Down the Drain DIY

By Billy Aldridge

Being a plumber means getting to thrill vicariously at all the DIY shows on TV.  Sure, watching guys like Norm Abram go through the paces of rebuilding this or that old home is always an inspiration.  While the DIY show genre was almost single-handedly inspired by Norm’s predecessor and mentor, Bob Villa, every single DIY spinoff is hosted by a dyed-in-the-wool professional with years of on the job experience.  So if I was going to throw my hat into the ring to create a DIY plumbing show that showed it like it is, I wouldn’t spin it as a “Fix this Plumbing” concept at all. No, I think a more informative and vastly more entertaining angle would be to create a series that showcases the unfortunate results of people who thought they could save some money by doing it themselves.  I call the concept “Down the Drain DIY.” Here is an episode that I have cobbled together from doing a little research online.

Episode 1: The Hosed Housewife (Or, how to turn a $10 DIY into a $360 emergency plumbing repair.) 

Our upstairs hall toilet sprung a leak recently, emitting a steady hiss punctuated by frequent whooshes of the pump refilling the tank -- a bit like having Darth Vader lurking in the hall. We don't use it much, so I just turned off the water to the toilet and silenced the evil Jedi. But with visitors arriving shortly from the UK, it occurred to me that access to a loo that didn't involve traipsing through our bedroom might be preferred by all parties.

I was ready to call a plumber, but my dad scoffed on the phone. "An easy fix. Just needs a new fill valve," he assured me. So off I went to Home Depot where yes indeed, Mr. Orange Apron fixed me up with a replacement fill valve for about $10. (something my dad continues to call a 'ball cock' even though they no longer have balls and don't cock. It's been replaced by something that's more like a 'shank donut' but honestly, that doesn't sound any less dirty.) The Force was strong in me. I imagined my light saber emerging from the end of the fill valve and beheading a plumber. Take that!

Once back from her trip to the big box store, our heroine realized that the instructions that came with the parts were less than adequate.  Undaunted, she pressed on and completed the repair to the best of her ability.  Then she opened the shutoff valve.

I turned on the water... and a steady stream cascaded onto the floor.  I turned off the water. I could still hear a little hiss, like it wasn't all the way off, but it looked like it was off. I turned the handle a little harder. No change. Harder. The water started coming out of the hose faster. I turned it the other way. No change. Turned it back. The stream became a torrent.

Suddenly, a fill valve was the least of my problems. I had no idea where the main water cutoff for the house was. I emptied the linen closet onto the floor, ran to the phone and called the first plumber in the yellow pages that said 24×7 emergency service, grabbed a couple of bowls and raced back upstairs. Where I sat for over an hour, bailing water into the tub at the rate of one bowl every 30 seconds or so. I believe that counts as a workout.

The moral of the story is you need to know how and where to shut off the water to your home if you don’t want to wind up getting hosed. (Below is a video that shows you step-by-step how to locate and turn off the water main.)

While do-it-yourself is all the rage, the bottom line for many homeowners is that unless you know your limits, you need to have a fallback plan in place and you absolutely need to have your friendly neighborhood plumber’s phone number on speed dial the next time you get the urge to DIY.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For more helpful plumbing tips and step-by-step DIY videos, go to http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

Fall Back on Plumbing Basics

By Billy Aldridge

With Fall only a week away, this week I thought I’d fall back on some plumbing basics.  When most people think about plumbing, they normally associate it with the household fixtures that let water into and out of the house, such as sinks, tubs and showers, toilets, water heaters, washing machine and dishwasher.  What they don’t consider is the unseen world of pipes and vents that are out of sight and mind behind the walls and under their feet that make all those fixtures do their thing.  In fact the only time that the average homeowner has any interest in their home’s plumbing is when something either backs up or springs a leak.  In point of fact, there are actually two plumbing systems contained in your house, one designed to bring water in and the other designed to let wastewater out. 

