Dorothy Skinner

Natural Gas Patio Grills are More Fun

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Ordinary gas grills are powerful and reliable, to a point. Like when the tank runs out of propane!

The more powerful they are, however, the faster you burn through those tanks. Did you know that burning natural gas runs about a third the price and burns cleaner? That’s better for the environment, and better for your health. What a convenience to not have to run and fill or exchange a tank at the last minute, as most people do.

outdoor grillConsider having your outdoor patio grill built in. Built-in grills last much longer and if you entertain frequently, are really the way to go. Now you can have an entire outdoor kitchen built in to make your B-B-Q experience even more memorable.

Natural gas grills allow you to enjoy your time with your friends and family without the hassle of managing heavy tanks or refilling them when you least expect it. In addition, they are healthier for your body and the air we’re all breathing because natural gas burns cleaner than propane. Give us a call to find out if a natural gas grill or an outdoor kitchen is right for your backyard.

Your Plano plumber understands where the gas, water, and sewer lines will need to run based on tying into where they already exist. That advice can keep the expenses reasonable and the resulting outdoor kitchen highly functional. Yes, we do gas and water plumbing lines!

Call 972-424-6479 and get on the schedule while the Google Coupon is still valid to enjoy the most of football season.

Great Deal, NE Dallas!

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For a limited time, NE Dallas area residents and business owners can take advantage of our Google coupon!

We’re calling this our Fall Spruce-Up Special, and if you print our coupon it represents a $25.00 savings on your final bill. Think about it: any plumbing leak repair, faucet replacement or water heater installation is $25.00 off with coupon until October 31, 2010.

What a great deal! Print off your coupon here: Gary’s Quality Plumbing Google Coupon, and present it to our professional Plano-based plumbers at time of service.

We’re waiting for your call! Don’t miss out!

Sewer Leaks are Not Your Friend

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We talked about slab leaks in last week’s post. The only thing that I can think of that could rival the frustration of sewer pipedealing with a slab leak, would be a sewer leak.

Sewer leaks are smelly, potentially dangerous, and somewhat difficult to detect and repair due to the nature of a sewer itself.

How do we know if the sewer is leaking?

When you call us out for a sewer clean-out because your plumbing is backing up into your home from a clogged sewer, we’ll use a rod to clean that line. If we draw mud back on the line from the sewer, we can be reasonably sure that there is a break in the sewer pipe somewhere.

At that point we don’t know how long it has actually been leaking! Sometimes it is one spot and one bad piece of pipe and sometimes it can be several sections of pipe that might be rotted out and leaking.

The plumber will put a sound down the sewer to the point of stoppage. The sound puts out a signal that we can track above the concrete or soil. That’s  where we break the floor or dig the soil to repair. We then test…and check for any other breaks in the sewer.

If you have any questions about possible sewer leaks on your property, don’t let the fear of the costs associated with the leak repair stop you from calling us to get the urgent help that you need.  It is far more costly to wait. What most people don’t realize is that the sewer in your home connects to the sewer in the street and when that break occurs in your home, you are connected to everything that gets flushed down that drain in the street. The possibility exists that any back up of the city sewer could back up into your home too!  In addition, any uncontrolled water leaking into the soil beneath your home can cause foundation problems, especially with our N. Texas soils.

Contact us today for more information.

Photo Credit:  ilovebutter on Flickr

You Have a Slab Leak, Now What?

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Maybe you’ve noticed a ridiculously high water bill or heard water running that you can’t find, maybe you’ve noticed warmth on a particular part of the flooring; when it comes to unusual predicaments like these, you need to know whether or not you’re dealing with a slab leak. What to do if you might have a slab leak?

  1. Call your reputable Plano plumber
  2. Ascertain the approximate location of leak

Don’t worry, we won’t just start busting! Our men are trained to locate the leak first.

  1. Is it outside – a yard line?
  2. Is it inside?

These are some of the easy things we do to find out where your leak is:

  • Turn shut off valve in box by house. Check your meter. Is it still running? Your leak is outside.
  • Turn shut off valve in box by house. Check your meter. Did it stop? Your leak is inside the house

Is it on the hot or cold water side?

  • Turn off water to water heater.
  • Turn valve for yard back on.

Did the meter stop? If it did, you have a hot water slab leak.

There may be more detective work involved:

  • Any hot spots on the floor when you are walking barefoot in the house?

We hook a signal generator on the water pipe and follow it with our pipe locating device. Once we know where the pipe is we take our infrared heat sensor and find the hot spots along that line.

Then we must determine the depth of the leak with our pipe locating device. We use our geodesic headset and listen for the leak. If it is difficult to hear we will pressurize the system as the harder flow of water will make the leak easier to hear.

Not until this point will we break your floor and repair. We silver solder all joints below floor.  We backfill with sand and pour back floor after testing. We do not put back finished flooring.

I hope this takes some of the anxiety out of your slab leak problem. Things never really are as bad as they seem. Hire the right plumber and you’ll be put at ease through the whole thing.

Do You Get What You Pay For?

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If you need a lawyer, you want one that will win your case. That will not necessarily be the cheapest one you can find.

If you need a doctor, you want one that will do the most for you and help you with your illness, and you want the best you can find. Not the cheapest.

If you need a dentist, you look for a really good one, maybe a referral from a friend.  And you don’t really want the cheapest – it could cause you pain.

If you have a plumbing problem, you want a plumber that will do the best job for you. Gary’s Quality Plumbing is who to call. We have licensed, insured, clean professional men who will come to your home and do an outstanding job for you. Don’t take a chance with a handyman or jack-of-all trades or even someone that offers to be the lowest priced plumber you can get.

Remember- you do get what you pay for!

Less Chance of a Plumbing Leak with a Quality Faucet

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The right faucet and the right installation have a lot to do with the amount of service that will be needed on your fixture in the future. Not that price should be the sole determining factor, but higher quality usually costs more. You get what you pay for. If you purchase a cheap (though pretty) faucet from a home improvement store, or for that matter, even from a wholesaler – you may end up with a plumbing leak you didn’t count on.  [Read more…] about Less Chance of a Plumbing Leak with a Quality Faucet