I appreciate the Handyman – really, I do. As long as they are not doing jobs that belong to licensed, insured tradesmen who have been schooled for years and are professionals in their field.

I’ll give you a for instance: The reason licensed, insured plumbers are, and have been, considered to protect the health of the nation is because they really do that. They protect the health of the nation!

A licensed, professional plumber knows the plumbing system from beginning to end. They know that you need clean, safe water flowing in, and a safe delivery of used (sewage) water out to its proper channel. If there is a break in that system somewhere and it is not taken care of properly, your health is at risk. This is a job for a professional plumber to navigate and solve.

Would you want a Handyman coming in and doing surgery on your body? At the very least, you’d be opening a channel to possible infection. Same with plumbing – don’t take a chance on something this important.

My thoughts are exactly the same for any home or business repairs that are needed. Just think of the danger if your electric installations or repairs are done wrong. Your home or business could go up in flames with a bad connection. This work should be done by a licensed, insured professional electrician.

It will cost more money but a Handyman rarely carries insurance to cover any resulting accidents or damages. A licensed, professional plumber is required by law to carry insurance just in case something goes awry during the process.

The licensed, professional plumber plays a vital role in safeguarding the nation’s health. Beware of unlicensed handymen who offer plumbing services. The installation and inspection of high-quality plumbing systems, carried out by qualified professionals, are crucial to ensuring the well-being and safety of the public. We take this responsibility seriously and are committed to upholding the highest standards.

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Veterans Day is a day to commemorate all of the brave men and women who have served in the United States military. It is celebrated every year on November 11th, which is also the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. Veterans Day is a time for families to come together and honor their loved ones who have served in the armed forces. There are many different wars and conflicts that veterans have participated in, so it can be a very personal holiday for many people.

I come from a long line of veterans. My husband Gary served in the U.S. Navy and my father-in-law was decorated in the U.S. Army. My granddaughter is currently serving in the Marines. I am so proud of my family’s service to our country. In this blog post, I want to share a little bit about each of their experiences.

Memories of Military Service

Gary enlisted in the Navy when he was just 17 years old. He served for four years and was stationed all over the world, including the Mediterranean during the Lebanon crisis. He credited his time in the service for his discipline and determination. During the last year of his service, Gary married me, his childhood sweetheart. We were married 1960 and had six beautiful children together. Gary passed away in May, 2014, yet remains the namesake of our business, Gary’s Quality Plumbing.

My father-in-law also served overseas during WWII. He was wounded in combat and received the Purple Heart. His experience in the service was very different from Gary’s, but no less impactful.

Currently Serving in the Marines

Our family is also very proud to have my granddaughter, Shaina, serving in the Marines for several years – actually since graduating high school. She always said she would be President of the USA someday, and with her grit and determination – I won’t be surprised when I see her name on the ballot one day! Her parents miss her terribly, but they know she is following her desire to serve.

I am so proud of my family’s service to our country. Each of them has had a different experience, but they have all made sacrifices for our country that I will be forever grateful for. Veterans play an important role in our society and I hope that we can all do our part to support them however we can.

To all who served, Happy Veterans Day. We honor you!

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At Gary’s Quality Plumbing, we are frequently asked if we install new gas lines for cooktops, outside grills, pool heaters and fireplaces. The answer is yes! We can make any of these new installations quickly and affordable for you.

Benefits of a New Gas Line Installation

There are many benefits to having a new gas line installation. For starters, it will improve the value of your home. If you are planning on selling your home in the near future, or even if you’re not, a new gas line installation is a great way to increase the resale value of your home. Additionally, a new gas line installation can save you money on your energy bills. Pool heaters that run on natural gas are much cheaper to operate than those that run on electricity. Therefore, if you’re looking for a way to reduce your monthly energy expenses, a new gas line installation is definitely something to consider.

Types of New Gas Line Installations We Offer

At Gary’s Quality Plumbing, we offer a variety of different types of new gas line installations, including: cooktop installations, outside grill installations, and pool heater installations.

Cooktop installations are by far the most popular type of new gas line installation that we perform. More and more people are choosing to cook with gas instead of electricity. Gas cooktops offer superior cooking performance and they’re also very easy to clean.

Outside grills are also growing in popularity. While there will always be people who prefer charcoal to gas grilling, it can’t be argued that gas is so much more convenient than grilling with charcoal. Not to mention, it’s also much cleaner since there’s no need to deal with smelly charcoal briquettes.

Pool heater installations are becoming increasingly popular. Natural gas is a much cheaper and dependable fuel source than electricity, particularly in Texas.

Lastly, new gas lines for fireplaces turn your inefficient wood burning fireplace into a much more convenient source of supplemental heat for your home. A gas fireplace can provide you with hours of comfortable heat, and it’s a great way to reduce your energy bills during the colder months of the year.

If you’re considering having a new gas line installed for your cooktop, outside grill, or pool heater, we encourage you to give us a call at 972-424-6479 so that we can provide you with a prompt estimate and quick scheduling for your work. We look forward to serving you!

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If you’re like most toilet users, you very likely have one of these ancient devices right next to it. It’s a stick with a rubber cup or bulb on the end of it which allows you to apply positive and/or negative pressure to the contents of your toilet drain for the purpose of clearing clogs and preventing overflow.

