If you poke a drinking straw into your soft drink and place a finger over the opening, you can lift the straw out and the liquid in the straw will stay. Remove your finger and the liquid runs out.

I recently had a plumbing emergency in my own home. The main drain pipe under the basement floor got clogged with toilet paper. The culprit is a newer low-flush toilet in a basement bathroom. I’ve ...

Have you heard the old saying, “You don’t know what you don’t know”? It’s an axiom homeowners should always keep in mind when thinking about the mechanical and structural systems hidden behind the ...

Planning a bathroom remodel? Before you start construction, see our tips and information on bathroom plumbing and materials. Before deciding on relocating any plumbing fixtures, a few more critical ...

You may wonder how I got my start as a builder. The hook was set in Boy Scouts, when I obtained my home repairs merit badge. I then helped pay my way through college working on the weekends and during ...

I’ve been a master plumber since 1981. I’ve always loved doing plumbing because it’s a very interesting three-dimensional challenge to install drain, waste and vent (DWV) piping in a new home or a ...

I'm blessed. Not only do I get emails each day from readers like you, but I also get questions on my AsktheBuilder.com website. These questions are never tiring, and it's like Christmas morning when I ...

Any curve in a pipe increases the potential for blockage. Drain traps are one of the most common places for blockages to occur. Drains are hidden heroes in your home. If you’re lucky, you can go for ...

Q: A plumber came by recently to look at a problem in our kitchen but when we showed him our garage with our 1936 overhead drainpipes he gasped at our old bell-style cast-iron pipes and said they were ...