Change those furnace filters in your Auburn Ca. home:
When filters become clogged with debris, they cut down on a furnace’s efficiency and, over time, can cause parts to wear out faster. A permanent air screen or electronic air filter should be cleaned according to manufacturer’s recommendations. Disposable filters should be checked periodically— monthly during winter—and cleaned or changed as needed. Pleated fabric filters are a good, inexpensive choice for reducing dust and allergens.
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Archive for November, 2009
DIY Furnace Filter in Auburn, Ca.
Monday, November 30th, 2009DIY Installing A Toilet In Your Auburn Home
Sunday, November 29th, 2009| Installing a new toilet in your Auburn home is relatively easy for the handy person. Here are few steps that can help, and it can be completed in about one day.Selecting a new toilet:
In the United States, new toilets must allow for only one & a half gallons of water per flush. This not only saves the environment with every flush, it also saves you $ each month on your Auburn water bill. You will find that most local building codes require these new toilets. It is always best to check with your local Auburn DPW before installing the new toilet. The only thing left is to choose a style and color that best suits your needs and interior design scheme of your bathroom. A little word from the wise, do not buy the cheapest toilet you can find. They will only be a headache, like clog all the time. You should expect to pay at least around $100 bucks for a decent WC. Okay, let’s get started: If you are installing a toilet in Your Auburn home where one did not exist before you can skip this part. Replacing an old toilet has only a couple of extra steps from installing a toilet in a new location. Like removing the old toilet. Before you go and try to remove the old toilet, you need to be sure the water has been shut off. Behind and to the left of the toilet is the water shut off valve. If you remember the old phrase, “Righty Tighty- Lefty Lucy”, you should be able to know which way to turn the valve to turn the water supply off. Turn to the right to close the valve. You will need to be sure the water is turned off and you will need to empty the tank, so flush the toilet twice. This helps to ensure you got most of the water out. There will be a bit of remaining water in the tank so have towels or news paper on the floor to help mop up the water when the tank is removed. A sponge will to get the remaining water out of the tank and bowl. Removing the old tank: Follow the water supply cut off valve to the tank of the toilet. Take an adjustable wrench and loosen the supply tubing on the coupling nut. Once you have the water supply disconnected, it is time to remove the tank. With the same technique you just used to remove the supply line, you need to hold the mounting bolt nut under the tank, while inside the tank you unscrew the mounting bolt from the main body of the toilet. This will release the tank. Simply set the tank on the floor with some form of cushion to protect your floor. Newspaper or old towels will do just fine. Next you will need to remove the floor bolts that hold the main toilet body to the floor. This can be difficult, sometimes the bolt will just spin. When this happens to me I use my hammer and break the toilet at the base, it’s messy but effective. Once you have these off, it is time to pull the toilet off the floor. The toilet is attached not only by the floor bolts, but also by adhesive. You will need to rock the toilet back and forth while leaning it forward to pry it loose. Once the old toilet has been removed stuff a rag into the exposed pipe. This helps keep the sewer gasses from entering the room and keeps objects from falling into it. You can use a paint scraper or putty knife to scrape the old adhesive remains from the floor and pipe gasket. Try to clean as well as possible as this will help with better adhesion for the new toilet. Installing a new toilet: If you are installing a toilet where there wasn’t one before, water pipes and a drain line will need to be installed. You will need to call a professional Auburn plumber to do this for you as it is very involved and dangerous. Once you have ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air install the pipes, installing the new toilet is a snap! Lay some newspaper or old towels on the floor to protect it. Un-box the new toilet and install the tank to the bowl. Next install new closet bolts to the toilet flange, it’s best if you have an extra set of nuts and washers so you can snug the bolts on to the flange. Next install the new wax ring to the flange. Take the new toilet and set it over the flange, guide the bolts through the holes in the bowl. Once it’s set, rock the toilet back and forth this will help squeeze down the wax and insure a good seal. With a level on top of the bowl, slowly tighten the floor bolts. You want the bowl to be tight to the floor, but not too tight as to crack the porcelain of the bowl. If you are unable to level the bowl and have the floor bolts tight at the same time, you may need small plastic shims to level the bowl. The only thing left is to hook up the water supply. Take the water supply nut and screw to the bottom of the tank. Turn the water supply valve back on and flush! Congratulations! You have just installed your first toilet! |
DIY Caulking A Tub/Shower in Your Auburn Home
Monday, November 23rd, 2009| DIY Caulking a Tub and or Shower:It’s important to properly caulk around bathtubs and shower in-closers in your Auburn home. Improperly sealed joints can cause damage to the structure behind the tile or fiberglass. Water can seep behind showers and bathtubs, ruining floorboards and walls. Also, unhealthy and dangerous forms of mold and mildew can form. Prevent damage from water and moisture by replacing missing and worn caulking around bath tubs and showers.It’s important to know why caulk fails so you can avoid future problems. Caulk can fail because of improper application as well as repeated contact with solvents and humidity. It can also fail because the wrong type of caulk may have been used to begin with. It’s important to use waterproof caulking made especially for application around bathtubs and showers. Doing so will ensure a long-lasting waterproof seal.
