Mar 22 2005
Verizon SuperPages.com and Super Handyman Al Carrell share home improvement tips and do-it-yourself plumbing repair ideas in the first of six home improvement project guides available on http://www.superpages.com/Release/index.htm , the premier online shopping site.
For example, Carrell says the most important thing you need to know about home plumbing repair is how to turn off the water supply to your house.
"You can't make plumbing repairs or improvements, such as replacing kitchen and bathroom waterspouts, faucets and fixtures, unless the water is off," says Carrell, the nationally known expert on home repair, water leak detection and sewer drain cleaning as well as a former spokesman for The Home Depot. Carrell also discusses home sewer drain cleaning, including the use of plungers, snakes and rooters. "If it's a complete drain clog, avoid the use of drain chemicals," he says. "They should be used as a preventive measure at the first sign of a slow running sink or toilet drain."
Larger drain clogs, caused by roots invading the sewer drain, often require help from a plumber or rooter service, easily found in a search of local services on SuperPages.com, or in your Verizon yellow pages, Carrell says. Another problem that may require professional help from a plumber or plumbing specialist is leak detection, especially if the water leak is underground or in a pipe beneath the foundation of your home. In addition to plumbing repairs, other topics to be covered in the six-week do-it-yourself series on SuperPages.com include energy saving measures, painting, furniture refinishing, patio deck building and how to assemble a basic tool kit.
Carrell's newspaper column, "The Super Handyman," appears in about 100 cities including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, Tucson, Orlando, Fort Wayne, St. Louis and Nashville. He also has a weekly radio show in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.