by Dave Yates | Feb 11, 2020 | pmmag.com Articles
Ensure you do the job right the first time. “All I ever do is staple-up.” That was my friend and competitor’s response after he asked me to determine why a recent radiant heating installation was not working satisfactorily because the owners were ticked...
by Dave Yates | Jan 20, 2020 | pmmag.com Articles
The perils of industrial strength acids. Forty-eight years ago, I learned a valuable lesson as a plumbing apprentice. I had just begun my career in the mechanical trades when I was dispatched to lend a hand cleaning a kitchen sink drain in an apartment building. ...
by Dave Yates | Dec 9, 2019 | pmmag.com Articles
Do your customers a favor by educating them on the issues of PB piping. For you younger tradesfolk who have entered into a mechanical career within the past 20 years, you may never have encountered PB (polybutylene) tubing and fittings. To tell you the truth, it’s...
by Dave Yates | Nov 11, 2019 | pmmag.com Articles
Failure of one part of a hydronic radiant system can cause the entire row to fall. The exhaust line should have a minimum of 1/4″ fall per foot. Condensate is pushed forward and will pool potentially causing a safety lockout. As a designer/installer of any...
by Dave Yates | Nov 6, 2019 | pmmag.com Articles
The essential foundation for your business. Honesty is such a lonely word (from the song, “Honesty” by Billy Joel). It never ceases to amaze me when folks we deal with are not honest. As a new apprentice in 1972, Paul Strayer and I were doing demolition work...
by Dave Yates | Oct 9, 2019 | pmmag.com Articles
Contractors offer customers peace of mind with solutions to indoor comfort and plumbing problems. How to become a psychologist and therapist in one easy lesson: Open a mechanical contracting firm! With absolutely no disrespect intended towards those who are degreed in...