In With the Good Water

Everyone talks about water entering their home.  But it doesn’t enter so much as fly.  (If you’ve ever seen water spewing from an open hydrant you get my point.) This is due to the fact that city water is under pressure.  This allows it to travel across town around corners and uphill.  It also permits your neighbors to open a tap or flush a toilet without noticeably affecting your home’s water pressure.   But it’s also more pressure than your home appliances and fixtures can accommodate.  I mean when you turn on the shower you don’t want to have the water come out of the shower head with enough force to start peeling the tiles off the backsplash, do you?

The municipal water company typically sets the pressure at 100 psi or higher.   This is necessary to deliver water at pressure to fire hydrants, multi-story office buildings and for other high demand customers.  However, when it comes to your home needs, the maximum recommended pressure is 80 psi or less.  Therefore a pressure regulator is installed that is designed to protect both the house’s supply line and the fixtures and appliances inside your home.  If your home is experiencing either an excess of pressure or a lack of water pressure, this is one of the first places to look, since this one device controls the inflow of water to your entire house.

The other place is the cutoff valve, which is usually located near the curb.  The cutoff valve is one part of the plumbing that I advise every homeowner to become familiar since it can save you thousands of dollars in water damage should a pipe burst in your home.  (See the video below for more information.)

Once the water makes its way from the street to your home it flows through a meter which measures how much water you and your family use.  All water that enters your home comes in cold and is supplied to every sink, toilet, tap, irrigation system, dishwasher, washing machine bathtub and shower.  There are also water cutoffs located on or adjacent to every plumbing fixture in your home.  You need to not only familiarize yourself with their location and use, but you also need to exercise these cutoff valves so that they will be operational should you ever have a leak.  Otherwise you will be forced to shut off water to the entire house.

The cold water is also sent to your water heater, which then heats the water before sending it to every hot water tap in the house.  The hot water heater is also tasked with the responsibility of setting the water temperature.  Normally the water temperature is kept between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Appliances such as the dishwasher that requires higher water temps usually have an internal water heating system that boost the water temperature to the proper level.

Out With the Bad

Whether your home plumbing is sewer or septic-based, all drainage is gravity fed.  This means that all pipes lead down which tends to pull waste along.  These pipes in turn lead to the sewer and ultimately to the municipal treatment system.  Sounds simple doesn’t it.  It is in principle.  But you have to factor in the fact that if your home’s plumbing was that straightforward, not only would you have waste flowing out of your home, but you would also have waste gases flowing into it. (And nobody wants that.)

That’s why your house comes equipped with a sophisticated system of vents, traps and clean outs that are designed to direct the flow of wastewater and gas such that it all heads out of your home.  In the first place if air wasn’t provided by the vents, no water would flow through the pipes.  Did you ever stick your thumb over a straw and pull the straw out of your soda?  That’s what would happen if air were not allowed to flow into your home’s pipes.  It would create a vacuum that would force you to siphon the water away. 

Traps are also vital to proper drainage.  Traps are designed to allow water to flow yet retain enough to prevent sewer gas from entering your home.  There is a trap associated with every fixture in your home, including every sink, tub and toilet.  One of the most conspicuous is located under any sink in your home. It’s the S-shaped section of pipe just below the basin. The other reason these traps are there are to collect hair, dirt and grease in order to prevent clogged drains. (See video below.)

Even if you aren’t the do-it-yourself type, having a basic knowledge of your home’s plumbing system can save you a lot of money should any part of your house’s plumbing system fail.  After all, when it comes to fallback plans, not having one is plumb crazy.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida. For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to 

http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

Does Your Home Harbor a Critter Gitter?

