El Cajon CA Plumbing Repair Center

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Plumbing problems on Thanksgiving

It’s this time of the year again when we all have to get that turkey out and have it roasted. Thanksgiving may be one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States but is also considered the busiest day for our plumbers. True enough. Plumbing in San Diego

Apart from family gatherings and dinners, Thanksgiving may mean too much work in the kitchen. We are not just talking about the holiday preparation here but the aftermath as well. Chula Vista Residential Plumbing

By cooking the turkey, we need to get rid of the fat and draining it down the kitchen sink which clogs the pipes and trapping the food scraps.

San Marcos Plumber BDP. This is where all the stress happens.

Cooks, sometimes inexperienced, overload garbage disposals with potato peelings, pumpkin pulp and other food waste. They fail to use enough water to flush them down the pipes, then put cooking grease and oil in the mix.

“Before you know it, they’ve sent a large slug of semi-solid material down, and it just stops,” said Chuck White, vice president of technical services at the Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors Association, an industry group.

Congealed grease can harden into a consistency like candle wax or clay. Stringy pumpkin pulp takes on an epoxy-like hardness when dry.

source: Reuters

 The problem doesn’t stop there. Since Thanksgiving is a time for families, expect a handful of house guests (if you have a big family). People using the toilet and bathroom sink may dump trash suck as wipes and cotton balls. Del Mar Residential Plumber

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported in 2004 that grease is the No. 1 cause of blocked sewers, at 47 percent of stoppages. In New York, the nation’s biggest city, grease causes 62 percent of blockages, according to a 2013 report by the city’s environmental department.

Blockages cause sewers to overflow. The EPA report said that there were between 23,000 and 75,000 U.S. sanitary sewer overflows a year, discharging up to 10 billion gallons (38 billion liters) of raw sewage.

Adam Krantz, managing director for government and public affairs at the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, put the price tag for clearing blockages at hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Grease is “a very big issue,” he said.

source: Reuters

Population grew, problem worsened

Encinitas Residential Plumber. The problem has worsened as the US population grew while the pipes and sewer system have become fragile. Some plumber would put in more than 12 hours of work to help customers prepare for the holiday.

Clog-preventing tips

Here are some helpful tips you can do to avoid disaster, follow these and avoid the hassle. Plumbing Info

• For houses with too many guests, allow a few minutes between showers to give time for the drains to be free.
• When cooking or after cooking, never pour cooking oils or fats down the drain. They solidify causing the pipes to clog. Instead, wipe them with paper towels and throw them in trash.
• Place a trash can inside the bathroom and remind house guests to use it for any garbage. Don’t throw pads, hair or cotton balls in the toilet.

OSHA Plumbers Since it is the busiest time of the year, it is important that you contact your local plumber even before the guests arrive to ensure that any problem will be addressed ahead of time.

BDP Air Conditioning & HVAC Chula Vista, CA
BDP Air Conditioning & HVAC Lakeside, CA
BDP Air Conditioning & HVAC El Cajon, CA
BDP Air Conditioning & HVAC La Mesa
BDP Air Conditioning & HVAC Lakeside, CA

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Plumbers at Ace Contractors provide full plumbing service in San Diego area. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

photo credit: upload.wikimedia.org

 

 

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Plumber’s heroic deed save the life of an elderly woman

A plumber in Staten Island who was on the job in Harlem came to the rescue on Tuesday after an elderly woman was trapped in a burning apartment building, according to the New York Daily News. BDP San Diego Plumber

Emergency Plumber Chula Vista. The plumber was Anthony Tatulli, 43 years old, also a pancreatic cancer survivor, was installing a sprinkler system down the block with his team from Village Plumbing and Heating when he saw flames coming out of the Frederick Douglas Boulevard building and quickly ran inside. Emergency Plumbing Poway

“Hold on, you’re going for a ride,” Anthony Tatulli, 43, told the woman before scooping her up in his arms like a baby, and carrying her down a flight of stairs and out of the Frederick Douglass Blvd building near W. 139th St. at 9:15 a.m. as flames devoured the bottom floor.