Before you begin, it’s very important to completely remove the old caulking material. New silicone caulk will not stick to old silicone caulk. Also, the finished job will look much nicer if all the old caulking material has been properly removed. Solvents are available at your local Auburn hardware store to aid in the removal of old caulking material. Follow the directions on the solvent, and use a plastic caulk removing tool or a plastic scrapper to remove the old caulk. If necessary, carefully scrape off any remaining caulk with a razor blade. Use caution when scrapping off the old caulk so you don’t damage the surface you are working on. After most of the old caulking material has been dislodged, remove any remaining caulk using non-abrasive cleanser. Be sure to thoroughly rinse the areas where the new caulk will be applied. Dry the areas, and go over them with rubbing alcohol. Use paper toweling or absorbent rags to dry the areas one last time. A hair dryer can be useful to completely dry the area. To make the caulk line as even as possible around a bathtub or shower, mark off the area to be caulked with masking tape. Doing so will ensure professional looking results, and clean up will be a breeze. If you’re caulking a bathtub, fill it with water before beginning. The added weight will pull away the seams where the tub connects to the wall. Without the added weight, the bathtub caulk will crack and pull away from the wall the first time it is filled with water. When applying the caulk, it’s also a good idea to get into the bathtub to increase the weight. You can apply either caulking material designed for use with a caulking gun, or you can apply the type that comes in a squeeze tube. Carefully cut the tip off the caulking material so the bead will be appropriately sized. Using continuous steady pressure, follow the seams around all areas where water can seep through. Make the size of the caulk line as even as possible. Applying gently pressure to the caulking gun handle or tube will help keep the bead uniform in size. When all areas have been caulked, use a wet finger or smoothing tool to fill in any remaining gaps. Allow the caulk to dry for at least 24 hours before getting it wet. That’s it, you have all the information you need to seal that annoying leak. We find that about 80% of tub or shower leaks we go out to diagnose are just a bad caulking joint and not a plumbing leak. Give it a shot it could save you from the expense of a service call. If it doesn’t work and you still have a leak in your Auburn home, give us a call. ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air 530-272-9120 |
DIY Leaky Pipe Repair for Your Auburn Home
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009DIY Pipe Repair for Your Auburn Home:
Leaks along a pipe are the easiest to locate and generally the fastest to repair. Pipe clamps are an effective way to temporarily fix a leaking pipe in your Auburn home. They consist of a neoprene sleeve and screw hinge. You insert the rubber gasket the kit between the pipe and the clamp and slowly tighten the screws or bolts until the leak stops. This is only a Band-Aid and should not be seen as a permanent repair. If the pipe is leaking it usually means there is a bigger problem, like old and worn out plumbing. Or it could have something to do with your water. We often see high PH levels in our area. High PH refers to the water being slightly acidic which slowly eats away at your pipes. These are two problems you’ll probably want to call in a professional in to help remedy.
Another way to patch a leak on a pipe is to apply plumber’s two part epoxy putty around the leaky joint. This method is not as effective as a line-clamp repair made on a straight section of pipe and will not make a proper bond if your pipe is rusty.
MORE THAN A DRIPPY LEAK
If your pipe is leaking more than an occasional drip the problem is more serious and you’ll want to call in a professional plumber. Do not assume that the leak will fix itself or diminish over time. Leaks generally lead to bigger problems and could result in an expensive flood and repair bill if not taken care right away. Give us a call; ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air: 530-272-9120
DIY Faucet Repair for Your Auburn Home
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009DIY Faucet Repair:
Always start any plumbing repairs on your Auburn home by turning off the water shut off valve to your home so you can work on the pipes without the fear of flooding your Auburn home.
FAUCET LEAKS:
Bathroom and kitchen faucets will often leak due to the washer or O-ring wearing out. Washer are usually made of rubber. The washers are discs that seal and restrict the flow of water when the handle is turned. This type of faucet is known as a compression faucet or rising stem faucet. To replace a washer, remove the decorative cap to get to the screw that attaches the handle to the faucet. Next remove the handle. Then unscrew the packing nut that holds the valve in place by turning it counterclockwise.
Valve washers come in many various sizes and shapes, plus both flat and beveled. I would suggest that you take the valve stem with you to the hardware store to match the exact size needed. An even better idea is to simply replace the whole valve stem. After replacing the washer or the valve stem and your faucet still leaks, the seat may have been damaged.
FIXING A DAMAGED VALVE SEAT:
If the washer has become too worn prior to replacement, the metal will grind against metal and damage the valve seat. Water particles and mineral deposits can become trapped between the seat and the washer so that closing and opening the faucet handle grinds the particles inside and damages the seal beyond simple washer replacement.
Most local Auburn hardware stores have a seat-grinding tool that is commercially available for do-it-yourself (DIY) home repair. The tool comes with easy steps on how to reshape the damaged seat to accept the new washer properly. Now you know the basics on how to repair that leaking faucet in your Auburn home. As always, if you run in to any problems and have some questions and/or need some help, please feel free to call us; ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat & Air: 530-272-9120
Reading Your Water Meter In Your Grass Valley Home
Thursday, November 19th, 2009How to Read your Water Meter
Your water meter is a helpful tool to monitor water usage in your LA home. By reading your meter on a regular basis you will be able to detect plumbing leaks before they flood your home and cause expensive water related damage to structure and belongings.
Water Meter Box
Your water meter is placed in a concrete box, in the ground in front of your home and near a sidewalk or street. A screw driver will easily flip open the box’s lid and reveal the meter along with a curb-stop and a consumer valve. While the water company controls and maintains the curb-stop, you can operate the consumer valve to control water supply to your home. In fact anything beyond the water meter is considered private plumbing under your responsibility. In its “on” position the consumer valve sits parallel to the water pipe. When turned 90 degrees clockwise to sit perpendicular to the water pipe, the consumer valve will be shut off. In situations of burst pipes, leaky toilets or any other water related plumbing catastrophe – turning off the consumer valve will stop water availability to your home and damage control the problem until an emergency plumber arrives to the rescue.
Water Meter Face
On the face of the water meter you will find a central red needle, black and white digits and blue star or triangle located slightly left to the needle.
-Red needle is called a Sweep Handle.
-Black and white digits form the meter register that records water passing through.
-Blue star or triangle is the leak detector that spins as water passes through it. This leak detector device will spin fast for high water flow and slow for low water flow. A moving dial when no water is used in your home indicates a leak that requires immediate investigation and repair for the sake of water conservation and money saving.
Leak Detection
1. Read the meter register, record the black and white digits and position of the sweep hand.
2. Wait at least four hours or overnight without using water. Don’t flush toilets or turn on faucets, run washing machines and dishwashers during this time.
3. After test period, check meter again. A meter register that reads different digits from step 1 indicates a water leak in your home.
Getting Ready For Winter
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009What kind of wood should I burn?
- It does not matter what kind of wood you burn: as long as it is really, truly seasoned. In the case of hardwoods, especially oak, they must be seasoned for over one full year! That means last year’s wood – NOT this years wood! If you’re wondering about which wood is really the best, or what causes the least creosote to build up, the answer is the same! Properly seasoned wood produces the most heat, and produces the least creosote! It’s not the kind of wood you burn that makes the difference, but whether or not the wood is seasoned. Firewood that hasn’t been split for over a year isn’t worth a darn! On the other hand, dry well seasoned wood is just great! Seasoned wood burns hot and clean!
- If you have trouble starting your fire, or if you have trouble keeping your fire going, you are probably using this years wood – which means that it’s not seasoned. Unseasoned, or green wood, is extremely frustrating and disappointing. If wood is not properly seasoned it will be hard to light. It will keep going out. It will smolder. It won’t put out heat. It just burns poorly and inefficiently. It is also the moisture in wood which causes creosote to build up at an accelerated rate. One fresh-cut cord of oak may contain enough water to nearly fill six, 55 gallon drums. The moisture content in the wood determines how much heat the fire puts out, and how much creosote will build up in your chimney.
