January 14, 2011
Brian Johnston
It is Friday, so this is for the do-it-yourselfer planning their next project.
Last weekend at the hardware store, I saw a guy purchasing a shower valve and a few plumbing parts.
I inquired him what project he was working on. He replied with frustration that he was attempting to change the shower valve that had been in use for 20 years. He initially purchased only the valve but later returned to buy a different plumber’s wrench and penetrating oil, hoping the new tools would be enough. Unfortunately, the shower valve broke off the pipe in the wall during his endeavor. Thankfully, there are commercial plumbing services available to assist him in getting back on track.
The trip today, he confessed was to check prices on replacing broken tiles and was forced to buy a bigger escutcheon plate to conceal the wall cavity the emergency service plumber had to make to complete the pipe repairs to get his one bathroom house operational before Monday morning. This guy ended up paying overtime plumbing rates for service on a Sunday.
The lesson here? Know when to ask for help. Coordinating this repair with a trained plumbing contractor would have been an hour and a half job, charged at the more reasonable, daily rates. Probably wouldn’t have needed to get the tile replaced either.
July 23, 2026