But did you know that plunging a toilet is actually a pretty sketchy practice even in the best of circumstances?

Hear me out.

Plunging a clogged toilet can damage the wax seal

Did you know the seal between your toilet and the attached drain pipe is typically a thin layer of wax? So, when you apply sufficient pressure to clear a clog, you are very likely blowing at least a small channel or groove in said wax seal.

This means that next time you have a backup, nasty sewer water (black water) will seep out from under the commode through the notch you blasted into your wax ring last time you DIYed your stopped-up toilet.

Unclog your toilet with a Toilet Auger / Closet Auger

The appropriate tool for clearing a clogged toilet is called a closet auger, otherwise known as a toilet auger. This is a specially designed three to six foot snake just for toilets. It even has a rubber boot on the end that goes into the toilet bowl to avoid scratching up the beautiful porcelain at the bottom.

It does require learning how to properly use it, as it can be done wrong.  However, used properly, it is a much better option.

Here’s a video showing how it’s done:

Better yet, and especially if you have a really tough clog, give Gary’s Quality Plumbing a call at 972-424-6479.

We do it right … The first time.

Article by Danny Skinner, M41026, a Registered Master Plumber by Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, a family member and plumber on the Gary’s Quality Plumbing team. 

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If you’re like everyone else you know, you probably spend an inordinate portion of your day pondering the intricacies of slab leak diagnosis and location. Or to put it another way … what are the warning signs of needing plumbing repair under the slab? And how do you find the location of the leak?

Well, anticipate no longer, folks. I am about to demystify slab leaks for you!

There are a handful of things that make our customers start to wonder whether or not they might have a slab leak.

The most common include the following:

1. A month on month comparison of water bills shows a significant increase in water usage from that shown on the last statement. If you can’t think of any reason for this increase (It’s summer now and you have been replacing evaporated pool water, lawn irrigation, etc.), you may have a water leak.

2. If you walk through your home with bare feet, you notice that there is one area on the floor that is consistently warmer than the other areas, you may have a water leak.

3. If your water heater is fired up seemingly always and you still can’t seem to get a hot shower even though you live alone in a house with two or three 50-gallon water heaters, you may have a water leak.

If any of these conditions sound familiar to you, give Gary’s Quality Plumbing a call at 972-424-6479.

Here is what the leak location process will look like.

One of our Master Plumbers will ensure that you have no obvious fixture leaks (dripping faucets, toilets that run, etc.). Then we install a pressure gauge on one of your fixture supplies. A hose-bib or the washing machine supply valve are common spots to do this.

Once the working pressure of your water supply/distribution system has been noted, we shut the water off at the meter near the street.

If the pressure reading on the gauge stays where it started for 15-20 minutes, it is a safe assumption that you simply used more water that month. This is the point where customers will remember that they had family in town and the number of daily showers in the house quadrupled for a week. Mystery solved. Tragedy averted.

If the pressure drops, we attempt to determine if the water being lost is hot or cold. This is accomplished by shutting the supply to the water heater off.

If the pressure holds at this point, we know that you have a hot water leak somewhere. But, if the pressure continues to drop. you have a cold water leak.

Now if its a hot water leak, we know it’s inside of the house. But if cold, we have to isolate the house water supply from the yard line.

This is done by shutting the water off at the valve in the flower bed near the house. If the pressure in the home remains constant after shutting off that valve, you’re in luck. The leak is in the yard somewhere.

If the pressure continues to drop, you have a cold water slab leak.

Where exactly is that under slab plumbing repair needed?

Once we have accumulated all of this information, we follow a very specific methodology for determining where exactly where the leak is located. It goes something like this:

1. We transmit a signal at a specific frequency down the water pipe.
2. Using a wand-like tool, we can locate that exact frequency under the slab.
3. Using blue painters tape, we mark all of the sub-slab water pipe on the floor. Now we know where all if the water pipe is.
4. We pressurize the system with compressed air.
5. We follow the marks we made with the tape from one end to the other with a highly sensitive directional set of headphones.

There is a microphone for each ear allowing us to tell which direction the sound of the air escaping is coming from until we end up right on top of the problem.

Gary’s Quality Plumbing Excels at Under Slab Plumbing Repairs

This process takes years to master and requires a great deal of skill and accuracy. This only comes with doing a thing over and over for years. It is also one of our specialties here at Gary’s Quality Plumbing. We do this better than anyone else! And have a stunningly pristine record for coming down right on top of these leaks when through-slab work is required.

The process detailed above works for both hot and cold water leaks. However, in the event of a hot water leak, we can employ a third tactic which increases accuracy even further.

Using a laser thermometer, we can use the other two pieces of information (where there is pipe and where the leak makes the most noise) and add a third. The hot spot.

Wherever there is pipe, it is noisiest, and if it’s also the hottest spot on the floor, we’ve found the slab leak. Every time.

If you enjoyed learning about the process of locating water leaks below a slab foundation, stay tuned. Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll send it direct to your email – along with other helpful plumbing tips (and special offers on rare occasions).

My next article will outline the exciting process of repairing these types of leaks.

No spoilers, but it doesn’t have to be as messy as your friends and neighbors’ horror stories make it seem!

Article by Danny Skinner, M41026, a Registered Master Plumber by Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, a family member and plumber on the Gary’s Quality Plumbing team. 

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