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Plumbing Do-It-Yourself For Dummies
Want to save time, money, and frustration on plumbing repair and replacement? Do it yourself "Plumbing Do-It-Yourself For Dummies" turns even the most daunting household plumbing project into a simple, step-by-step process that delivers professional-quality results at a fraction of what you'd have to pay a plumber--and you won't have to wait weeks for an appointment.From fixing leaks and drips to caulking a tub or shower, to replacing a faucet, you'll discover how to tackle 40 of the most common plumbing jobs in your home. Easy-to-follow, detailed instructions and hundreds of photos and illustrations guide you through each task. And, you'll even discover what surprises to expect and how to prepare for them. This user-friendly guide delivers all the help you need to: Understand your home's plumbing systemComply with local plumbing codesFill your plumbing toolbox--including safety equipmentOrganize, plan, and prepare for your plumbing jobRepair and upgrade faucets of all kindsUnclog drains, traps, and toiletsReplace toilet parts and fix leaky tanks and bowlsStop toilet tanks from sweatingDeal with noisy, sweaty, and frozen pipesReplace a dishwasher or garbage disposal
Complete with a helpful primer on choosing the right pipes and fittings for your project and understanding your home's supply and drain-waste-vent systems, "Plumbing Do-It-Yourself for Dummies" is the one tool you must have before starting any household plumbing project.
Complete with a helpful primer on choosing the right pipes and fittings for your project and understanding your home's supply and drain-waste-vent systems, "Plumbing Do-It-Yourself for Dummies" is the one tool you must have before starting any household plumbing project.
170 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 6, 2011
Bathroom remodel is/was a success. The book gave me the confidence to do it. Very simple and lots of pictures.
October 15, 2025
Running water is considered one of the greatest modern inventions. Many millions of people in developing countries still dream of a world where they don't have to walk kilometers every day to carry water home in jugs on their heads. However, while running water may be modern and awesome, all those plumbing fixtures we take for granted are guaranteed to fail, sooner or later. And when they do, the greatest modern invention becomes a significant modern expense and inconvenience.
Reading practical books like Plumbing Do-It-Yourself For Dummies (2007) by Donald R. Prestly is a great idea, even if you do end up hiring a professional plumber. At the very least, you need to understand what you're up against. A modern home is basically filled with slowly-ticking plumbing time bombs.
Most of the parts that leak, clog, break, or otherwise cause problems are the plumbing fixtures - and no surprise there, since those are the components with moving parts and components that get handled and used by the human occupants. These fixtures - faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets - are also the (relatively) easiest parts to fix or replace. I say relatively easy because even do-it-yourself plumbing jobs can be difficult. Plumbing fixtures come in a staggering variety of designs, often requiring their own idiotic custom tools, and virtually none of it is anything close to self-documenting. In fact plumbing books like this one advise you to take your dismantled fixture parts to a physical hardware store so the resident plumbing expert can figure out exactly which replacement parts you need. Now, obviously, that is completely Mickey Mouse. It tells you that the plumbing industry doesn't care about its future victims. Every plumbing fixture should have its part and model names and numbers clearly marked - even better, with at least one stain-resistent QR code - so you can just point a smartphone and have your AI personal assistant tell you how to fix it, with the option to automatically order the proper tools and replacement parts. Or with the advice to call a plumber when you are clearly in over your head.
But most plumbing fixtures that need work in 2025 were probably manufactured long before QR codes and smartphones existed, so get ready to plunge into Stupid World. Fortunately for the do-it-yourselfer, we are currently in the AI boom. Technology is slowly clawing at the edges of Stupid World. The current crop of AI LLMs aren't quite smart enough to provide full-blown augmented reality, but I've found that Google Gemini knows a staggering amount about plumbing. Augmented reality would be like having a master plumber physically present to advise and instruct you, while a text-chat-based-AI is like having a plumber a few states or countries away who cannot see what you are doing, but who can answer questions if you can type them. So keep your favorite AI handy for advice on specific questions that a general book like this won't address, such as how to get a siezed set screw on a faucet handle turning. In particular, for the inexperienced amateur, you're likely unsure about how much force you can safely apply to stuck parts. The book illustrations feature mostly new-looking parts - and sure, if your plumbing parts are in nice, clean, as-new condition, working on them should be pretty easy. But if scale and corrosion have been building up for decades, you face a much harder problem just with getting the old fixtures apart so you can service them.
