Do you feel dried out after a shower?  Chlorine that’s added to municipal water isn’t good for your skin and hair.  You can easily, safely and affordably remove Chlorine from your water with a whole house carbon filter.  Carbon filters will also remove other odors and tastes from your incoming water and leave it smelling and tasting fresher. 

G.E. Automatic Filter and 20" Carbon Block Filter

Add a water softener to the mix and you will remove Calcium and Magnesium from your water.  Soft water is just that, soft.  You can feel it on your skin and it’s a much fresher feeling.  You can say goodbye to the heavy, mineral laden feeling left after a shower.  You actually get clean!!  Not to mention all of your fixtures, dishes, appliances, etc. 

Fleck 5600 Water Softener

Combine a water softener and a particulate/carbon block filter and you’ll be left with clean, soft and safe water for your family and home.

This Memorial Day weekend we ask that you take the time to remember those that fought and died for this great country.  While you may not agree with the actions of our government at all times, the brave men and women that have sacrificed their lives for us MUST be thanked.  Because of all they gave, we can enjoy the life we do.  Please take some time during this weekend to think about those that allowed you to have the freedom you do.

Thank You For All You Have Done

Thank You

Tankless water heaters are great, don’t get me wrong.  They provide nearly limitless amounts of hot water and can lower your gas bill significantly by not heating and re-heating stored water.  Even though they sound great, they’re not optimal for every situation.  Tankless water heaters have become a “buzz” in the plumbing world and dare I say it, a new fad.  Don’t blindly convert your conventional tank-style water heater to a tankless without considering the other available options.  There are lots of choices when it comes to high efficiency water heaters and the list is growing almost daily. 

Here’s a couple of high recovery/efficiency gas water heaters that are currently available, I’ll write more about each one in the next few days.

A.O. Smith Vertex Gas Water Heater

Bradford White GX1-55 Gas Water Heater

Don’t fret if you’re not in the market for a gas water heater.  Electric tankless water heaters have been available for a long time but are very impractical for most retrofit applications due to the enormous current draw and need for 3 dedicated 220v breakers.  Often, the typical residential home doesn’t have room on the panel for the needed upgrade.  Heat pump water heaters are now making a big impact in the water heater market.  I’ll go over them later…

With the nice weather around the corner also comes root growth in your sewer lines.  Chances are if you have an older home with clay, cast iron or orangeburg drain lines, they have roots in them.  Trees are growing again and the roots will be causing you problems if you don’t take action. 

Root Impacted Clay Sewer Line

Rocksteady Plumbing can help you with either maintaining your sewer line or replacing it with a new plastic line.  We are able to control root problems with cable machines or hydro jetters but both options are a management plan, not a permanent solution.  For that, the line may need partial or total replacement.  To determine the condition of your sewer main, we have state of the art video inspection and line location equipment. 

If you want to stay on top of the situation and stop a costly and messy problem before it develops, give us a call at 805-237-7625.  For every dollar spent in prevention you stand to save several more.

Everyone at Rocksteady Plumbing wants to wish our customers a very happy Easter.  We’ll be hanging out with the family but we’re also here if you need to call.  24/7 Emergency Service is what we do.

Don't Eat the Eggs

Here is where I spent the last 2 days.  The crawlspace was tight with almost no room to maneuver but the plastic that the homeowner had laid down was much appreciated.  I was under the house to replace all of the undersized gas lines with new Trac pipe.  While under there, I also replaced a small amount of the water lines. 

Not a good place for claustrophobia

After the new gas lines were installed, a new Rinnai 9.4 tankless water heater was installed.  No pictures of the new water heater, sorry.  I’ll get some on the next install.

Well, it’s 2010.  The party’s over and it’s time to get back to work. 

For us at Rocksteady Plumbing, 2010 is looking pretty good.  We’re trying to keep upbeat and stay positive in this tough economy but the year is starting off well and we see no reason why we can’t keep it rolling.  We owe all of it to our customers so we thank every one of you for your patronage over the last year.  Hopefully with the new year, will come new customers as the good word spreads.  We also hope to offer new services, acquire new equipment and embrace new  technology to better serve our customers.   Here’s to a prosperous 2010 to all of you!!

All of us at Rocksteady Plumbing would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. We’re hoping that you are all able to spend some quality time relaxing with your friends and family this year. Watch some football on tv, maybe go see a movie, have too much food and just generaly relax. As you’re enjoying the day don’t forget to give thanks for what you have.

We at Rocksteady Plumbing give thanks for all of our wonderfull customers this past year. Without all of you, we’d be nothing.

Thank you, from all of us.

What began as a typical mainline blockage turned into a much larger problem. This line was supposedly replaced not too long ago but as I found out yesterday, it’s original to the house. I really hope the customer wasn’t taken advantage of by a unsavory plumbing company. After clearing the line the cable was being retrieved when it got stuck under the street out front. Luckily, I was able to enlist help from another local plumber and his son/helper to get the line pulled back to within 35 feet of the house. It became bound up one more time and now it wasn’t going to cooperate. We had to dig up the line in order to remove the roots from the cutter head in order to remove the cable. A temporary repair was done to save the customer some money since the entire line needs replacement. What was thought to be relatively new ABS plastic pipe turned out to be 30+ year old clay with root impactions at multiple spots. Every day is an adventure.

There are a lot of rental companies that will rent anyone a profesional drain cleaning machine. You can also buy these machines from some hardware stores or tool supply stores. While they may seem simple, they can be very dangerous. In reality it takes years of experience to be able to work one in less than ideal circumstances. These machines pack a big punch and can go from good to bad very quickly if you get tied up in a bunch of roots or a broken sewer line. This is where the experience comes into play to keep your arms and fingers from being broke or worse.