Even thought it is 90 degrees outside and thinking about a heater is the last thing on your mind. We at Bee and Jay want to get you thinking about extending your outdoor living season, with a heater for your pool or patio. Check out our tech Ryan hard at work installing a gas heater for a pool and gas radiant outdoor heater on a patio.
Is it time to update your kid’s bathroom? Do you want to make it fun for your kid’s and easy for you? Check out the children’s FunBath tub conversions kit from American Standard. The Funbath fits over an existing standard 60 inch bathtub. The kit features a kid-friendly acrylic tub deck, a strong powder-coated aluminum frame, decorative front apron, and a chrome hand-shower with an integral on/off switch that ties into existing plumbing.
The Pretty Princess, Fierce Firetruck or Customizable Flat Panel are sure to make any child ask “Is it tubby time yet”?
Do you ever wonder if you need a water softening system? Here are a few signs around your house that it maybe time to give Bee and Jay a call for a free water analysis.
Do your Washing Machine Hoses need replacing?
One of the #1 reasons for floods is burst washing machine hoses. If your hoses look like this it is time to change them.
Do you need to remove your tub and replace it with a shower only for health reasons or ladies you just want to sit down when you shave your legs. Check out two shower bases that are the same size as a tub and have an integrated seat.
Don’t forget the Grab Bars!! (See our last blog for some great two in one grab bars)
Bathroom Safety doesn’t have to be ugly and cluttered!
With today’s multi-function and decorative grab bars you can add safety without sacrificing look.
Do you have a small child who has used the paper holder as a grab bar and the next thing you know the paper holder is in their hand and you have a hole in the wall where the paper holder used to be? Been there done that. With a grab bar and paper holder in one like this it will not longer be an issue.
Do you need a grab bar outside your bathtub or shower but room is an issue? Not anymore with a grab bar and towel bar all in one like this one.
There is even a grab bar with a basket for inside your tub or shower.
According to the IRS Publication 502 “you can include in medical expenses amount you pay for special equipment installed in a home, or for improvements, if their main purpose is medical care for you, your spouse or your dependent.” So put those Flexible-Spending dollars to use. Just don’t forget the doctor’s note.
Thinking about what to do with your tax refund this year? How about a bathroom mini facelift? Let Bee & Jay help you go from drab to fab, with a few simple and inexpensive changes like a new faucet, vanity top, sink and accessories.
Still have an old 3.5 gallon per flush toilet? Upgrade to a new 1.6 water saver and cut costs across the board. How about a comfort height toilet with a removable toilet seat for easy cleaning?
Is your tub stuck in the 70’s or peeling, but you’re afraid of being without a shower for a week? How about installing a new Sterling tub and shower walls? Most installations can be done in a day or two. While you’re at it treat those tired muscles to a long hot massage in the comfort of your own home with a new multi- function shower head and/or handheld. Handhelds make bathing the kids or animals a breeze. Even the dreaded cleaning of the tub can be made easier with a handheld.
Radiant heat is a fast growing trend that started in Europe for its distinct benefits. Instead of warming air and then circulating it throughout your home using ducts and vents, radiant heat is embedded under your floor and uses the entire floor to evenly distribute low-temperature heat.
Although there are a variety of methods and technologies one can choose from, the benefits of radiant heat are the same.
Here are few of most popular reasons to use radiant heat:
Radiant heat warms objects rather than air to create a more even heat throughout your home. Starting with the floor, objects are warmed giving your home a more inviting feeling as your furniture and other fixtures lose their chill. Now, the common complaint of cold feet is cured by heating your floor and letting that heat naturally radiate throughout the room instead of collecting at the ceiling.
Radiant heat is ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, basements, bedrooms or a complete home. Unlike other forms of heat you can easily ‘zone’ individual areas. Each of these zones can be controlled by its own programmable thermostat. Now you can designate specific times of the day and desired temperatures for these areas making your home energy efficient without sacrificing comfort.
Radiant heat can be used to add supplemental heat to a bathroom or throughout your home as a primary heating source. Contact Bee & Jay to discuss your options.
Cutting costs by taking on “Do-It-Yourself” projects is something we all have to do from time to time, especially around the holidays. Before taking on that leaking pipe or running toilet yourself, it’s important to make sure you take the proper precautions and give the issue as much thought and preparation as possible. Without the proper planning you could end up spending more by having to repair a repair.
