INTERNAL RENOVATION OF PIPES

1- EVALUATION

As the title indicates today I come to show and talk about a major renovation of internal pipes of my apartment; to understand the context I explain that where I currently reside with my family is a building of more than 39 years old so the pipes of the apartment are the original of that time, which were already beginning to break down little by little.

This deterioration was not really as visible as you might expect, since what alarmed us in the first place was the washing machine because it was very difficult to unload the water and at the same time in certain occasions the pipes that connect the dishwasher in the kitchen with the part of the wash basin were clogged.

The question is that in a certain way the culture of our country Venezuela played us a little against us since from our point of view, the solution to this problem is simply to buy a commercial liquid unclogs pipe and ready, gives a quick and effective solution at the time or in a second instance call any plumber who has a machine guayas to unclog the pipe system in depth if it was clogged by solid waste.

Even with all the above mentioned solutions the plumbing problem persisted and started to show on the wall of one of the rooms showing signs of water seepage. First, every time the washing machine was used in the kitchen, a puddle of water came out of the next room and little by little the wall began to bulge in such a way that it was already affecting much of the appearance and structure of the wall of the room, which could worsen if the problem was not attacked in time, affecting the electrical outlets in a dangerous way.

2- Budget and materials

After calling a trusted mason, he proceeded to explain by means of a drawing on the wall more or less how the piping system of the apartment was structured, which for our fortune and acquisition of new knowledge all of them were rightly gathered in the affected wall, that is, the drain pipe of the washing machine, the drain pipe of the sink and the dishwasher; at the same time there was the hot and cold water pipe of the shower.

In order to replace the pipes, a budget of $200 was estimated, including the labor of the mason and his staff and all the materials to be purchased, such as new pvc pipes for each area, 90° -45° elbows, polished nipples, male adapter - female adapter as pvc tee, white cement, sand, water, bricks, wall mastic, pvc welding in wet conditions, bags or sacks for debris, among others.

These materials were mostly purchased at the Epa Hardware Store and many others were brought by the mason himself from past works, as he was in charge of bringing the materials for the destruction of the wall as well as the pipes and their respective reconstruction.

3- Wall destruction

From my point of view as a contractor and resident this was the most complicated phase of the work since in the residential complex there are certain rules for the welfare of the community in terms of reconstruction and remodeling, which consist in that you can only make noise from 9 am until 5 pm according to the regulations imposed by the board of the condominium, so I will tell you that that first day we spent until 7 pm 😅 because we really wanted to advance as much as possible for water issues, since breaking and removing all the pipes not only disabled the kitchen but also the bathroom which is recurrently used for personal hygiene.

Therefore in only 1 day we were able to remove the pipes in bad condition and deterioration; also the second situation of discomfort occurs when both my family and I were using mouthpieces by necessity, since every time the hammer hit the wall for its destruction, a large amount of dust came out as debris that flew all over the room; the dust instead managed to travel to places never thought of as it was the entrance of the house.

For these reasons from my point of view 😅 is the most complicated stage for the tenants, because the water stopcock is closed and you can not wash or use the bathroom, plus having to be covering all the furniture with layers of sheets or plastic you have so they were not affected by dust; similarly proceeded with the remaining rooms by placing in each of them rags and sheets on the doors so that the dust did not enter.

And from the point of view of my little pet - guinea pig - it was also difficult since the constant noise of the hammer altered his peaceful environment which impacted in his way of eating since he began at a certain moment to have fear and abstinence to eat, simply because of the great noise that was made.

Already opened part of the wall and removed the pipes, we could understand the great health risk that was at home because many of the pipes had openings, which generated that precisely the water leaked and wet part of the wall and the floor of the room; in turn we understood that these pipes were really in super bad condition so all that dirt and deterioration inside each pipe came out together with the water for the shower and wash which surely generated in the great health casualties that may not be visible but are in the body.

Therefore in my person I learned that it is always good to know if the pipes of the building have been changed and the years of antiquity of the house or building can mean the time that has elapsed of useful life of the pipes.

4- Measuring and laying of new pvc pipes

And in this way measuring, cutting and placing the new pipes had finished the first phase of the renovation, because as you can see the biggest benefit now is that all pipes are intact as in good condition and the same to be newly placed do not have solid debris that clogged it, so the water runs at this time with more fluidity and strength because now nothing obstructs it.

In construction issues the biggest advantage now is that being pvc pipes are by their nature have a much longer life and are free of corrosion and rust, which in that aspect is a great plus not only for the structure of the building, but for those who live in this home, because the wall will not fall, or deform and the electrical system is safe.

5- Final finishing

At this point I can indicate that the total of days for the internal renovation of pipes was 5 days, where especially the first day to be the destruction of ceramic and wall work a total of almost 10 hours in one day and then 8 hours in the following.

From the budget estimated before a real expense of $215 was calculated because as in any work, there were some unforeseen events and some pipes that were not budgeted were broken, however they were necessary to change because a house or an apartment are indeed structures that protect and protect us, so it is important to always be aware of their maintenance so that this then does not collapse or generate discomfort in the health of the inhabitant and sorrows in the neighbor, therefore as a reflection I dare to say that the biggest investment should be your home for the family and future generations.

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NOTE:.
Application used for photo editing: Canva / PowerPoint

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