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c/diy-home-repairjamieburnsjamieburns15d agoProlific Poster

Had a retired plumber stop by my shop and tell me I was gluing PVC pipe wrong for 10 years

This old guy named Frank came in last Tuesday to pick up a part for his sink and saw me putting together a shower drain. He watched for a minute then goes "you're gonna have problems with that joint in about 8 months." I was like what do you mean, I've been doing this forever. He showed me how I was putting the primer on too thick and not letting it flash off before the cement. I had always just slapped it all on fast and jammed it together. He said most diy guys get this wrong because they rush the chemical weld. Now I'm wondering how many of my past jobs might have leaks down the line. Anybody else get called out on some basic plumbing trick they thought they had down?
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kelly_henderson83
Did you ever get a call back on any of those old jobs? I used to think primer was just overkill until I had a joint freeze up on me in a crawlspace two winters ago. Now I watch the clock and everything. It's amazing how much difference a little patience makes with that stuff. Frank sounds like he saved you some headaches down the road.
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the_barbara
Honestly @kelly_henderson83, I never did get a call back on those old jobs and sometimes wonder if primer is overrated altogether. Maybe the joint would've held fine without it and Frank just talked me into wasting extra time and money.
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