By Billy Aldridge

It first may come to your attention when your pipes start grumbling and growling or it may make its presence known by a foul odor that clearly emanates from the drain.  Either of these symptoms may indicate that something is impeding the smooth flow of air through your home’s vent stack.  While the blockage might be caused by leaf litter, it is also a real possibility that a squirrel or some other small mammal has become trapped in there and died.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is to clear the clog all you need is a ladder, a flashlight, gardening gloves, a garden hose, and drain tape. (The latter item can be found at any hardware store.)

Vent stacks consist of a series of pipes that are designed to release sewer gases outside of your home.  These vents also admit and regulate the amount of air flowing to the pipes that are needed to equalize pressure thereby allowing the proper flow of water.  Every fixture in your bathroom and kitchen is required to have an internal or external trap and an attached vent, the top of which is vented through the roof in what is referred to as a  vent stack.  So when the stack gets clogged, this will affect the ability of the wastewater and gasses from being able to exit the building.

Santa Claus isn’t the only thing that likes to climb down chimneys.

The vent stack is the diminutive plastic or metal chimney sticking out of your roof. Aside from being a necessity to the smooth functioning of your plumbing it is also a magnet to critters, some of which climb into it never to be heard from again.  To reach it you will need a ladder since it resides on your roof.  To start the process put a flashlight and pair of gloves into your pockets, securely position the ladder against the side of the house and tote a garden hose and drain tape up to the roof. (Always exercise caution when climbing up and down any ladder.)  Locate the plumbing stack and use the flashlight to peer into it for obvious signs of blockages, such as leaves or a nest.  If you see any that you can reach, put on your gloves and clear as much of the stack as you can by hand.  It is possible that whatever is gumming up the works could be but a few inches from the top, in which case clearing the clog could be over and done within a matter of seconds.

However if whatever or whoever managed to worm its way deeper down the stack, you will need to deploy the drain tape to get at the clog.  Inserting the augur end of the tape, thread it down the stack in order to break up the clog or latch onto any debris that may have lodged down there.  Pull the tape back up the stack from time to time in order to remove as much of the offending material as you can fish out. 

Once you removed as much of the debris as possible and/or broken through the clog then you need to feed the hose down the stack as far as it will go and turn on the flow.  You will know you have succeeded if the water runs down the drain.  If it shoots skyward, then this indicates that the stack is still blocked.  Repeat the process until the water runs down the stack with a whoosh.

One way to deter the stack from becoming blocked is to install a vent cap.  These devices are simple to install and will substantially reduce or even eliminate the accumulation of leaf litter and unwanted pests that like to call your vent stack home.  Just make sure that the cap you choose isn’t constructed from lead, since squirrels seem to like the taste of the metal and will gnaw holes in the cap.  Vent caps can be found online or at many hardware stores and big box home remodeling centers.

While you’re up on the roof it wouldn't hurt to also check to make sure that the flashing around

 the stack isn’t cracked or damaged, since this will cause water to leak into your home the next time it rains, potentially causing even damage than a simple clog.  You can buy replacements at the hardware store as well.  With a little foresight and an occasional trip to the roof, you can keep these critter gitters from becoming an unpleasant but necessary DIY project.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For more helpful hints and handy DIY videos go to http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

Pardon Me, But There's a Drone In My Drain

By Billy Aldridge

During the past few months I have told all of you about the hi-tech revolution coming soon to a kitchen and/or bathroom near you.  I have regaled you with everything from the latest in singing shower heads and computerized commodes, to refrigerators and washing machines that are wifi equipped.  So I guess it should come as no surprise that technological wizardry is on the horizon that could well change the way in which plumbers perform repairs.

English: Man using a ground penetrating radar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hi-tech plumbing tools are nothing new.  Plumbers, including yours truly, have been using everything from flexible fiberoptic viewing systems and electromagnetic line locators, to bionic ears and ground penetrating 

radar for a number of years.  While most of these devices are useful in locating hidden pipes and leaks, they still need a human being to work the controls.  The next generation of tech tools will not only be able to go where no plumber has gone before, but there is a high probability that they will not only be autonomously controlled, but they will be able to perform the repair without any assistance from the operator.

