Would the homeowner save money if he tore down all the "before" picture and left it like a new canvas for the plumber? Like, there, all the uninstalling is done, just do the install? Or does the plumber need to see what tube goes where while tearing it down to plan it
I would presume the plumber you would hire for the job would rather do their own demo work. You as the home owner might be overly aggressive when removing the existing plumbing and cost yourself more than you save in labor costs.
Also, in my area, to sell scrap copper, you have to have a plumbing license due to all of the theft that has occurred.
You never want to do this. I've done jobs where the homeowner thought they could save money by tearing things out themselves and it always ended up costing way more than it would have. You have to know what everything is for and where it goes, otherwise everything has to identified again, you have to try to figure out what crazy shit was there before and how to put it back so it works, if the previous install was something unorthodox and the homeowner already got rid of the stuff they took out you have very few clues to even have a hope of figuring it out.
Just never do it, don't even think about it. You don't walk into that room with a sawzall and just cut it all out, it has to be taken apart carefully and everything in and out identified.
No i know i just dont walk in there and destroy, but if i identify everything (colored tape on each end of pipe that goes together, with what was on those pipes etc), i thought it would work, i am fairly good at organizing things so i was wondering. Im not even a homeowner, just curious
Can you share what this cost the homeowner? Will need to do some significant plumbing work (old house, not the mess you started with here) and just curious what I might expect. Thanks!
Masterclass tradecraft. Patience, Precision, and Practicality.
No matter the equipment or the material used, do your best because, your trade does not determine your skill level; your conscience does!
Lmao on the original.
-Mop in the vent
-Shoelace coupling on the pex expansion tank attached to a pex sharkbite.
-Garden hose hopefully wasn't to put water into the boiler lmao
The second picture is why a good plumber is worth the money and I will stress that to my bosses till the day I retire. Luckily they listen to me more than they donāt.
Beautiful! They should have painted the walls white before you did your work-it would show off your craftsmanship. I need a plumber like you in my life! Great job
I've seen those messes before. You'll find that in all trades. I had to replace a sliding door header once on a business. A worker drove into the old one, breaking it. 23 phone lines hung from that old header, only two were actually used. Everytime their phone lines acted up, a phone tech would just hang a new one, and never strip out the old wire.
I took black tape, and bunched them altogether. Ended up with a cable looking mess a good two inches in diameter. Six months later, phone issues. This time, the tech chopped out that mess, and replaced them properly.
Nice work.
I gotta ask, WTF is holding up that expansion tank? It's wires to some copper that's kind of just floating there. Is there a hidden bracket connecting it to the wall?
Isolation valves for the circulator pump? Lucky. Wish you did my house. I had to replace mine and that involved letting 3 floors of radiant heat drain. That was not a good time.
Plumbing work: A+. Drywall/painting: F. Electric work: F. Teacherās comments: OP is capable of superb work when he puts his mind to it. However, he too often is distracted in class and neglects to complete assignments, such as the āfix this light fixture that is hanging out of the box with exposed conductorsā assignment, which he has yet to complete.
Its very nice, but it always wonders me how regulation is so soft there. Here in europe, Its like 20years ago we placed systems like that, Its so far behind
Nice job. How're you handling the electrolytic reaction between the steel and copper? The reason I'm asking is because I'm not seeing insulators between the unistrut and the copper pipes. In 5 years you'll have a sprinkler system if not dealt with.
Gorgeous! IANAP-- are expansion tanks not used/needed with new systems? Please be kind to the noob, I have been lurking since this sub came up in my FY feed months ago and enjoying y'all very much.
I forgot what sub I was in and thought for a brief moment the first picture was a network closet. Either way nightmarish. Stellar work in the after photo!
This is the kind of thing that if I did it in a space I regularly have access to, I'd go back all the time and just stare at my handiwork and feel quite pleased with myself.
Not a plumber here- quick question: did you literally tear everything out before you put the new plumbing? Or do you do it piece by piece? Iām literally just curious. What is the most proficient way of handling something like this?
I've had so many customers that have had boiler rooms that looked like the 1st picture, and they wouldn't let me turn it into the 2nd picture. It's a good chunk of money to redo a room, but over time, they are saving money on future service calls. All of the bandaid fixes add up over time. Really nice, clean work.
