
I'm new here, so if this has been covered, please point me in that direction. I did a quick search but didn't find an answer....
Question 1:
I live in Virginia, and we get some pretty hard freezes once in while each winter. I have a basement that I will be finishing soon. Along the outside of the house, between the sole plate of the middle floor and the first floor joist, I have 3 water pipes. One is to a spigot on the outside of the house, the other 2 go to the kitchen sink/dishwasher. Before I cover the joist space with drywall, should I put pipe wrap on the pipes? I have never noticed condensation on any of the pipes in either summer or winter. Of course, I don't check them every time I use the kitchen or spigot, either!
Question 2:
I want to add in another spigot for the other side of the house before I do the final finishing. Of course, I want to put in a ball valve (with a drain for the spigot side) when I do so. I bought one that is a sweat fitting for 1/2" pipe. Do I have to disassemble the ball valve to avoid damaging the internal seals? Or are these things heat-resistant enough for a MAPP torch? I find little info on the net one way or another, and what I do find is contradictory. For example: Should the valve be open or closed when I sweat it?
The valve looks like it can be disassembled with a bit of work with a wrench and a vice, but would I be better off just getting one with female thread fittings? It doesn't look like it was intended for disassembly, and the instructions on it don't say to disassemble it, but they are vague instructions to start with. I prefer to sweat it on, but I'm not against threaded fittings at all.
I'm new here, so if this has been covered, please point me in that direction. I did a quick search but didn't find an answer....
Question 1:
I live in Virginia, and we get some pretty hard freezes once in while each winter. I have a basement that I will be finishing soon. Along the outside of the house, between the sole plate of the middle floor and the first floor joist, I have 3 water pipes. One is to a spigot on the outside of the house, the other 2 go to the kitchen sink/dishwasher. Before I cover the joist space with drywall, should I put pipe wrap on the pipes? I have never noticed condensation on any of the pipes in either summer or winter. Of course, I don't check them every time I use the kitchen or spigot, either!
Question 2:
I want to add in another spigot for the other side of the house before I do the final finishing. Of course, I want to put in a ball valve (with a drain for the spigot side) when I do so. I bought one that is a sweat fitting for 1/2" pipe. Do I have to disassemble the ball valve to avoid damaging the internal seals? Or are these things heat-resistant enough for a MAPP torch? I find little info on the net one way or another, and what I do find is contradictory. For example: Should the valve be open or closed when I sweat it?
The valve looks like it can be disassembled with a bit of work with a wrench and a vice, but would I be better off just getting one with female thread fittings? It doesn't look like it was intended for disassembly, and the instructions on it don't say to disassemble it, but they are vague instructions to start with. I prefer to sweat it on, but I'm not against threaded fittings at all.