La Mesa Plumbing Office

“When something like this happens, you either react or you don’t react,” Tatulli said about the heroic save. “I didn’t think that the building could have blown up. All you think about is the task at hand.”

source: New York Daily News

According to Red Cross, the massive blaze that torn the building left 17 residents homeless. Del Mar Plumber Now

When Tatulli stepped outside, “the corner was covered in smoke,” he said.

He and two of his employees called 911 on their cellphones as they ran into the building, where they knocked on doors and kicked in windows to help people get out.

source: New York Daily News

Due to Tatulli’s quick response, he was able to find the bewildered woman in the second floor hallway.

“She was right outside her apartment door,” he remembered. “She had no idea what was going on.”

source: New York Daily News

Tautly added that what bothers him is seeing the residents being out of their homes on Thanksgiving Day.

“I feel bad that it’s Thanksgiving and they’re out of their homes,” Tatulli said. “That’s what bothers me. I’m going to have dinner with my family and some of these people won’t have a home to return to.”

source: New York Daily News

He and his teams carried out three people out and rescued several others before the first responders arrived on the scene. Plumber Wiki

About four residents suffered from severe to minor injuries and were treated at hospitals, according to the report.

138 firefighters rescued while seven of them suffered injuries. The fire was put out at around 10:30 a.m. Fire marshals are investigating the cause of the blaze which they said started in the first floor of the building. Air Conditioning

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HVAC in Poway

• HVAC in Lakeside

photo credit: New York Daily News

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How to Hang A Mirror

Bought a new full-body sized mirror to hang in the guest bedroom. Used this as a guide, you may wanna check it out too:

How to Hang a Full Body Mirror

Two places to buy Roman bricks in a wide variety of colors and styles

Commonly chosen to emphasize the long, low architecture of ranch houses, “Roman brick” was a signature design feature likely used to millions of American homes built in the 1950s and 1960s. We also see Roman brick frequently used on fireplaces. My immediate neighborhood reflects this trend — with about one in three homes built using Roman brick — including mine, that’s my brick above. We’ve received questions in the past about where to get Roman brick, so Pam sent me on a research mission, and I found two places to buy Roman brick in an impressive variety of styles and colors.

Roman bricks: Tomb on via Appia antica in Rome. Via WikiCommons

Roman brick — as the name suggests — can trace its history back to ancient Rome. Ancient Roman bricks were made in a variety dimensions, but always longer and flatter than traditional brick. Roman bricks were reintroduced into contemporary architecture in the early 20th century.

Gorgeous roman brick clads the exterior of this 1950 Dallas midcentury modern time capsule house — and the interior is full of it, too.

The double-sided roman brick fireplace in Michael and Teresa’s 1962 house, from our 2013 uploader.

This long, thin brick was used extensively by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright for many of his Prairie style homes, because he liked how the brick helped emphasize the horizontal lines common to his home designs. The same held true when ranch house production boomed in postwar American. By the middle of the 20th century, we believe they were quite commonly used on and in midcentury modern and modest houses alike — we seem them in a lot of reader photos. Ranch houses simply look great, clad in roman brick, and golly, Roman brick fireplaces are awesome! If you need to renovate or change out the mantle of the fireplace in your midcentury house — be sure take a look at Roman brick as an option.

Two places to find Roman brick today

1. The Belden Brick Company — 13 Roman brick styles

The Belden Brick Company began as the Diebold Fire Brick Company in 1885 in Canton, Ohio. According to the company, it is the sixth largest (by production volume) brick manufacturer in the U.S. — and the largest family-owned and -managed brick company in the country. Belden offers 13 styles of Roman brick, which are available to purchase nationwide through their distributors.

