Don’t Get Flooded

When preparing to install trim on a large house or commercial building, especially if shut-off valves are not clearly marked or nearby, first install a self-piercing icemaker saddle valve on one of your stub-outs. This will allow you to regulate the flow of water being drained rather than cutting a stub-out completely off and dealing with more water than you can handle. This method is especially helpful when there are large amounts of overhead piping full of water.

Dave Swenson
DMS Plumbing Inc.
Vancouver, Wash.

Got Your Back

A wise man showed me long ago how to save your back and time when drilling a large hole through a wood joist. First, take the drill bit for the desired large hole and start it on your mark. Just start it so you can see the outline of the bit, not very deep. Next, take a smaller water pipe bit and drill all the way through the joist along the perimeter of the outline, leaving about a half-inch or so between holes. Then start the large drill bit in the original wormhole. This way you will not have to muscle the drill and you will have your hole in a fraction of the time.

Mike Walker
Walker Plumbing
Richmond, Va.

No Scratches

Whenever I have to use my reciprocating saw to remove closet bolts, I have been very leery about scratching the fixture. I have found that putting a used tub drain gasket (a smaller gasket will also work) over the closet bolt works great! The gasket provides a cushion between the blade and the porcelain and if the gasket gets ruined, it doesn’t matter — the fixture won’t get scratched from the saw blade.

Bruce Borkowski
Borkowski Plumbing LLC
Coleman, Wis.