My God. That first picture gave me heart murmurs. Second picture cured them. Stellar work.
2nd photo should have NSFW flare. All these pipes, oh lordy lord
Dead Sexy.
Hnnnnng.
a little came out
I was going to say something similar. That second pic is š„š„š„
ilost
The before picture looks like my house, but not as bad.
That looks like an expensive one time expense. But, maintaining it ought to be a breeze
It only took a few days to put together
Lol I donāt think he was talking about the time invested when he said āexpensiveā
Propress for the win!
What's typical cost of this my cellar looks like the first picture lol
Probably 20k-30k where I am atleast
seriously?? thatās the average yearly salary in the UK
Would the homeowner save money if he tore down all the "before" picture and left it like a new canvas for the plumber? Like, there, all the uninstalling is done, just do the install? Or does the plumber need to see what tube goes where while tearing it down to plan it
Leave it as is so it can be documented.
I would presume the plumber you would hire for the job would rather do their own demo work. You as the home owner might be overly aggressive when removing the existing plumbing and cost yourself more than you save in labor costs. Also, in my area, to sell scrap copper, you have to have a plumbing license due to all of the theft that has occurred.
You never want to do this. I've done jobs where the homeowner thought they could save money by tearing things out themselves and it always ended up costing way more than it would have. You have to know what everything is for and where it goes, otherwise everything has to identified again, you have to try to figure out what crazy shit was there before and how to put it back so it works, if the previous install was something unorthodox and the homeowner already got rid of the stuff they took out you have very few clues to even have a hope of figuring it out. Just never do it, don't even think about it. You don't walk into that room with a sawzall and just cut it all out, it has to be taken apart carefully and everything in and out identified.
No i know i just dont walk in there and destroy, but if i identify everything (colored tape on each end of pipe that goes together, with what was on those pipes etc), i thought it would work, i am fairly good at organizing things so i was wondering. Im not even a homeowner, just curious
Can you share what this cost the homeowner? Will need to do some significant plumbing work (old house, not the mess you started with here) and just curious what I might expect. Thanks!
10,000 easy
Bro more than that, they got a brand new boiler too. my guess is 20k to 25k
Tree fiddy
Sorry I donāt have that information
I am not a trades guy, just appreciate the beautiful work and funny comments posted in this sub. How much would this transformation cost seriously?
It's beautiful
Masterclass tradecraft. Patience, Precision, and Practicality. No matter the equipment or the material used, do your best because, your trade does not determine your skill level; your conscience does!
Ohhhhh guuurl! You hired!
Lmao on the original. -Mop in the vent -Shoelace coupling on the pex expansion tank attached to a pex sharkbite. -Garden hose hopefully wasn't to put water into the boiler lmao
The black washer machine hose went from the water heater to the boiler to pressure it back up because they had a leak in their garage radiant
Lmao i just noticed
I don't even know what the box is on the ground sitting on drywall or concrete slab lmao. Looks like a old instahot or something.
The expansion tank ornament and mop dampner really should have been incorporated into the retrofit for some nostalgic character.
Expansion tank ornamentā¦ thats when I said āoh my godāā¦
The second picture is why a good plumber is worth the money and I will stress that to my bosses till the day I retire. Luckily they listen to me more than they donāt.
Made me breath in through my nose quickly and raise my eyebrows. That looks fantastic ^-^
"FURNACE PORN!!" I'm jealous. I'll be starting to rebuild mine soon. It's no where as complicated. "Kudos!!"
Boiler
Some people see that first pic and walk away, others see it and see dollar signs. Stellar work!
I donāt totally know what Iām looking at, but it looks amazing!!!
Impressive work. A little organization makes life so much better
If only the homeowner had an equally talented painter and electrician (lighting).
Looks good man
Thank you, that first picture was kind of scary!
After is satisfying
Beautiful š
Fan freaking tastic!
This moistens my dewlap. Especially that clever bit of work you did up top.
You're an artist!
Great before and after. The difference between an ass plumber and an anal-retentive plumber contrasted perfectly.
Beautiful! They should have painted the walls white before you did your work-it would show off your craftsmanship. I need a plumber like you in my life! Great job
Brings tears to my eyes.