From The Belden Brick Company website:

Roman Brick is ideal for creating a distinct and different look to any structure. It characteristically has longer and more linear dimensions than those of standard modern brick. Belden Roman Brick was used on the restoration of the Famous Frank Lloyd Wright “Martin House Complex” in Buffalo, New York. The dimensions of Belden Roman Face Brick are 3-5/8” x 1-5/8” x 11-5/8”.

Above: Medium Range Ironspot (Shadow-Tex)

Above: Red Shale (Shadow-Tex)

Above: Red Shale (Smooth)

Above: Belcrest 500

Above: Dark Range Ironsphot (Smooth)

Above: Frontier Blend (Velour)

Above: Beaver Blend

Above: Medium Range Ironspot (Smooth)

Above: Light Range Ironspot (Smooth)

Above: Light Range Ironspot (Velour)

Above: Sunburst (Velour)

Above: Mayo Blend

Above: 8531

Links:

• Shop Roman brick on The Belden Brick Company website
• Read more about the company’s history

2. Cloud Ceramics — 29 colors, 8 textures

Cloud Ceramics has been producing bricks in Kansas since 1946. Today the company makes some 29 different colors of brick, eight textures and several sizes — including Roman brick. Their bricks are sold nationwide and in Canada and can be ordered through distributors. Cloud Ceramics also offers brick matching — allowing homeowners and contractors to send them photos of an existing building — even one with aged brick — so Cloud Ceramics can suggest or custom make the best available match. The company will even send physical brick samples to you for match comparison purposes.

Above: Antique texture

Above: Rockface texture

Above: Rustic texture

Above: Shadowtex texture

Above: Smooth texture

Above: Velour texture

Above: Vertex texture

Above: Wiretex texture

Links:

• Shop Roman brick on Cloud Ceramics’ website
• Read more about the history of Cloud Ceramics

Outside the US and still looking for Roman brick?

• BrikMakers, based in Australia, has a Frank Lloyd Wright Roman Brick collection

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We love: Sunbeam style Mondrian wall clocks from Jetsetretro Design

We are big fans of vintage Sunbeam clocks — their Mondrian design style is so appealing… their strategic use of midcentury modern color and texture is just about perfect… and bonus: You can hang them either vertically or horizontally. Alas, finding a vintage specimen is oh-so-hard, but hurray: Artist Bruce Yager of Jetsetretro Design has a whole portfolio of wall clocks in the Sunbeam spirit, with his own twist. We think the prices are very fair, too. 

Jetsetretro Design’s etsy store introduces Yager as a professional full-time studio artist who has been deeply involved with the world of art and design for over 30 years. He is also represented by many galleries and has also sold his work across the globe.

I chatted with Yager a bit via etsy mail, and he explained that he started designing clocks about 18 years ago. George Nelson ball clocks were his first inspiration. After that launched, he received many requests for the Mondrian clock and also began playing in that sphere. Or rectangle, as it were.

He said the vintage Sunbeam clock has been out of production since the late 1960s. And that, yes, “It’s so hard to get a hold of an original these days.”

Prices for Jetsetretro’s clocks run from $185 to $325.

This does not appear to be a stock clock. We found it in “Sold” items listed as a special order.

A vintage Sunbeam clock in our archive:

Above: A vintage sunbeam clock owned by a mystery reader from our story — 27 awesome midcentury vintage wall clocks.

Vintage or new… we love these clocks!

Link love:

• Shop for these handmade retro-style wall clocks — and other goodies — at Jetsetretro Design on etsy

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GE refrigerator bar cart made in Italy — il cugino of the Partio Cart?

Here’s one we haven’t seen before — a GE bar cart on wheels with a built-in refrigerator — listed for sale in etsy shop Mod Makes It. This cart seems to be the Italian relative of our favorite vintage BBQ/oven, the GE Partio Cart — can you imagine having both of these amazing carts working together at your next summer party? 

