Shop rules
These hang over the bench. Each big rule has a bench note behind it, with the panels and the sources. The small ones ride along.
A rule is just a mistake somebody already made for you. Take the gift.
The big five
Rule No. 1
Never force a stuck cartridge.
It is stuck for a reason. Loosen it, or let a puller do the pulling.
Rule No. 2
Two wrenches, always.
One holds, one turns. Then the pipe behind the fitting never feels it.
Rule No. 3
Grease the O-rings.
Silicone grease, a small dab. Nothing with petroleum in it, ever.
Rule No. 4
Read the old part before you throw it out.
A worn stem tells you what leaked and what to buy.
Rule No. 5
Find every shutoff before you need one.
The main, then every small one. Tag it, test it, show the house.
The small ones
Each of these comes out of one of the notes above. The number says which.
- Water off first.Then open the handle and let the pressure out. From note No. 1
- Find the clip before you pull.A retainer clip is there to keep the cartridge in. It is good at it. From note No. 1
- Your wrist is not a puller.A cartridge puller is. Its nut does the work. From note No. 1
- Snug, then stop.The maker's sheet gives the number. Past it, you crush things. From note No. 2
- Hand tight means hand tight.Some nuts want no wrench at all. From note No. 2
- A pipe wrench is for pipe.Not for a hex and not for a square. From note No. 2
- Read the sheet that came with the part.It is one page. You will live. From note No. 2
- Nothing with petroleum on rubber.Silicone grease, a small dab. From note No. 3
- Grease is not a repair.A cracked O-ring gets replaced. From note No. 3
- Count the teeth.The broach is part of how a stem gets matched. From note No. 4
- Take the old part with you.It is the only witness you have. From note No. 4
- A stuck valve does not get forced.Call a plumber. From note No. 5
- Tag the main and show the house.A valve only one person can find is half a valve. From note No. 5
Where the rules come from
He says them. He does not make them up. Every rule here stands on the sources listed at the bottom of its bench note: the makers' own instruction sheets first, then water utilities and the long-standing trade publishers.