- If you are going spend hundreds of dollars on firewood, it’s essential to KNOW that the wood you are buying REALLY IS seasoned! Seasoned wood looks dark, or gray when compared to green wood – but if you split a piece of seasoned wood – it’s WHITE on the inside. It’s brittle, or gnarly. It has cracks running through each piece, and a lot of little cracks on the inner rings. Unseasoned wood has a wet, fresh looking center, with lighter (“drier-looking”) wood near the edges or ends which have been exposed since cutting. When firewood is very fresh, the bark will be tightly attached. Avoid these hassles at all costs! When you get cold, you’ll be miserable if your firewood does not produce the heat you need. Only well seasoned wood produces pleasant, trouble free heat.
- Depending upon when it was cut down, softwoods like fir or pine might be dry enough in just one year to burn nicely. But, a year is not enough for hardwoods: especially oak! As far as quality is concerned, madrone is unquestionably the best wood! Madrone is extremely dense, HARD wood. It burns extremely HOT, and it burns for a long time. Next, comes live oak, eucalyptus, walnut, and then all other oaks*. Fir is probably the most trouble free wood you can buy overall. But, if you read further down you’ll see it’s advantages and disadvantages. *White oak is troublesome wood. Though it is often mixed in, it’s a disappointing hassle. Remember that piece of wood that just NEVER seems to burn up? That’s white oak. Stay away from large quantities green wood, and accept as little white oak as possible – though it is difficult to avoid it entirely.
- DO NOT cover your wood with a tarp …. or you will prohibit evaporation! Use a shed, or buy a prefab wood crib.
- What REALLY causes creosote to build up? Creosote is the condensation of unburned, flammable particulates present in the exhausting flue gas (smoke). The actual cause of creosote condensation, is the surface temperature of the flue in which the flue gas comes in contact. Like hot breath on a cold mirror, if the surface temperature of the flue is cool, it will cause the vaporized carbon particles in the flue gas (smoke) to solidify. This condensation is creosote build-up. If the wood you are using is rain logged, or green, the fire will tend to smolder. Wet wood causes the whole system to be cool, and inefficient. But, dry wood means a hot fire! A hot fire means a hot flue, and a hot flue means much less creosote.
- Back in the early 1980’s, tests were conducted to discover which kind of wood created the most creosote in a regular “open” fireplace. The results were surprising. Contrary to popular opinion, the hardwood’s, like oak and madrone, created MORE creosote than the softwoods, like fir and pine. The reason for this, is that if the softwoods are dry, they create a hotter, more intense fire. The draft created by the hotter fire moves the air up the chimney faster! Because it is moving faster, the flue gas does not have as much time to condense as creosote inside the chimney. Also, because the flue gas is hotter: it does not cool down to the condensation point as quickly. On the contrary, the dense hardwood’s tend to smolder more, so their flue gas temperature is cooler. Thus, more creosote is able to condense on the surface of the flue. So, saying that “fir builds up more creosote than oak” just isn’t true! It is a misunderstanding to think that it’s the pitch in wood which causes creosote. It’s not the pitch that is the problem, it’s the water IN the pitch. Once the water in the wood has evaporated, that pitch becomes high octane fuel! When dry, softwoods burn extremely hot!
- Which kind of wood is better? That depends on what you want. If you are a first time fire-burner, or if you only want to burn a couple dozen fires a year: definitely go with a DRY softwood, like fir. Your odds for being happy are infinitely higher with fir, especially if you are just now buying wood for this year. The fresh aroma of fir creates a lovely holiday ambiance! Fir seasons quickly, and when it is dry it is truly delightful, trouble free wood! It’s easy to get going. It smells great. It’s easy to split for kindling. It creates BIG, friendly, luxurious fires! But, it doesn’t last as long as oak or madrone! You must feed a stove more frequently to keep it going with fir, and there is no guarantee that there will still be live hot coals in the morning. Cord for cord the hardwood’s may be a better deal.
- Hardwood’s, like madrone, live oak, eucalyptus, walnut, black oak etc., are the choice of the serious fire burner. You may pay $300 for a cord of oak, and only $250 for a cord of fir. BUT, because the oak is more dense, it weighs much more than the fir. So you actually get more for your money with hardwood. In fact, you may get almost twice the fire for the money! Because hardwoods are denser, they provide more available fuel in the same space. So, hardwoods burn longer. If hardwoods are properly seasoned, they do burn very hot. (Look for oak mixed with madrone.) The fuel available in hardwood enables stoves or inserts to sustain high temperatures for significantly longer periods. Also, unless the stove is shut down tight, hardwoods may keep a hot live coal bed for days. So as a rule, airtight stoves, or inserts, perform best with dry hardwoods. It is, however, always important to have a large supply of really good kindling – because hardwood is difficult to start. Having a quantity of fir on hand is great source of good kindling.