What I am referring to are roboplumbers, or more precisely robots that can worm their way down the drain in order to locate and repair plumbing.  Any of you who watch the evening news has seen Unmanned Aerial Vehicles such as the Air Force’s Predator Drone.  Tasked with surveillance in far off places as Afghanistan, UAV’s such as the Predator fly the unfriendly skies of the middle east while their operators are located in places such as Las Vegas.  What many people do not know is the fact that the military has a number of other UAV’s that are autonomously piloted, meaning that they are programmed to fulfill their mission without human input of any kind. 

Rethink Robotics — Brooks and Baxter (Photo credit: jurvetson)

Another item that most of the populace is unaware is the fact that there are hundreds of drone manufacturers  out there, some of whom are busy creating autonomous robots for the masses that clean, assemble and perform specialized tasks.  Also, these robots are not limited to flying.  Some roll, others walk and several swim or slink.  One such robot manufactured by Rethink Robotics named Baxter, is designed to perform all kinds of repetitive production tasks.  Another is an articulated robot named Pipe Snake.

“A team of U.S. Air Force Academy graduates has designed the Pipe Snake, a telescoping robot that can climb vertical plumbing shafts and even navigate curved pipes to locate victims of natural disasters. The Pipe Snake can carry medical supplies or other payloads, giving victims in inaccessible places a shot at immediate attention while first responders figure out what to do next.” 

Sooner or later the same minds that designed Baxter and the Pipe Snake are bound to put their heads together in order to come up with a device that can not only snake its way down the drain but perform repetitive tasks once it arrives.  Whether this means that plumbers will have another tech tool to work in hard to reach places, or whether the robots will try to muscle us out of the business is anybody’s guess.  All I know is I dread the day I pick up the phone only to hear the homeowner on the other end of the line tell me, “I’ve got a drone stuck in my drain.”

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to 

http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

Kitchen Nightmares

By Billy Aldridge

We’ve all seen Chef Gordon Ramsay’s TV Show Kitchen Nightmares where he travels the highways and  byways of the USA looking to help struggling restaurants keep their doors open.  While a fan of the show myself, I want to talk to you about another kind of kitchen nightmare that I run into all too often in my line of work.  That’s the one where people try to save money when they redo their kitchen by either attempting to do the work on their own, or by hiring unqualified contractors who promise to do the work for less than a licensed and bonded professional.

During the past few years I have been called in to repair everything from leaking fixtures and crumpling cabinetry to cracked countertops and at least one hole in the floor that was caused when an ill-supported kitchen sink fell with a thud taking the PVC pipe to which it was attached and ramming it straight through the bottom of the cabinet.  I have also been regaled with stories from homeowners about work that was started and never completed, as well as the occasional tale of woe about a contractor who was paid in advance and was never heard from again.

Before you subject yourself to a lot of unnecessary grief, allow me to share with you my list of the top 5 things you need to do before you remodel your kitchen.

      1.       Remodeling is a lot like surgery.  When it comes to doing major work on your home, trying to cut 

      costs is a lot like trying to save money on having your gall bladder removed.  Would you rather have the cheapest or the best surgeon perform the operation?  That being said, just as there are some quacks in the medical field, there are also a number of slipshod contractors in the kitchen remodeling business.  Just as in an operating theater, you are going to need to work with a number of people in order to get your kitchen redo done.  These can include everyone from a designer and cabinet installer, to a tile layer, a plumber and an electrician.  Therefore you need to have a protocol that will allow you to weed out the chaff from the wheat.   So the first thing you will want to see are the contractors credentials, including such things as their license and insurance, to examples of their work and references that you can call.  You should also ask how long they have been in the business and check out any contractor online to see if complaints have been filed against them.  Just as with physicians, never hesitate to get a second opinion.