If you're tempted to try plumbing jobs yourself, read this book (or one like it, or better yet read several) first. Even if you lean heavily on AI for do-it-yourself advice (and I think that's a good idea), reading books like this will help you craft better prompts for your AI, since you'll have a better grasp of the concepts and jargon. The AI boom created the need for a new human skill: prompt engineering. And I think the key to prompt engineering is to read a lot of domain-specific books. Having background knowledge also provides some protection against AI hallucinations. That is, AI in the year 2025 doesn't (yet) eliminate the need for you to know stuff. If anything, AI in its current form increases your need to know stuff.
Reading practical books like Plumbing Do-It-Yourself For Dummies (2007) by Donald R. Prestly is a great idea, even if you do end up hiring a professional plumber. At the very least, you need to understand what you're up against. A modern home is basically filled with slowly-ticking plumbing time bombs.
Most of the parts that leak, clog, break, or otherwise cause problems are the plumbing fixtures - and no surprise there, since those are the components with moving parts and components that get handled and used by the human occupants. These fixtures - faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets - are also the (relatively) easiest parts to fix or replace. I say relatively easy because even do-it-yourself plumbing jobs can be difficult. Plumbing fixtures come in a staggering variety of designs, often requiring their own idiotic custom tools, and virtually none of it is anything close to self-documenting. In fact plumbing books like this one advise you to take your dismantled fixture parts to a physical hardware store so the resident plumbing expert can figure out exactly which replacement parts you need. Now, obviously, that is completely Mickey Mouse. It tells you that the plumbing industry doesn't care about its future victims. Every plumbing fixture should have its part and model names and numbers clearly marked - even better, with at least one stain-resistent QR code - so you can just point a smartphone and have your AI personal assistant tell you how to fix it, with the option to automatically order the proper tools and replacement parts. Or with the advice to call a plumber when you are clearly in over your head.
But most plumbing fixtures that need work in 2025 were probably manufactured long before QR codes and smartphones existed, so get ready to plunge into Stupid World. Fortunately for the do-it-yourselfer, we are currently in the AI boom. Technology is slowly clawing at the edges of Stupid World. The current crop of AI LLMs aren't quite smart enough to provide full-blown augmented reality, but I've found that Google Gemini knows a staggering amount about plumbing. Augmented reality would be like having a master plumber physically present to advise and instruct you, while a text-chat-based-AI is like having a plumber a few states or countries away who cannot see what you are doing, but who can answer questions if you can type them. So keep your favorite AI handy for advice on specific questions that a general book like this won't address, such as how to get a siezed set screw on a faucet handle turning. In particular, for the inexperienced amateur, you're likely unsure about how much force you can safely apply to stuck parts. The book illustrations feature mostly new-looking parts - and sure, if your plumbing parts are in nice, clean, as-new condition, working on them should be pretty easy. But if scale and corrosion have been building up for decades, you face a much harder problem just with getting the old fixtures apart so you can service them.
If you're tempted to try plumbing jobs yourself, read this book (or one like it, or better yet read several) first. Even if you lean heavily on AI for do-it-yourself advice (and I think that's a good idea), reading books like this will help you craft better prompts for your AI, since you'll have a better grasp of the concepts and jargon. The AI boom created the need for a new human skill: prompt engineering. And I think the key to prompt engineering is to read a lot of domain-specific books. Having background knowledge also provides some protection against AI hallucinations. That is, AI in the year 2025 doesn't (yet) eliminate the need for you to know stuff. If anything, AI in its current form increases your need to know stuff.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews