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Triple master contractor Ed Del Grande
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By Ed Del Grande
This is a special week, and I'll explain why in a moment. First I'd like to tell you one of the main reasons we started this Q & A advice column on plumbing and general home repair is because of the demand from contractors and homeowners to have a source of good home improvement information that is easily accessible to everyone. If your newspaper carries this column, you are part of our nationwide construction crew! Think of this as a coffee break, and we can ask each other anything we want about the job.
While I have the opportunity to coordinate everything or play "general contractor" if you will, believe me, the hundreds of questions, comments and tips from professional contractors and homeowners we receive each month is what keeps this column number one from Main to Alaska and everywhere in between! So, even though your letter may not make the paper, the information and questions you send in will supply the topics that we discuss.
One question that comes in over and over is "Ed, could you make a house call to my home?" At first everyone here thought that would be an impossible task, but then we thought, "Why not?"
And that gets us back to why this week is special. It took over a year of hard team work involving agents, editors and publishers, but we created a new type of book (now available) called Ed Del Grande's House Call. Basically, it's as if I came over your house and walked you through your entire home, giving you my personal advice and tips.
I'd like to share some advice from the book with you now as a thank you for all your help inspiring this book. This is from one of my favorite topics in the book, toilets! Most people don't realize that there are three basic flushing systems available for toilets; gravity flushing, power-assisted flushing using an electrical pump, and pressure-assisted flushing using air pressure.
Pressure-assisted flushing systems are becoming the new standard in toilets because they can deliver a powerful flush with only 1.1 gallons of water per flush. That means each home using a new high velocity low water use air pressure toilet can save in the range of four to five thousand gallons of water per year!
Here's how they work: Instead of filling an open tank with water, like a gravity-flush toilet, air-assisted toilets fill a closed and sealed tank with water. As the chamber fills, it traps a layer of air at the top of the tank. That air is pressurized by the house water pressure. When you push the handle, the pressurized air pushes the water out of the tank at a very high speed, creating a powerful, fast flush. This allows air-assisted toilets to deliver a more powerful flush with less water than standard gravity-flush toilets. New technology has made today's air-assisted toilets a lot quieter than earlier models, so the time has come to help the environment by looking into these new ultra water saving, strong flushing toilets!
I hope you enjoyed that quick toilet tip. Maybe I'll be in your home soon making a house call!
Ed Del Grande was born and raised in a family-owned plumbing business. With more than 25 years of experience in every aspect of construction, he holds current Master licenses in pipefitting, fire protection and plumbing. If you have a question for Ed, send him an e-mail at eddelgrande@hgtvpro.com.
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