Another TV Show called This Old House offers these helpful hints on questions to ask when checking up on

This Old House (Photo credit: eschipul)

 a contractor’s references: 

1. What were the contractor's work habits? Did he show up on time and prepared to supervise the subs?
2. Did he stick to the scope of the work and cleanup plan as outlined in the contract? Were any unauthorized changes of materials or details made?
3. Did your project stay on or close to budget? Did materials arrive on time? Did he keep you up to date on his progress or potential delays?
4. Did anything go wrong? And if so, how — and how quickly — was the crisis resolved?

      2.       You only get what you pay for.  At least that’s how the story goes.  Before you start cutting checks you need to establish what your budget is going to allow and you need to find people willing to work within your budget.  This is also another way to determine whether you are working with contractors who have your best interests at heart.   Any contractor who starts a conversation by trying to upsell you is probably not the right one for the job.  Just bear in mind that remodeling the kitchen even at its most economical is going to set you back some folding green.  It can cost you as much as buying a new car.  In an excerpt from a blog by Consumer Reports entitled , “10 cost-saving tips to a great kitchen,”

“Get ready for sticker shock: Even a minor kitchen remodel now costs more than $19,000, on 

average, according to Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value report. The average for a midrange major remodel comes in at more than $57,000, while an upscale redo with all the trimmings costs a whopping $110,938. Those are rich figures by anyone’s reckoning. But you can pay far less and still get the kitchen of your dreams. You simply have to know how and where to cut.” 

      3.       The Internet is your friend.  Speaking of the web, one sure way to save money is by taking your search for cost savings online.  On the web you can comparison shop for appliances, including prices and reviews, download handy apps (such as those profiled on http://kitchen-design-software-review.toptenreviews.com/), as well as perusing helpful articles, blogs and videos from those who have been there and done that.

      4.       They’re here!!! Once you bite the bullet and get on with the show, you need to prepare yourself to work around and with the crew hired to do the deed.   This first means you need to get out of the way so they can get on with it.  Hovering like a hawk is one of the best ways to slow down a process that is going to take more time than you might think to complete. 

Three R's of Keeping the Crew Happy (Also from This Old House)
1. Refreshments: You don't have to cater three squares a day, but at least offer a thermos of coffee or a cooler with soft drinks. They'll appreciate it.
2. Responsibility: The crew can't work efficiently if you're in the way. Ask questions, but don't overwhelm them with chatter. And teach kids and pets the meaning of KEEP OUT. 
3. Respect: Say good morning, good night, and good job when appropriate. And, please: Don't ask if they've met any desperate housewives lately. The appliances can be top-of-the-line, the finishes the most expensive around, but if the space doesn't work, it's money down the brand-new In-Sink-Erator.

       5.       Who you gonna call?  One of the other things you need to ask from every contractor you hire is whom should you call if a problem does crop up or a crew fails to arrive.  Most of the time the smiling person that hands you the contract is not going to be the person that performs the work.  Hopefully the company has a well-oiled customer service person tasked with handling any issue that arises from a crew in the field.  The last thing you want to do is call with a problem only to get shuttled directly to voicemail.  Then the wait begins. 

Investing in a kitchen redo is not only a way to add value to your home but it is also something that you and your family will be able to enjoy for years to come.     It is also one of the most complicated and potentially perilous undertakings in which you are likely to engage.  So before you wind up buying into a kitchen nightmare of your own take the time to plan the work and find people who are committed to working the plan to its timely completion.

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  See more of Billy’s helpful how-to videos at http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

How Smart are Smart Homes?

By Billy Aldridge

Like it or not, the computer has invaded everything from your office to your car.  Now it has designs on your home.  While many praise the coming era of smart appliances, I for one am not so certain that this is going to be such a blessing.  Granted, saving resources including power and water is essential to the future of humanity.  And the quickest way to accomplish greater efficiency is to make dumb appliances smarter.  In fact there are now examples of “Smart Homes” being designed and built that are touted as the best thing since sliced bread.  These structures can do everything from turn off the lights in rooms where nobody is present to learning about your habits in order to save resources.  These houses can even be remotely accessed via your smartphone so you can keep an eye on things when you are away.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  And some of the innovations offered by the first wave of smart appliances is interesting to say the least.