From the etsy listing:

Up for sale is a Mid-Century Bar Cart Refrigerator Combo by General Electric. This “swanky” piece will make a nice addition to any bar or patio. It’s a real “gem” … looks and runs great! The interior and exterior are in very good to excellent condition for their years. Includes all of it’s original accessories; egg tray, freezer tray and Ice tray. It was made in Italy (please see MFG label) and brought to Denver by a Military family in the 1960’s. I have researched it and cannot find another one anywhere.

A vintage mini-fridge on wheels! Yes, with this handy patio cart, you could keep the drinks cool and serve them up in style. 

Hmmmm… Were these ever available in the US. Has anyone else ever seen one of these carts before?

Mega thanks to etsy shop owner Gina from Mod Makes It for letting us feature this fantastic find and reader April Ann for spotting it.

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Sam has a great experience with powder coating her vintage steel kitchen cabinets

Three days before closing, a pipe burst in Sam’s soon-to-be 1950s brick ranch house — making a gut remodel of the kitchen Job #1. Sam wanted to reuse the original Geneva steel kitchen cabinets, so she found a local powder coating company. They did a great job, and she’s thrilled with her modern-meets-retro kitchen remodel.

Sam writes (edited):

We’re in the early stages of a complete renovation of a 1950 brick ranch. I can’t tell you enough how much of a help your site has been. A little back story on the original kitchen pictures: A pipe burst and flooded the house 3 days before we closed on it.  Since no one was living there, the plumber estimated the water ran for 5-6 days.  That’s why everything is pulled out from the walls and there are fans and cords everywhere.  We were planning on gutting the house anyway, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  And the flood did reveal asbestos flooring, so the house also had to be asbestos abated. At least it was under the seller’s home owner’s insurance and not ours!

We had the home’s original steel cabinets powder coated, and I’ve learned more about the door warping issues some people have had from powder coating.

The warping was most likely not caused by the powder coating, but by the paint removal process. Some coaters prefer to “burn” off the existing finish using a burn oven. Burn oven temps start at 750 degree and can go over 1,000. In comparison, powder coating “bakes” at 390 degrees. Media blasting is a safer way to remove paint for hollow steel doors.

The bottom line is to talk to your coater, and make sure you’re dealing with an experienced professional. Our coater has done steel cabinets before and has been a great help. They also have fabrication capabilities to repair severely rusted cabinets.

[Editor Pam notes: Thanks, Sam, for sharing what you learned about the powder coating process —  and also for echoing my longstanding cry to ensure you’re working with competent professionals. READERS: I am not an expert on this issue, so am not formally weighing in one way or another on what Sam learned. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH on this issue, with your own properly licensed professionals. That said, I think this is a good conversation and consistent with some of the chatter I have heard over the years, that:  Yes, we’ve had readers who have said their doors warped; high heat at some point most certainly seems the be the culprit.]

For all of the cabinets pictured, media blasting and powder coating was $2,500. The lowers cabinets are vintage turquoise in high gloss.  The uppers are high gloss white.It would have been cheaper had we gone with an in-stock color instead of the turquoise, since that had to be custom ordered. But the turquoise was worth it.

If anyone in the Kansas City area is looking, I highly recommend Liquid & Powdercoat Finishes. I can’t say enough good things about our powder coaters. They did an absolutely fantastic job.

The cabinets turned out beautifully! I lucked out on the back plates.  I found a guy (through Retro Renovation) who was selling back plates and pulls that were basically in pristine condition.  I was able to replace all of mine that were severely cracked or chipped and have a few extra for future replacements.  The upper hardware was in good condition, and none needed to be replaced.

The countertops are concrete and the new cabinets are walnut.  All of the new cabinet pulls are similar shape to the original pulls to keep similar lines.

Sam, the finished kitchen looks fantastic. You did a really nice job melding the vintage cabinets with several more modern elements, including the concrete countertops, subway tile backsplash (yes, we’ll call that a modern revival in this use) and the flooring. Selecting the walnut for the pantry cabinet also worked really well. You also get extra double brownie points given you had so little time to work with! Glad the resources here could help — and thank you for sharing all your results and experience right back with the community!

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