Shower Body Sprays

Wanted to post some information on some new shower body sprays we installed for one of our clients. The body sprays have been around for a while although of somewhat pretty limited use. The advantages of the shower body sprays is you get more water coverage and in more areas of your body. This can definitely lead a very soothing and enjoyable feel in the shower. There are numorous kinds and types of body sprays that can range in price from a few hundred dollars to well over a couple of thousand dollars and with many different kinds of assortments and customizations available. From vibrating shower heads and body sprays to movable vertical sprays, there are plenty of options avaiable.

Here is a picture of the latest and greatest!

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Urinal in the bathroom?

Why not?!!

In over 20 years of plumbing, I have never had to plumb for urinal in a residential home. For the first time, we had a homeowner that requested it. After the installation and testing the fixture, I can understand it now. He requested a special wall mounted faucet instead of a flushometer type of valve which was even more non typical, but when it was completed, the homeowner was very happy!

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Major Water Leak!

We had a call from a company that stated their water bill went from 5,000 gallons one month to 70,000 gallons the next month and asked if could take a look at the property. After arriving we checked out the water meter and noticed the indicator was spinning constantly. After looking inside and insuring that nothing was running, we checked all the normal suspects including the toilets, lavatory faucets, drinking fountains, hose bibbs, water heater etc. We shut down the water heater to see if the water meter stopped, but it was still spinning meaning the leak was on the cold side of the system.

We then checked the irrigation control box and could feel water running through it causing it to vibrate. There were quite a few drip heads constantly dripping even the main control was in the off position. I immediately called the manager and informed him of the situation. He asked if we could take care of it. After replacing both diaphrams and 1 solenoid on the irrigation control valves which thankfully stopped the meter from spinning.

After giving the system a full checkthrough and insuring each irrigation station started and stopped correctly we notified that manager of the repair.

This is a perfect example of one avenue people can look into when they have a drastic change in their water bill. We have had quite a few calls very similiar to this. When a water statement shows such a large increase in water usage, a very likely suspect can be the irrigation system.

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Rubinet Faucets

We had a call quite a while ago for a condo in the Turnberry Towers to change out the cartridges in the master bath lavatory sink faucet on the left hand side due to some water spotting around the handle. It was a quick call and the cartridges were replaced very easily. The faucet manufacturer was Rubinet from Canada and they shipped the replacement cartridges to the homeowner for free. We got another call today to replace the right hand side cartridges due to some water hammering in the wall when the lavatory faucet was used. We instructed the homeowner that the cartridge may fix it but it could possibly require a hammer arrestor installed at the angle stop also. We said we would try the cartridge first and see if that does it. After a quick replacement without any issues and turning the water on, the water hammer was gone.

We just wanted to give a quick plug to Rubinet for the excellent support they have for their products and the fact that they will ship new cartridges to the home owner for free. I personally no of other companies that wont do this and have had a few incidences because of it.

Here is a picture of the Rubinet Faucet…

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Hubbell Tankless Electric Heaters

We received a call to change out 2 older Sets Tankless Heaters for a residence. The Sets company was bought out by Hubbell. Homeowners with the older Sets tankless heaters have the option to purchase the newer electric tankless water heaters that are now made by Hubbell.

Once we arrived onsite, we gave the 2 systems a good walk through and analyzed the installation and what it would take to change the system out. The previous installation wasn’t bad, but the older Sets units were a bit outdated and the units themselves looked to be a bit shabby. The newer Hubbell electric Tankless heaters were better built, with a higher grade parts and a very top notch design.

Removing the old units proved to be quite a bear with the Sharkbite adapters that were used on the older units to connect to the plumbing pipes basically being totally siezed and impossible to remove, we had to cut the old plumbing out and re-run the supplies.

Once everything was done and we fired the units up, they looked absolutely beautiful! The good thing about tankless heaters, is they only fire when you need hot water which saves a substantial amount of money in energy costs, they have quite a small foot print and they are easily serviceable. Normally anything inside a tankless heater is replaceable which saves the homeowner money because they don’t have to purchase brand new units.

Here are some images for the Hubbell Model #280-3 and older Sets Electric Tankless water heaters…

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

When it rains, it pours!

We received a call today from a customer in Las Vegas that we have done a bit of plumbing for saying he had a water leak in the garage of his ceiling and it was right where we ran a new water line for him. After picking myself back up from the floor due to a small heart attack, I stated I would be there within an hour.

