The good news is that I’m not in the shower this week, but I am still in the bathroom. Virtually, that is. A couple of weeks ago, I profiled a couple of low-flow showerheads that are designed to save water. This week, I’m featuring a dual-flush valve kit that can work with any conventional toilet. [...]
Last week, I talked about dealing with fresh-water Boston plumbing emergencies. This week, I’ll talk about “dirty” emergencies that can happen when something bad happens to a drain pipe. Fresh water is only one source of potential problems with plumbing in your home. Your drains – which don’t have shutoffs – can create some nasty [...]
Shutting Off Your Water and Other Boston Plumbing Problems
March 31st, 2011 · DIY Blog · DIY Plumbing
Whether you own (or rent) a home in Boston, plumbing may not enter your thoughts much until you have a problem. Then, solving it might be the only thing on your mind! Even though plumbing codes have evolved over time to address the most significant concerns, most changes apply to new construction. The plumbing in [...]
Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating: Toilet Flush Technologies, Part 1
February 3rd, 2011 · DIY Blog · DIY Plumbing · Toilets
Power outages remind us of how difficult life can be without modern conveniences, but going without one relatively recent addition to modern households can be downright torture! I’m talking about the modern flush toilet. In Boston, there are a variety of toilet technologies in use, from the very old to the most modern. As Boston [...]
In my last post, I talked about winterizing a property that will be vacant/unheated over the winter. In this post, I’ll talk about how to drain and winterize a boiler-based heat system in your Boston home. If you have a boiler, you’ll need to turn off the heating source and drain the water from the [...]
Many American neighborhoods are experiencing a new phenomenon: empty homes. The economic downturn has increased the number of vacant properties. In some cases, a vacant property is part of a foreclosure action; in others, the owner may need to wait several months to sell a home they’ve already vacated. Winterizing a vacant Boston home is [...]
Mass Save Program Can Help You Reduce Boston Home Heating And Cooling Costs
April 27th, 2010 · DIY Air Conditioning · DIY Blog · DIY Heating
Local homeowners and business owners can take advantage of a new program designed to help reduce the cost of making Boston home heating and cooling repairs and home improvements that reduce a home’s energy consumption. The MASS Save program (masssave.com), which is available to homeowners and business owners throughout Massachusetts, provides rebates and tax credits [...]
For some plumbing repairs in Boston, homeowners can effectively service and maintain their own systems. In other cases, the repair may be too large, complicated or dangerous to attempt on your own. In addition, some repairs require special tools or skills to complete. Today, we’ll focus on the difference between repairs homeowners can do without [...]