No matter what, leaks happen. There are no short cuts in correcting them. There are no magic sprays, tapes or powders that will stop a leak permanently, regardless of what the TV says. If you have a leak and want to fix it, you need to use the proper materials and the correct procedures. You need to use copper on copper and plastic with plastic.
There is no logic when it comes to plumbing sizes. A sink faucet supply hose is a different diameter than a toilet supply hose. A kitchen sink supply line will not work for a bathroom supply line. Also, your toilet can have three different distances from the wall, and there are countless different toilet flappers and faucet washer sizes. Usually the best guarantee to getting the correct part is to take it with you when you purchase the new one.
Usually a good salesperson can tell you what parts you will need, you can help them help you by bringing in your parts. If that isn’t possible, take a picture to show them. There is nothing worse than having to run to the supply store several times, just to get a ten-cent washer. Bee and Jay Plumbing can recommend a reputable supply company in your area. Trusting your supply company is just as important as trusting your plumber.
If you are taking on the challenge of your own plumbing repairs, make sure you have the right tools, supplies and parts before you start your job. More importantly, if a Do-It-Yourself repair seems overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, call Bee and Jay to assess the situation. The holidays are right around the corner. Bee and Jay won’t let a minor plumbing repair steal presents from under your tree.
It is coming and it can’t be stopped. Its wrath can be devastating to your home. The cost to repair the damage can destroy your household budget and decimate your family’s savings fund. There is nothing we can do about it. It hits us every year.
Winter. Why should you think about the winter now? Not too many of us have the spare time to do more than one item per weekend from the “honey do” list. There are 9 weekends between now and winter. Subtract the number of weekends you already have things planned that you’d rather not do; factor in the weekends you hope to go play outside in the fresh air; then guesstimate how many “surprise” weekends you’ll spend entertaining the in-laws. You’ll find that you have very little time for only a handful of projects. How do you prioritize?
The fixes and improvements we should do now that will benefit us most during the winter aren’t usually realized until it is actually winter. Getting ready for winter isn’t only about preventative measures. Be proactive. Consider some of things that you can do now that will make your winter life a whole lot better later.
Bee and Jay Plumbing strongly recommends you do not wait until it’s too late to winterize your indoor and outdoor plumbing.
If you live in your home throughout the winter, there should be little need to winterize your plumbing. However, there may be places that are subject to freezing in crawl spaces or in pipes in poorly insulated exterior walls. Freezing water in a pipe under pressure can cause the pipe to burst which has severe damage potential (think about what’s under those pipes). For these areas simple insulation and/or heat tape may do the trick. Generally, you should not worry too much about freezing in drain pipes, except in the traps, beneath sinks, tubs, and showers, they do not hold enough water to cause damage if frozen.
If you have a vacation home that you are leaving for the winter, or are going to be out of town for a few weeks during the winter, we suggest taking further steps to winterize your plumbing, including fixtures (toilets, sinks) and outdoor hose spigots. There are some things you can do without the assistance of a plumber, if you have a whirlpool tub with an air-pump turn it on for a few moments to empty any water that may have gotten into the jets. In the laundry room, shut off the valves to the wash machine. Drain the hoses and then drain any water that may still be in the washer itself. You can do this by briefly activating the pump-out cycle of the wash machine.
If you do not already have one, it is a good thing to have a faucet installed as low down as possible in your fresh water system. This will allow you to drain all of the fresh water out of the system when not in use. As long as most of the water has been drained out of the system, there is no real need to flush the system with anti-freeze.
However, you might pour a bit of antifreeze into drains where there are traps. Traps are those curves in the pipe under the sink. They hold water as a means of preventing fumes coming back up the pipe and into the house. Instead the fumes go up the stack and out of the house at a point above the roof. Water can freeze in the trap, but a bit of anti-freeze should prevent this in all but the coldest conditions.
If you have a boiler for your heating system it is a good idea to run the heat system through a cycle or two to check for air in the system. If you hear banging (not ticking) or the sound of rushing water, it may be time to bleed a radiator or two.
The harsh cold winter and all of its devastation will be here soon. As the fleeting warm weekends between now and then fly by, make your defense plan and prepare. It could prevent you from having to climb the ladder in a sub-zero snowstorm, and save your house along with your wallet.