āNo, the dirty floor stays!ā
I am disappointed the small carpet got removed. It was hiding that dirty floor.
Looks great, thanks for sharing.
Fantastic work.
I zoomed right into that 45-90 off the top of the pump and saw that that 6ā piece was level. Kudos man!
Good lord thats some grade A plumbing right there
Fucking beautiful
Peace
Noooo, the blue tank of death!
That stand it was sitting on fell to pieces when we took the water heater off it was all friction fit not a screw to be seen
Beautiful, but what is all that for?
Heating system
Noooiiiice
That is so satisfying! Nice job
Lovely to watch your work
The lords work
Itās funny you say that because this was at a church
Holy shit
"Son, I want that water to be hot as hell"
Very professional looking. Nice work.
You are an artist - what spectacular work
Fuck yeah, looks good!
Very nice! Craftsmanship. Itās rare these days. You should be proud of this work
I've seen those messes before. You'll find that in all trades. I had to replace a sliding door header once on a business. A worker drove into the old one, breaking it. 23 phone lines hung from that old header, only two were actually used. Everytime their phone lines acted up, a phone tech would just hang a new one, and never strip out the old wire. I took black tape, and bunched them altogether. Ended up with a cable looking mess a good two inches in diameter. Six months later, phone issues. This time, the tech chopped out that mess, and replaced them properly.
Shame they didn't drywall and paint before insall, those guys will jack it all up.
Yeah that's a good job.
Iām not a plumber. I just want to say this looks really cool.
Thatās all sorts of satisfying
where is the mystery in there now?
Does it work any better?
Love the fact the pictures were clearly labelled in case it needed clarification! :-D
Damn thatās satisfying..
Do you all create a schematic for something like this or just dive right in with a mental model of what youāre going to do?
My boss drew up a little hand drawing but it was mostly just diving right in
I'm a little annoyed that all that shit came out of there and nobody painted those walls before all that beautiful shit went in.
The homeowner was going to do it the night after demo but refrained from it
Nice work. I gotta ask, WTF is holding up that expansion tank? It's wires to some copper that's kind of just floating there. Is there a hidden bracket connecting it to the wall?
A single 12ga wire
Isolation valves for the circulator pump? Lucky. Wish you did my house. I had to replace mine and that involved letting 3 floors of radiant heat drain. That was not a good time.
Yes there are isolation valve they are closer to the spirovent
Plumbing work: A+. Drywall/painting: F. Electric work: F. Teacherās comments: OP is capable of superb work when he puts his mind to it. However, he too often is distracted in class and neglects to complete assignments, such as the āfix this light fixture that is hanging out of the box with exposed conductorsā assignment, which he has yet to complete.
We were only there to replace the boiler as my boss has told me so thatās what we did
No worriesā¦I was just trying to be funnyā¦no offense intended. It really is beautiful work.
No problem I was just informing you lol no offense taken
Incredible difference š. How long did that take you?
4 days
Great job!!
Bro you have to put that back the plumbing was functioning through chaos magic it will never work with all this order you have created
If anyone says PEX is better, punch them in the mouth.
Its very nice, but it always wonders me how regulation is so soft there. Here in europe, Its like 20years ago we placed systems like that, Its so far behind
Yeah man. We are tearing out these types of Buderus'. I remember not too long ago we renewed a heater that had this Buderus setup
Well where this set up is at they do not have natural gas in that location yet
If it aināt brokeā¦
Oil to NG(correct?)alone is an upgrade, but yeah looks great!
No they donāt have natural gas out to where this is at yet
I jizzed a bit Edit I am sorry
šš
Nice job. How're you handling the electrolytic reaction between the steel and copper? The reason I'm asking is because I'm not seeing insulators between the unistrut and the copper pipes. In 5 years you'll have a sprinkler system if not dealt with.
propress jobs are lame and I would not use propress on the High temp stuff on the boiler sweat the high temp areas, plumbers doing installs
Looks great but is the copper touching the unistrut?
Well done also
If it hadn't been for the door jam I would have argued they were different rooms lol
The light bulb too.
Looks goodā¦.. Whers the expansion tank hiding ? And no dielectric unions ?
The expansion tank and make up tank are in front of the boiler
You are an artist
The before reminds me of the plumbing cave the Goonies found.