Smart Fridge

For instance, Samsung’s T9000 Smart Fridge sports everything from a “Grocery Manager” that helps you keep track of what’s in your fridge to recipes and coupons that can be accessed via the fridge’s built-in 10 inch tablet that comes preloaded with apps.  The apps let you do everything from setting termination dates on the food in your fridge to drag and drop shopping items.  You can even tell the fridge what items you have inside and then let it surf Epicurious to find a recipe that can be cooked using these items.

Smart Thermostat

There are actually several smart thermostats to choose from, including those made by Nest, Ecobee, Rheem and Honeywell.  What these devices are designed to do much more than simply regulate your home’s temperature.  To quote Ecobee:

“Unlike all other programmable thermostats, ecobee thermostats have built-in DataRhythm Technology that uses a complex set of data points including your HVAC equipment type and historical run-times, weather, and the ongoing energy performance of your home to make intelligent, unique and personalized heating and cooling decisions for you - resulting in more energy and cost savings! Now that’s smart.”

Of course being wifi enabled also means that there is a potential for these and other wifi devices to get hacked.  In a blog on Atlantic Monthly, writer Christopher Mims points out some of the vulnerabilities inherent in online capable devices:

“As with the internet itself, we will in time become ever more reliant on the internet of things. Baby and pet monitors, home automation systems and even our cars will send us information in ways that will make our lives easier but also encourage our dependence on these systems. In this way, hackers do not even need to figure out how to harm us or damage our connected devices to cause mayhem: They simply need to send us false readings from the sensor systems we're using.

This could allow hackers to set up scenarios in which users would be the agents of their own undoing. For example, a smart thermostat set to keep a house at a certain temperature for pets while an owner is away could send false readings to the user, encouraging them to send instructions to it remotely, perhaps to make the house warmer, without realizing that the home's heating system is already at full blast.” 

Other web-enabled devices such as home surveillance systems and nannycams can be turned against thei

r users by wily hackers who are all too eager to seize the opportunity to eavesdrop on families who employ these devices.  These kinds of surveillance systems also provide an opportunity for technically savvy burglars to not only case a home or business from a distance, but they could also be used to conceal the perfect crime by showing the owner a still frame or video loop as the burglary was taking place. 

Smart Oven

Like the smart fridge, Dacor’s Android-powered oven which debuted at this year’s Home Electronics Show is internet-enabled and designed to provide cooking assistance to novice chefs.  By keying the weight of a round roast into the unit’s built-in 7-inch LCD screen the oven will set the temperature and cooking time for you. 

There’s an App for That

Whirpool’s 6^th Sense Live app lets you control your kitchen via your smartphone.  It can do everything from

 set your smart fridge’s temperature to run your smart dishwasher remotely.  Speaking of apps, the same

 company that makes LG smartphones has introduced several new smart appliances this year at CES, including a smart washing machine, a refrigerator, an oven and even a robotic vacuum cleaner, all of which are capable of being controlled by an Android device.

While energy efficiency is a worthwhile benefit, whether the high cost of remotely controlled appliances added to the risk of being hacked will prove worthwhile to the average consumer is anybody’s guess.  Time alone will answer the ultimate question of how smart are smart houses?

As a plumber Billy Aldridge has remodeled many a kitchen.  He is one of the doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons plumbers in Jacksonville, FL.  For more helpful hints and how-to videos, go to http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com

More Plumbing Tech: Will You Soon Be Able to Print Plumbing?

