# First plumbing job on my own :P



## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

Basically my I've been working with my dad for 2 and a bit years.. He's got an appointment at the hospital today and trusted me to do a toilet inlet valve repair job.. He said it's probably just the fiber washer that's knackered but when I got there, it was more complicated than that..

I've only recently started driving so it was a whole new experience to drive to a customer's house on my own do to a job.. I didn't really know the customer and I don't think I came across as nervous, even though I was bricking it! :b

Anyway, after studying this leak and the fitting that the water was pissing out of, I realised the copper pipe from the mains to the cistern had been cut too short so I drove back home to pick up a longer piece of copper and some fittings, drove back, cut in a longer piece of copper pipe, re-connected the fittings and successfully stopped the leak..

I didn't think I'd be able to do it but I did :clap 
I bet no one here has a ****ing clue what I'm on about but I just wanted to tell _someone_


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## wildgeese (Jun 26, 2013)

Yep no idea what your talking about but congrats anyways!


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## TicklemeRingo (Jan 11, 2013)

Well done! You've chosen a good profession. Trades are always valuable.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

TicklemeRingo said:


> Well done! You've chosen a good profession. Trades are always valuable.


 Yeah, especially in your country, so I've heard..


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## TicklemeRingo (Jan 11, 2013)

You can say that again! A plumber friend of mine is bloody loaded! Guys in his mid 20's and bought his _second_ house recently! :shock


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

TicklemeRingo said:


> You can say that again! *A plumber friend of mine is bloody loaded*! Guys in his mid 20's and bought his _second_ house recently! :shock


I'm now imitating that to myself in an Aussie accent :lol (Sorry) :b
That's pretty crazy though! How come there isn't much trade skill over there?


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## TicklemeRingo (Jan 11, 2013)

Bloody oath! :b

I think it's more that there is a population boom and a mining boom going on at the same time. Lot of building going on. There's just so much demand for tradies, more than supply can keep up with sometimes.

I guess word must travel then? I've noticed a lot of people from the UK moving here recently for work.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

TicklemeRingo said:


> Bloody oath! :b
> 
> I think it's more that there is a population boom and a mining boom going on at the same time. Lot of building going on. There's just so much demand for tradies, more than supply can keep up with sometimes.
> 
> I guess word must travel then? I've noticed a lot of people from the UK moving here recently for work.


Well this country is sinking so I can understand why a lot of Brits would want to move to Austrailia.. Thankfully your country doesn't just open the floodgates for anyone and everyone to come in unlike England :roll


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## MiMiK (Aug 25, 2011)

thats awesome man! i dont think i would be able to go to a strangers home, knock and speak to them coherently lol, this is one of my bigger fears with SA, going to peoples homes. cant even visit my family members at their place.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

MiMiK said:


> thats awesome man! i dont think i would be able to go to a strangers home, knock and speak to them coherently lol, this is one of my bigger fears with SA, going to peoples homes. cant even visit my family members at their place.


Yeah man, I get ya.. I guess it helped that I had been there once before and it was within my town..  
Not sure how I'll handle foreign tenants though.. There's a lot of Polish and Portuguese in my area and I can't always understand their English so that would make me more nervous than usual.. :|


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## Ventura (May 5, 2009)

Ummm, congrats?  A job/ responsibility is really (no matter what sort of crappy job.... no pun intended) makes you have a sense of accountability and makes somewhat of a "worth" of some sort profiling it.



ItsEasierToRun said:


> Anyway, after studying this leak and the fitting that the water was pissing out of


I have to ask....... if the leak was like "a few drips" or was it like "falls of water".



ItsEasierToRun said:


> Yeah, especially in your country, so I've heard..


I thought it was biggest in Germany.


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

Good trade and congrats on your first successful solo effort. I know I make a lousy plumber, but usually get stuck doing it anytime it is required and no one wants to pay for a plumber. It should be a really good job with someone with SA.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

*Update* Second solo plumbing job, also successful  #FeelsGoodMan



Segafage said:


> Ummm, congrats?  A job/ responsibility is really (no matter what sort of crappy job.... no pun intended) makes you have a sense of accountability and makes somewhat of a "worth" of some sort profiling it.
> 
> I have to ask....... if the leak was like "a few drips" or was it like "falls of water".
> 
> I thought it was biggest in Germany.