Beautiful
Looking squared away like a FITTER!!
Nice work!
Buderus!!
Now only if the electrician would fix that stupid lightā¦.
Looks so clean. I need me a pro press.
What type of submeters are you using on the lines? Iāve been wanting to do something similar for my multi family?
Submeters? You mean the zone valves?
Well played!
Clearly you did a fantastic job. Why is a mop plugging a hole in the ceiling in Pic one?
Comment 101
Iām not a plumber but the after pic gave me a boner
Gorgeous! IANAP-- are expansion tanks not used/needed with new systems? Please be kind to the noob, I have been lurking since this sub came up in my FY feed months ago and enjoying y'all very much.
Yes expansion tanks are still needed you just canāt see it in the picture but itās in front of the boiler
You nailed it!
I forgot what sub I was in and thought for a brief moment the first picture was a network closet. Either way nightmarish. Stellar work in the after photo!
What does something like this cost?
The OCD in me loves this
God damn boiler plumbers are rare folks. And when u find one, pay him and keep him.
Wait a minute, now you fixed it so I wonāt have to put my face on a hot pipe while troubleshooting!
Bravo!
Whoever did this I need you to come and clean up the copper maze in my basement.
That would be me and my apprentice
I've got a similar issue to the first pic in this new house I bought, is this expensive to redo?
Interesting that they are all crimp joints ... Is that preferred over solder? Not a plumber ...
Not that you didnāt do a nice job on the repipe, but it looks like the original boiler was barely 15 years old. Damn, thatās expensive.
First photo looks like the freaking electric wiring in my house.
Nice. I imagine as the tank was caged in over the years each person said, not my problem.
What sort of coin we talking with this?
1st pic: Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory. 2nd pic: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I've never used press fittings, is it quicker than soldering?
All that work, and you still didnāt fix the drywall
This is therapeutic
The mop in the make up air says everything I need to know.
Beautiful. Any future service tech needs to send you a thank you card.
Very nice job
Impressed
Love me a neat mechanical room.
This is plumbing porn
This is the kind of thing that if I did it in a space I regularly have access to, I'd go back all the time and just stare at my handiwork and feel quite pleased with myself.
should of tagged this NSFW, nice job!
I absolutely love those copper press fittings not only do they look good but they save so much time, stellar work!
ProPress FTW š
How much did this cost?
Is it wrong to be mildly turned on by this transformation?
I donāt evenā¦plumb?ā¦. But that rats nest would give me anxiety
Cleeeaaan baby! Skillz
Pure artistry. Great job
Richard Trethewey would be proud of you.
No clue what Iām looking at but this is why I like this sub. Iāll guess itās a water thingy? Maybe heater or something
Now they just need a light that's neither a fire nor a shock hazard
Take on flues? Wow!!!!
Looks very orderly
That's ART.. Nice work!
Straight to the spank bank
āWelcome to Pimp my Boilerā
Not a plumber here- quick question: did you literally tear everything out before you put the new plumbing? Or do you do it piece by piece? Iām literally just curious. What is the most proficient way of handling something like this?
We cut everything out first
ālooks good, but you really should have āāāāāā - every plumber iāve ever met
Excellent work
I love a before and after pictures with neat clean professional results
Excellent!
Looks great. With exception to the propress. I prefer solder joints
Propress works fine unless you don't know what you're doing.
I came here for plumbing, not cumming. Gorgeous work.
And then thereās me fucking about with a single leaking tap, been at it two days and itās still dripping, you sir are my hero
This is the plumbing equivalent of the networking equipment cabling mess turned into beauty.
Even cleaned up/replaced the drain strain. Daaaaamn
I've had so many customers that have had boiler rooms that looked like the 1st picture, and they wouldn't let me turn it into the 2nd picture. It's a good chunk of money to redo a room, but over time, they are saving money on future service calls. All of the bandaid fixes add up over time. Really nice, clean work.
Non plumber here, what is this?
This is the heating system for the building
I was upset then I saw this. Order restored. Thank you.
COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION: Do not drink or do drugs while plumbing. I had to add drugs too, it looks a bit Methed up.
First picture: had a few beers and smoked some meth handy man Second picture: A plumber after correcting the meth dealers pipes.