Q. I once saw in a magazine that you can add plumbing without cutting into the slab. Yet I have not been able to find anything else on it. It was in a contractors magazine. If anyone knows anything please let me know.

A. They make rear discharge toilets that would allow the drain to be run thru a wall to the main. Don't know but they may make a set-in-place toilet and pump unit that would provide an above-the-slab forced main to the main. Check with a quality plumbing supply house. The next answer mentions a sewer sump pump but that is a big job [think a 3' dia. hole about 3' below the slab for the sump] and would involve cutting some concrete. but it would allow you to locally set fixtures and pump up to the sewer main, so it wouldn't mean cutting a long line.

Q. We have a gas water heater and we would like to have an electric w.h. instead. How hard would it be to switch, and what do we need to do to change it over?

A. Its not too difficult... You'll need to run a circuit to the new heater, from your panel box...so that means wire, and a circuit breaker. (it should be on a circuit by itself, straight from the panel box, not run from something else). Plumbing wise, you'll just need some standard fittings/adapters to connect to your existing plumbing....for example, you may need to extend the plumbing (or cut it back) to match the connector on the water heater. You'll also need a cap on the gas line. (I'd just tape over the exhaust stack opening from the old heater with aluminum tape, or duct tape) Have Fun

Q. I have a problem. I always flush my cig butts down the toilet and now there is a plumbing problem in my apt building. They will be turning off the hot water for repairs. Will It get traced back to me?

A. Only cold water it routed to the toilet. Flushing drains the water to the sewage pipe. Hot or cold bears nothing to this, its all sewage.

A. I looked into this too and this is what I found. Yes, you can do plumbing but you cant certify it. In other words, you can build the whole plumbing, but then you will need a licensed plumber to come over and check it out and do all the peperwork. For example, you cannot install a boiler of a furnace, only licensed people can do that, but you can set all the pipes that go from the furnace to the house. If you have a freind and hes a licensed plumber, you are all set. Ask him if he would certify your work for some money in exchange. The whole job needs to be certified before home inspection comes.

Q. According to my previous research about ponds, I will need an electricity and plumbing source for a pump in a pond. I would like my pond to be around 100 gallons maximum. So how difficult is it to bring electricity and plumbing to my desired location? Thanks-- any help will work!

A. I have 2 ponds, both over 100 gallons, 40' from my house, and the only plumbing I have ever needed is in my outside water faucet, with my hose attached. If you want electricity, I paid a handy man $300. He dug the trench, laid the conduit, wired the box and tapped into my household circuit.

Q. Wanted to see rough price for adding plumbing for dishwasher , there are hot and cold pipes and a drain pipe right below in basement about 5 feet from dishwasher and can this plumbing come up behind the dishwasher? The sink is to far away to tap off and I will be doing the electrical

A. I think you already know how to do this job. All you need to do is go to the hardware store and price it out yourself. I installed mine in much the same way bringing all my lines up through the floor behind the dishwasher. It wasn't to expensive. Good luck

Q. My father and i owned a plumbing and sewer company in the state of illinois and ive recently moved to ohio now and i was wondering what it takes to start my own company (PLUMBING & SEWER) in the state of ohio? please help answers are appricated thank you

A. Go to the state's official website and click the BUSINESS link. Search from there.

Q. Friends of mine recently bought an old house where the plumbing is outside the walls (sinks, toilets, etc) and I was just curious of about how old the house is.

A. Depends on where the house is located. In the north, indoor plumbing started to appear during the 1800's, and was fairly standard by 1875, though it was earlier for people with the money to make the modifications. I considered buying a house built in the 1700's that had the original indoor plumbing connected to an artesian well in the basement. In the south, or in camps and summer homes, the plumbing was often added to the outside of the building because the danger of freezing was much less. Even here near the Canadian border, there were houses 60 years ago that still had no electricity and used outhouses. The first house I bought was build in the 1860's with no indoor plumbing except for a kitchen pump connected to a point well in the basement (fairly typical). There was an outhouse. Later, after electricity was installed (c 1910) part of a bedroom was converted to a bathroom and an electric pump installed to pump water from the well to the bath and kitchen. The kitchen hand pump remained until the 1960's when the old man died and the kitchen was modernized. And, of course, the Romans had indoor plumbing 2000 years ago and Medieval castles had indoor water closets and well houses connected or incorporated into the building.