Though most homeowners fear plumbing, I’m here to show you the five do-it-yourself plumbing supplies that can handle most home plumbing problems and prevent you from having to pay a plumber to fix them. Over the life of your house, learning to do your plumbing tasks around the house can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I have lots of do-it-yourself plumbing tasks to get you started.
1. Channel Locks/Adjustable
Whether I’m installing shut-off valves or tightening up slide joints on trap assemblies, I always grab a pair of channel locks. Since you can essentially never do any plumbing work without a pair of them, I would rank them as the most important plumbing gear in my toolbox. You can probably handle 90% of home plumbing problems with these tools, which you can get for less than $100—less than you would pay a plumber to visit once. I appreciate everyone looking at this stuff so much. Please have a look at some of my other do-it-yourself plumbing projects if you like this.
2. Shop Vac
My first choice for do-it-yourself plumbing equipment is a shop vac. A shop vac works well for clearing most clogs in sink and shower drains in addition to water spills and overflow issues. View the procedure in the video above. Using a shop vacuum is far less expensive and far more efficient than buying expensive (and frequently ineffective) drain cleaning solutions.
3. Pipe Wrench
If you live in an older house, you really must own a pipe wrench. You cannot possibly remove old, galvanized pipes without a pipe wrench, and even then, it can be a pain in the ass. Besides, the drain cleanout caps around your house are probably bigger than any ordinary wrench you could have to lie about. A cleanout cap can be easily removed for access if you have a pipe wrench on hand.
4. Blowtorch
DIY plumbing has become a great deal easier since PEX, but as you may see from some of my previous films, I still prefer to use copper sparingly. It takes a torch to solder joins together when using copper. A blowtorch plumbing kit ($35) is still an excellent tool, especially if you live in an older house with galvanized pipes, even if you are not comfortable or interested in soldering your copper joints together.
The threading that holds these pipes together can make them quite hard to separate over time. Using a blowtorch to heat them will help loosen them, but watch out—the fumes coming off them might be hazardous. Going on to my next tool, they’re also useful for releasing blocked cleanout caps.
5. Water Pressure Testing Gauge
Although you won’t need this tool all the time and it costs around, it’s still worth having in your toolbox for the following reasons. The town or city supplies a far higher pressure to your house if you have public water than the valves and fixtures are rated for. Something like this, a pressure regulator valve, is installed in your home or apartment. It lowers the pressure the city supplies to your home to a safe level for your fixtures and valves (often less than 60 pounds).
Pressure regulator valve 5 do-it-yourself plumbing suppliesYou can adjust your water pressure to the right levels for your house and identify issues with it with a water pressure gauge, such as when your regulator breaks down like mine did last year. If that occurs, the water pressure in your home rises, which can damage your fixtures and, if the T&P valve malfunctions, put your water tank at risk. All things considered, it’s a smart idea to keep an eye on issues before they arise by carrying this equipment and routinely monitoring your water pressure.
April 30, 2024