After arriving, the first thing I did was look at the water meter and take a picture of the reading. I then went into the garage and noticed some drywall that was damaged due to water leaking. I used a sawzall and cut a hole in the ceiling to get a better look. Right above the hole that I cut was the Wirsbo water line that we ran over 8 months previously. I did notice there was some water dripping close to the water line but not at the Wirsbo line. Water was actually dripping from the underside of the roof, at the wood panels. I felt along our water line and didn’t notice any water on the line itself or see any water leaking from the line. I then went to the roof and noticed the home owner had a flat section of roof with standard shingles above his garage that had quite a bit of standing water right in the section that had the leak down below. After taking a bunch of pictures and breathing a deep sigh of relief, I contacted the home owner and explained the situation. I did verify the water meter again and made sure it didn’t move since the last time I checked it. Although I felt very bad for the homeowner and recommended a course of action for him, I was utterly relieved that nothing was wrong with our system.

The leak was coming from the left had corner of the roof area with the pine needle nest…

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Bosch Tankless Water Heaters

Finally finished piping the water, gas and T&P drains for the Bosch Tankless water heaters we installed at a custom home were doing. Personally I’m not a big fan of Bosch products, I would rather use Rinnai for tankless water heaters but it was a homeowner decision . The Bosch tankless heaters use 2 seperate vents for the combustion air intake and exhaust. Rinnai uses 1 single vent for both and its alot easier/ cheaper to install. The tankless water heaters really look great and save quite a bit of space. They are generally 20% more efficient than a storage tank type water heater and they are quite a bit more pleasing to look at.

Here is a picture of the Bosch piping system. I will post more pictures when we finish the venting system.

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Pesky Toilets!

We had a call the from one of our property managers saying they had a tenant who was having problems with their toilets and wanted the 3 toilets fixed like the master toilet was. We didn’t do any previous work on the toilets so this was one of those what kind of adventure is this going to be kind of thing. Once we arrived the tenant stated that the 3 toilets weren’t flushing very well and would like the tank parts replaced like the other company did with the master toilet. I explained to the tenant that replacing the toilet tank parts will not necessarily make a toilet flush better unless the flapper is totally ruined. All the fill valve does is replenish the water in the tank and has absolutely no effect on the flushing efficiency of a toilet. The only time you replace the toilet fill valve is if its leaking at the seal or if it is constantly running. As for the flapper, putting a new one in will not really increase the flushing action of a toilet unless there are some major problems with the flapper. Once I checked out the toilets, I adjusted the water levels, way too high and adjusted the flapper chains. One toilet was having a hard time flushing, but there was so much slack in the chain that if you didn’t hold the handle down, the flapper would immediately shut. After these adjustments all toilets flushed fine using toilet paper and checking at least half a dozen flushes on each toilet. The only thing that can really moderate the flush is how long the flapper stays open and if the chain has too much slack in it, it may not raise all the way to the open position.

This is a direct example of what AllAces Plumbing prides in. Most companies out there would have immediately changed out all the fill valves and flapper assemblies for all 3 toilets and charged the Property Manager in access of $400 as I am sure the previous Las Vegas Plumbing company did. We on the other hand would rather save them the money and foster a long lasting, trusting relationship.

AllAces Plumbing Las Vegas and Pahrump

Las Vegas Rinnai Tankless Water Heater

Just finished a couple of installs for some Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters at a Las Vegas Meat Market. I did love the ease of installation and how well the units hooked up.

Heres a photo…

Las Vegas Rinnai Tankless Water Heater

AllAces Plumbing on Service Magic

AllAces Plumbing Photos

AllAces Plumbing Home

Camera Sewer

We originally went to this house to take a look at a sewer pipe problem. The homeowner stated that a certain plumbing company ran a camera down the line and stated that the tree roots were causing a kink in the line. They gave the homeowner an outrageous price to fix it, so they called me for an estimate. I took a look around and gave them a price to dig up the sewer and replace the kinked part of the sewer line. When I arrived to complete the job, I used my camera to determine where the kink was and found it to be at the curb line. This is usually caused by the backhoe either digging a trench for the power or digging up the sewer lateral for the plumbers. I am inclined to think it was the backhoe for the power trench because the kink is vertical which means the pvc sewer lateral was pulled or pushed horizontally, usually the direction the backhoe digs when excavating for the power conduit. Of course we couldn’t continue due to being within 4′ of the call before you dig utility markings, plus ultimately the builder is responsible for situations like this, not the homeowner.

Heres the Video on You tube…
You tube Camera Sewer Line

AllAces Plumbing on Service Magic

AllAces Plumbing Photos

AllAces Plumbing Home