- When buying firewood, remember that first and foremost, it must be properly seasoned. The best way to get seasoned wood is to buy THIS years wood for NEXT year! For a scrupulous first time wood buyer, a moisture tester may be a good investment. Wood sellers will often tell you that even though this wood was split this year, it will be just fine. Except in the cases of fir or pine, that is not true. Look for gray, or darkened, brittle wood that has a lot of cracks in the inner rings. Seasoned wood looks gray, or dark and dingy because it has been sitting sitting in the sun, drying, and collecting dust for a while. But, if you split it: it’s dry and very WHITE inside! Unseasoned wood has the fresh clean look of new lumber at a building supply store. Unseasoned wood has that same fresh look on the INSIDE when it’s split. Though seasoned wood is darker on the outside, it’s bone white on the inside.
- Once wood gets over 4-5 years old, it does start to deteriorate, so the best wood is 2-3 years seasoned. If you find good dry wood of any kind, you will really enjoy your fireplace! But, if you get stuck with green wood, you will be one very frustrated wood burner. Most wood for sale is “this years” wood. If you get serious about wood burning, you must always think one full year ahead! You should always buy this years wood for for NEXT year. Good buys of seasoned wood do come along, but they are often not advertised, because the serious wood burners already know where to go. If you are a first time wood burner, either buy dry, split fir, or hunt down really dry, cracking hardwood. You won’t be sorry if you spend a little more money – just to make sure that you get trouble free firewood.
23,600 Reasons to Have Your Grass Valley Chimney Serviced
Monday, November 2nd, 2009So this is some interesting information I found on the net that I felt I should share. ABT dos not service chimneys, but we highly recommend that if you have a wood burning fireplace or stove that you should have it checked out each season.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, reports that some 23,600 residential fires in the 50 states were related to solid fuel appliances and equipment in 1996. An additional 5,500 fires were attributed to chimneys and chimney connectors serving heating systems burning liquid and other fuels. As a result of these fires, 130 people died, 230 people were injured, and total property losses were set at more than $184.4 million. In addition there were a minimum of 119 deaths from carbon monoxide and at least 4,700 “injuries” reported for the same time frame, though most estimates range much higher. The root cause of most of these losses is that most U.S. homeowners are unaware that chimneys are an integral part of a home heating system and that they require regular evaluation and maintenance. In a great many European countries – including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany – chimney-fire damage statistics have been reduced to negligible numbers because national coalitions of government, insurance companies, fire and building officials, and chimney sweeps have developed tough regulations mandating regularly scheduled chimney inspections and cleaning. The citizens of those countries understand the hazards of unmaintained chimneys, and their chimney sweeps are regular members of their home safety team. Most homeowners in the U.S. and Canada, however, seem to have little working knowledge of chimney and venting systems. This situation is complicated by the fact that faults, damage and problems rarely visible to the casual observer. In fact, people who will quickly replace a faulty automobile exhaust system because of the hazard it presents will allow their home’s exhaust system the chimney or vent – to go unchecked and unmaintained for years. The threat of chimney fires and unsafe indoor air quality conditions can be greatly reduced, perhaps even eliminated, if homeowners only understood that chimneys are active home operation systems which require regular maintenance. The Chimney Sweep’s Role The primary job of a chimney service professional is to aid in the prevention of fires related to fireplaces, woodstoves, gas, oil and coal heating systems and the chimneys that serve them. Wood burning heating systems, in particular, require careful monitoring and skillful operation. Chimney sweeps install, clean and maintain these systems, evaluate their performance, prescribe changes to improve their performance, and educate the consumer about their safe and efficient operation. The basic task of a chimney sweep is to clean chimneys. Cleaning means removing the hazard of accumulated and highly combustible creosote produced by burning wood and wood products. It means eliminating the build-up of soot in coal-and oil-fired systems, it means getting rid of bird and animal nests, leaves and other debris that may create a hazard by blocking the flow of emissions from a home heating appliance. In doing their primary job, sweeps also function as on-the-job fire prevention specialists. They are constantly on the lookout for unsafe conditions that can cause home fires or threaten residents with dangerous or unhealthy indoor air quality. How to Choose a Chimney Sweep: What a Homeowner Should Know The chimney service trade is not regulated, nor are chimney sweeps licensed in most states. Further, opening a chimney service business requires a relatively small capital investment. Thus, virtually anyone – without education, training, experience or even a working knowledge of proper tools or equipment – can become a chimney sweep. As a result, many ill-equipped, ill-prepared individuals are free to offer their “services” to homeowners. in some cases, these individuals will take advantage of learning opportunities and become competent, qualified sweeps. In other cases, they