By Billy Aldridge

I know in the past we have discussed how high tech has been steadily making its way into the bathroom with

English: Image of HCC MakerBot Cupcake CNC printing of spikey gear and raft in the MakerBot 3D printer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 everything from singing shower heads to computerized commodes.  Well now it seems that the next wave in 

3D printers may soon make it possible to print everything from knickknacks and plumbing fixtures to an entire room.  While 3D printers have been a staple of the aerospace and automotive industry for years, they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase.  This puts them out of the reach of mere mortals.  However, the past couple of years have seen the costs of these machines drop into the one to two thousand dollar range and even less as the technology begins to become popular with hobbyists and small manufacturers.  There are even several startup companies that offer tabletop models for $500 or less.  Even the shipping giant UPS has gotten into the game (at least in southern California) by offering 3D printing at their stores.

An article on slate.com states that, “Trialing first in the San Diego area, with plans to soon expand to other states, UPS stores will allow customers the opportunity to upload their designs online, have them printed on the Stratasys uPrint SE Plus printer, and then offer pick-up or have the results delivered to the client. UPS says it will be able to produce “items like engineering parts, functional prototypes, acting props, architectural models, fixtures for cameras, lights and cables.” l

As this technology becomes cheaper, popularity is surely bound to grow by leaps and bounds, especially when consumers realize how quickly the units can pay for themselves.  In fact a study just released by Michigan Technological University claims that the average homeowner could save up to two thousand dollars per year by owning one of the units.  This means that it would take less than half a year for a 3-D printer to pay for itself.  Try getting your plasma TV to do that.

Of course, as with any new technology there is always a learning curve.  Fortunately the industry has already taken this into consideration.  Just as with smartphones, there are a number of online programming resources that offer 3-D printer designs on the cheap.  That’s right, there’s an app for that.    

As far as what these babies are capable of producing, that is dependent upon the size and scope of the 

Sintermask - fabbster - 3D-printer v11 (Photo credit: Creative Tools)

machine.  Just as with early inkjet printers, the higher the resolution, the higher the price. Even the “toner” used in 3-D printers can vary. Some of the materials currently used in 3-D printers include ABS plastic, PLA, nylon, glass filled polyamide, epoxy resin, wax, polymers and polycarbonate.  The biggest drawbacks to consumer models are processing time (it can take hours or days to print a 3D model), resolution (hobbyist models sometimes produce finished products that sport somewhat jagged edges) and size constraints (consumer models can only produce items that are only about 12” across or less).  Of course as the technology continues to improve the bugs will be worked out, the bells and whistles will become more refined and the units will decrease in cost.  Anyone remember dot-matrix printers? (For more info and videos goto  http://www.3ders.org/3d-printing-basics.html)

Some of the commercial units are built on an industrial scale, including one in Oakland, California that can construct entire walls.  Below is an excerpt from an article on TechHive.com:

“Emerging Objects co-founder Ronald Rael explained to TechHive. “We saw a limitation in what a machine can make because of the medium, and so we wondered if we could reformulate that media to suit our own architectural agendas to print big.” 

The company's latest star project is an impressive curved wall that stands about three feet tall. It’s constructed out of centimeter-thin 3D-printed salt tiles that get their strength from their multi-angular structure: The thinner tiles will allow Emerging Objects to produce many more parts in a short amount of time than it otherwise could. The wall you see is just a representation of what Emerging Objects can build in a week with a couple of machines. Still in the midst of construction, the planned salt wall will be three times taller when it’s finally complete.”  

There is even talk of using 3D printers to create entire homes, as well as build structures in space.  So take it 

3D printer (Photo credit: Indiana Public Media)

from me that it won’t be long before consumers can skip the ride to the big box store when they need plumbing fixtures and other household items.  Of course how long it will be until they can print the plumber to actually install the fixture is anybody’s guess.  But I for one would never bet against technology. 

Billy Aldridge is one of the Doctors of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville, Florida.  For even more helpful hints and how-to videos, visit their site at http://plumbers-jacksonville-fl.com