Problem Solving – Get a Second Opinion, Part 3

It wasn’t too long ago that I busied myself repairing water lines that suffered severe freeze breaks. It was something that I was capable of doing, although not my favorite DIY project. It seems to me that plumbing always leaks, so it’s never been something I look forward to doing.

I sought bids from several plumbers and they offered suggestions on how they would fix the plumbing. Two plumbers suggested using Pex piping as it’s simple to install, handles hot and cold water, and isn’t affected by water in the lines that freezes. One plumber suggested PVC piping for the cold water and CPVC piping for the hot water. All were technically correct, but they were also way too expensive as well, so this was a job for me to do. As such, it was up to me to select the technical approach.

My inclination was the rigid plastic pipe because it’s easy to work with and it would allow me to more easily set the pitch of the piping such that it would all drain downhill when I was putting the plumbing to bed for the winter. A friend of mine offered an unsolicited second opinion that was very helpful when it came to solving this problem. He suggested that I install all CPVC piping. Here was his reasoning:

• It can carry hot and cold water.
• It didn’t cost appreciably more than standard PVC.
• I’d be buying only one type of piping, not two.
• I could buy the same kind of couplers, T’s and elbows instead of two different kinds.

After thinking about it for a while, it made perfect sense to me. So, I made my purchase of CPVC piping and fittings, and set out to replace all of the plumbing under the house. The job turned out to be a great success, and it was relatively easy because I was only working with a single type of piping and fittings – I didn’t have to “switch gears” throughout the plumbing project to use a different type of pipe and fitting for cold water.

So, this serves as an example of an unsolicited second opinion that helped me finalize my planning and put me on a good path towards successful completion. The funny part of it is my friend introduced his recommendations by saying, “This is advice from a fool, but….”

I’m glad to have that “fool” for a friend, and I would have been foolish to ignore his advise. It saved me time selecting the piping and fittings, and it was very convenient to use only one set of fittings for both hot and cold water. Plus, the additional cost associated with using the piping and fittings that were capable of handling higher temperatures and pressures was negligible.

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Clair Schwan tackles a range of do-it-yourself projects, some of which are self-initiated and some of which are made necessary through Mother Nature’s unexpected antics. Either way, he is happy to have advice and opinions from others so he can make better informed decisions. He also recognizes that self reliance doesn’t always mean doing everything all by yourself – you can have help.