will continue along the same path they started on, offering incompetent service and, in some cases providing trusting homeowners with a false sense of well-being. For this very reason, a number of states are currently considering license requirements for chimney sweeps. As precursors to state licensing, some municipalities currently license chimney sweeps and in most of those, the criteria for licensing is the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential. The CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Program The CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Program is acknowledged by a growing number of industry organizations, insurance underwriters, local, state and federal agencies and courts as the measure of a chimney sweep’s knowledge about the evaluation and maintenance of chimney and venting systems. CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps keep abreast of the current developments and the technology of their trade. They are knowledgeable about the most recent National Fire Protection Association standards as well as the specifics of state and local codes covering their geographic area. In order to ensure a verifiable level of expertise within the trade, the Chimney Safety Institute of America administers the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep Program. It is an educational and testing program designed to assess a chimney sweep’s knowledge of: 1.technical issues related to chimney construction and dynamics 2.solid fuel appliances and EPA requirements 3.the physics of woodburning and creosote formation 4.codes, clearances and standards 5.the practices and techniques of the trade. Throughout most of the 50 states, the homeowner’s best gauge of a chimney serviceperson’s knowledge is the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential. C.S.I.A. Certified Sweeps are tested every three years, and display a dated, photo-ID badge. A good way to be sure the sweep servicing your chimney is currently Certified is to check the search engine on this website or call the CSIA office. These sweeps must also sign a CSIA Chimney Sweep Code of Ethics to help insure homeowners get not only a knowledgable sweep, but an honest one. Don’t settle for less! If you are planning to hire a chimney sweep to inspect, evaluate or clean your chimney system(s) – here is a checklist of the things you should know about the person or company you are about to hire: ■How long has the company been in business ■Does the company offer current references? (Don’t hesitate to check them.) ■Does the company have unresolved complaints filed with your city or state consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau ■Does the company or individual carry a valid business liability insurance policy to protect your home and furnishings against accidents ■Is the company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (provides access to ongoing education) ■Is he or she a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep? The C.S.I.A. Certified Chimney Sweep tm credential is the hallmark of excellence among chimney service professionals and among homeowners and related industry professionals who understand the quality and value it represents. Homeowners should be aware that there is only one legitimate national certification program for the chimney service industry and that is the CSIA program. Those who have earned the CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep credential have demonstrated their commitment to their industry, to fire prevention, and to the clientele they serve. The Chimney Safety Institute of America is a non profit, tax-exempt educational institution dedicated to chimney and venting system safety. CSIA is committed to the elimination of residential chimney fires, carbon monoxide intrusion and other chimney-related hazards that result in the loss of lives and property. To achieve its goals, CSIA devotes its resources to educating the public, chimney service professionals and other fire prevention specialists about the prevention and correction of chimney and venting system hazards. Reprinted with permission from the Chimney Safety Institute of America, www.csia.org
How to Install Heat Tape on the Pipes of your Grass Valley Home.
Monday, November 2nd, 2009Installing heat tape on your pipes during the winter months can save you hundreds of dollars from burst water lines to flooded homes in Grass Valley. These simple steps will help protect your exposed pipes during winter and help prevent a pipe from bursting in your Grass Valley home.
Step 1. Purchase more heat tape than you think you need. The last thing you want to realize is that you don’t have enough tape when you are almost finished with the job. Measure your exposed pipes and make sure to buy a little bit extra. You can find heat tape at all your local Grass Valley hardware stores.
Step 2. Place the heat tape around the pipes. You can either lay it in a straight line ( my personal recomendation) or you can wrap it like the handle on a baseball bat. If you plan to wrap it, make sure to calculate in enough length to accommodate the wrapping.
Step 3. Protect the heat tape. Even though the tape will protect your pipes form bursting, nothing is protecting the tape itself. It is generally a good idea to protect it with insulation this will help keep the heat around the pipe.
Step 4. Plug in the tape and set the thermostat if installed. Make sure to use the heat tape only when you need to. If the temperature is above freezing then you can unplug your heat tape.
That’s all there is to it. This is a great way to keep all those exposed pipes in your Grass Valley home from bursting. If you have any comments, please leave them here. If you need any help or would like us to come out and install it for you, give us a call at 530-272-9120.
