The Leak

As a Plumber's Wife, I used to be the service coordinator in our family business. One day, I came out in a cold sweat when a caller gave me her name. Terry Orr, the local newspaper editor, got on the phone. Terry was a beloved community member, known for her keen wit and unwavering opinions, which she expressed in her famous editorial pieces. Benjamin Franklin famously said, "Never pick a fight with one who buys ink by the barrel." I knew immediately we would need to wow Terry with 5-star service or live with the fallout for years to come. I hired David and educated him on the significance of creating an excellent first impression. I printed new checklists and brought out our training materials. As he hopped into his pickup, David rolled his eyes.

Always choose your appliances and fixtures before you start a remodel. This is especially important when you are tackling your own remodeling project. If you have a general contractor, they already know this information and will make sure you’ve chosen all of your appliances and fixtures for your new space before they bring in the sub-contractors. In Billings, we are lucky to have several nice plumbing showrooms with samples, books and stock of fixtures and appliances for kitchens, bathrooms and laundry rooms and any other plumbing needs. These plumbing showrooms are at Mountain Supply, Ferguson, The Water Closet (Northwest Pipe) and a few others. They may have to special order your choices and that could take nearly 6 weeks. Or they may have your needs in stock, and they can hold on to them for you after your purchase if you don’t have room for them at home during the first phase of the remodel. It is especially important for plumbers, electricians and cabinet makers to know the specifications for the products so they know what is going in before you start to remodel.

“People just naturally assume that dogs would be incapable of working together on some sort of construction project. But, what about just a big field full of holes?”

What’s your favorite thing about being a plumber?

Can you have too much water pressure? You might think that high water pressure would make for a nice shower, more water power to wash out dirty pans and make it easier to wash your car. Isn’t more always better? Not so with water pressure. Some national and regional plumbing codes and most plumbing product manufacturers say that water pressure should not be more than 80 pounds per square inch (psi). Often, in some areas of Billings, including the Heights, water supply pressures can be more than 120 psi.

Blog #3 April 23, 2018

Mechanical room in my house. The water meter and water valve is to the right of the furnace. Every mechanical room looks different, but the water meter is in the mechanical room at least 90% of the time. If not, we would have to look around the house to find it