Plumbing Skills

Get a close-up, cutaway view of a stop valve, gate valve and ball valve, along with detailed explanations of how they work and advantages and…

Small water leaks at soldered copper joints can be easy—or not so easy—to fix. This article explains the options, including what to…

When kitchen or bathroom faucet repairs go bad, they can be a nightmare. Professional plumbers share their solutions for disassembly and repair…

Connect PVC and ABS plastic pipe with special transition fittings, correctly sized to the pipe size. They make a sound joint and meet plumbing…

There's a right way and a wrong way to install vents. This photo shows the wrong way; the article explains what probably happened and how to…

Plumbing an island sink can be a challenge. That's because there is no adjacent wall to run a vent for the drain. This article will show you…

Hand-tightened compression nuts for water supply lines always seem to need an extra turn with pliers. But a big part of the problem is…

Water leaks from old galvanized steel water pipe are common at joints, especially when they're joined to copper. Use a dielectric coupling…

The best time to fix a plumbing leak is before it happens, by properly connecting water supply and waste line fittings. Learn the tricks that…

There's a right way to solder copper pipe—and a wrong way. Learn the difference so that your next bathroom or kitchen plumbing project is…

To save you time, money and headaches down the road, we collected our favorite tips and tricks for solving common household plumbing problems.…

Before you replace a broken hot water heater, check to make sure the thermocouple still works. It's a simple, inexpensive repair that could…

You can fix leaky copper pipe quickly and efficiently with special repair sleeves. We show you how to cut and solder copper supply lines.

Install a fiberglass shower stall over a concrete floor using a special drain assembly that eliminates leaks. You run the drain line under the…

Replace clogged, corroded water supply pipes to improve water pressure. Begin with the worst spots first, the main valve and meter and the…

Sump pumps and sewage ejector pumps rely on check valves to stop backflow, but they can be noisy when they slam close. Quieter alternatives are…

Fix a clogged tub drain quickly and easily by removing the stopper and fishing out the hair and gunk that causes the problem 80 percent of the…

Install 3-in. plastic-lined nipples between copper and steel pipes to prevent galvanic corrosion from clogging the water line. It's a quick,…

If your spray head has a weak flow, the problem is usually a clogged inlet screen or aerator. We show you how to fix these and troubleshoot…

Fix a dripping laundry faucet by replacing the faucet washer or the valve stem O-ring. You can replace both in ten minutes with a wrench and…