Thanks, it definitely gives me somewhat of a sense of worth 

No it was literally a gush of water, like a large split in a hosepipe :shock No idea how it got like that.. They probably tried to fix it themselves and made it worse :lol

And I have no idea.. I just heard Australia and New Zealand are in big need of trade skills.. 



farfegnugen said:


> Good trade and congrats on your first successful solo effort. I know I make a lousy plumber, but usually get stuck doing it anytime it is required and no one wants to pay for a plumber. It should be a really good job with someone with SA.


It's not just plumbing.. We do all sorts like fitting kitchens, bathrooms, windows & doors, painting & decorating, brickwork/masonry repairs etc.. 
Some of it is real ****ty work like clearing drains but a lot of it is quite interesting :yes 
Honestly, if I wasn't working, I'd be and absolute wreck by now.. :um


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## tyler7 (Jun 12, 2013)

I been tiling in Canberra for 10 years, and sure there is tones of work. but the is also tones of foreigners. I have found the last 3 years to be quiet competitive. grats on the job tho, I actually wouldn't mind going overseas again for work, Australia is boring mate, trust me.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

tyler7 said:


> I been tiling in Canberra for 10 years, and sure there is tones of work. but the is also tones of foreigners. I have found the last 3 years to be quiet competitive. grats on the job tho, I actually wouldn't mind going overseas again for work, Australia is boring mate, trust me.


More boring than England? That's debatable..


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## alenclaud (Mar 31, 2013)

A job which can last for a lifetime! There ain't no robots that can replace plumbers anytime soon. Congrats.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

jon snow said:


> A job which can last for a lifetime! There ain't no robots that can replace plumbers anytime soon. Congrats.


Thanks man!


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Without a diagram, I can only picture American toilets. :lol
It's quite a boost of confidence to know you can do it.

I replaced a faucet last year. The problem was that my pipes had no valves (had to shut water off to more than the sink in the basement. AND the faucet was so close to the concrete wall that I had virtually no room to work. Plumbers who came by later were impressed when I needed to replace the tub itself - they just transferred the faucet over......and SWITCHED the hot and cold! :lol I just left it that way because I did not want to have to mess with it!


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

ItsEasierToRun said:


> Yeah, especially in your country, so I've heard..


The plumbers where I live are probably the richest people in town. :lol. They live in mighty nice houses, have nice vehicles, and other toys.


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## prettyful (Mar 14, 2013)

Congratz on accomplishing your first plumbing job solo and driving (I was very nervous about driving places alone when I first started driving too).


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

prettyful said:


> Congratz on accomplishing your first plumbing job solo and driving (I was very nervous about driving places alone when I first started driving too).


Thank you! 



millenniumman75 said:


> Without a diagram, I can only picture American toilets. :lol


I probably should've posted photos to begin with :doh

Before:









After:









I probably made it sound more complicated than it was :b Also, it was an outhouse toilet which is why it looks kinda grotty.. :lol


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## Schmilsson (Jun 7, 2013)

Well done, glad everything went well with you. :clap 
you have any other solo jobs coming up?


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## Hush7 (May 11, 2013)

Awesome job, Spikey! Now go fix the plumbing in Xander's basement and Buffy's basement!


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

Chimpy said:


> Well done, glad everything went well with you. :clap
> you have any other solo jobs coming up?


Thanks  I did another little plumbing job for this guy yesterday and he took my number and said he'd call me for any small jobs in future instead of my dad 



Hush7 said:


> Awesome job, Spikey! Now go fix the plumbing in Xander's basement and Buffy's basement!












Damn his basement was a mess! :lol


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

ItsEasierToRun said:


> Thank you!
> 
> I probably should've posted photos to begin with :doh
> 
> ...


Don't minimize! That took work. I would have water all over the place :afr.


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