Tool Tips

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When opening an overhead cleanout in the basement, tie a heavy-duty plastic trashbag around the cleanout, leaving room to get your hand in to remove the cleanout plug that you previously loosened. Cut a small corner of the trashbag bottom and put a 5-gal. bucket under the hole.

When installing a no-caulk shower drain, I found the best way to install the compression gasket is to use a 2-in. PVC coupling and a rubber mallet.

It’s good to have a run of PVC male adapters from 1 1/4 in. to 4 in. on hand when on a drain-cleaning job to remove the clean-out plug.

To reduce the worry of leaks in the ceiling from an upstairs water closet installation, I have found that if the closet ring is set too high, the space between the toilet and the wax ring is minimized, causing the wax to thin out.

When replacing the toilet handle on 90% of the toilets out in the field, it seems like all aftermarket handles and sometimes even OEM handles don’t fit in the square cutout of the porcelain all the time.

Shower valves, magnets, containing pipe dope spills- Tool tips for March 2014

February's Tool Tips include hydronics systems, seat & springs, and drain cleaning.

Smoke-testing waste, smartphone tricks and faucet replacements are part of the January 2014 Tool Tips.