I think I was born with the “D.I.Y. chromosome†inherited from my Father’s side, who was a great machinist, home remodeler and had many “mister fix-it†talents. As I read through many of these forum messages and replies, I certainly learn the proper “techniques and trade secrets†of many projects and I pick up hundreds of valuable tips as well as “do’s and don’tsâ€. Many of my friends and relatives try D.I.Y. projects and sometimes they get in way over there head, and I must admit there have been times that I too was at that point. In the case of “Junior†who started this thread and is removing a tub and installing a shower, I am actually going to do this exact same project very soon.
I just wanted to ad my comment, from a D.I.Y. point of view and not that of a skilled tradesman. Many, many years ago when I wanted to learn the proper techniques of soldering copper pipe (and that was before lead-free solder, when soldering was actually easier) I went out and purchased a torch kit, three extra bottles of gas, several rolls of solder, a gigantic tub of flux, several pipe cutters, about 50 feet of copper pipe (type L, M, etc.) and over 100 various L, T, cap, etc. fittings. I spent several days just soldering joint after joint, seeing the effect of too much flux, too little flux, too much or too little heat, etc., etc. I also watched several episodes on TV, purchased VHS tapes, as well as reading a few articles about proper soldering techniques and picked up even more pointers. I have friend who is a great plumber and I actually (you’ll laugh at this one, probably won’t believe me, but its true) tagged along with him at few local jobs he did in my area. I picked up more “secrets†like wiping the freshly soldered pipe joints with a wet rag to remove excess solder and make it look nearly perfect, how to put metal “shields†to prevent flame from burning walls or studs, the old “bread trick†to stop water from dripping in the pipe, using pliers to slightly “pinch†pipes together to keep them from moving or sliding apart when being soldered, etc. I guess what I am trying to say is that for a occasional, “once in a lifetime†solder job I totally agree that an inexperienced homeowner should definitely call a professional plumber as many have suggested in replies to this thread, but for a person that wants to “D.I.Y.†and has many plumbing projects down the line that involve soldering (sweating as Junior referred to) copper pipes, just spend around fifty bucks and buy the needed tools and supplies (as I did) and practice, practice, practice.......... It’s almost like having a “talent†for music or art...... if you “got it†your talent will easily develop, but if you don’t you will know very, very soon !!