New license plate

Here's the truck's new plate. Now I need a new truck to match it.

plumbers plate bellingham wa

My New R.O. System

I like to drink water. Lots of it, but not out of the tap. For decades, I've had water delivered by a national company in 5 gallon jugs, but I always wondered about the Reverse Osmosis systems a few of my customers own.

My objections were 1) remembering to change the filters, 2) the dripping of the waste water made from the process, 3) the bulky units themselves.

I pulled the tap on one that addresses all three of my biggest concerns: brondell's Circle H2O+ water filtration system (sic).

1) This system has four filters that is (somehow) monitored and has an indicator light on the handle. Blue led is good, red led is bad. The manual states to replace every six months, but usage should play a big factor on when they get replaced.

2) Reverse Osmosis removes some elements from the water and the waste goes down the sink drain using a supplied part. The ones I've seen drip almost constantly, while this brondell (sic) model flushes the waste only when used. brondell states the savings is considerable.

3) My last objection is the bulk of other units. brondell's unit looks like a mini p.c. case with the tubes all neatly ordered. See pictures below.


The spout itself is really nice. It's a 10" tall goose neck with a very smooth handle reminiscent of some expensive European faucet. I used the sink's dishwasher air gap hole that was unused anyway.


All the parts I needed were supplied in the box including a sturdy ball valve. It took me less than an hour to install, but that's me and doesn't include the pre-fill and flushing all systems require.

I've had it for a day and it's good, so far. The taste is adequate and far better than regular tap water. I like my water at room temperature: not too cold and not too hot. I guess I will fill a glass jug and store it in the fridge for picky drinkers.

never forget flight 93--the real heroes of 09/11/2001.

Bellingham Kitchen Sink

We do almost everything including the kitchen sink. This job was replacing the sink, disposer, faucet and the drains below the sink. It was typical that the counter top had to be cut larger to fit the new sink. The cut was done by a counter top company.

This is now a very nice kitchen.

Old kitchen sink in Bellingham, WA

New kitchen sink in Bellingham, WA

Plumber's Service Charges

Ball Plumbing charges a service charge of $45.00. We started this when fuel prices started to skyrocket and will stop when the fuel prices get back to 2009 prices.

Much confusion about the "service charge", though. I looked the term up in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, which doesn't charge a service charge for their service. Based on the first definition, our use of the term "service charge" is correct, in that we charge another fee in addition to our minimum fee of $88.00, which covers one hour of labor.

Tax and parts are always separate and without fail will surprise everyone including us.

I bet the term confusion stems from some plumbers using the term "service charge" to get paid for outrageous estimates. It's a nicer term than "estimate fee", I guess. I don't know, but it sure is annoying.

service charge

 noun

: an amount of money that is charged for a particular service in addition to a basic fee

: an amount of money that is paid to the owner of an apartment building for services (such as garbage collection)

: a charge added to a bill in a restaurant to pay for the work of the waitress or waiter

Sudden Valley toilet replacement

Once upon a time, a black Kohler toilet was the ultimate in bathroom style. Today, not so much.

We replaced it with a toilet that we have had great success with for a much lower price in its class. It's also a Comfort Height model that's app. 16.5" high from floor to bowl rim. The seat is a slow closing model with easy removable hinges for cleaning.

Kohler toilet circa 1975

New toilet 2013

Ball Plumbing's Bellingham Ads

The computer broke down and in the process of repairing it, I found a few old pics of those Whatcom Transit bus ads. We ran the ads for a few years through the very worse of Great Depression II.

Drain Stoppage Bellingham WA

On this job, it was easier to cut the 80 year old pipes out than try to snake them. This part of the job took an hour as opposed to trying to clear the stoppage from upstairs.

Bellingham tub trap

The rusted tub trap is called a "saxophone trap", at least by me. They haven't been made for 50 years.

This sax trap has a leak at the bottom where the rust ate it up. We crawled under the house and using superior plumbing skills, were able to replace the trap with a new pvc trap.

The problem good plumbers have is that we make things look really easy. On this job, not only was it hard, but I whined like a dog after candy.

It got done, though.

Bellingham sewer replacement

Here's a sewer we did last week in the Roosevelt neighborhood.

Free Plumbing Stuff

My plumbing parts supplier in Burlington did some spring cleaning. The stuff didn't sell in 3 years, so corporate wrote them off and they gave the stuff away.

Pictured are offset closet flanges, 2" PVC P-trap with union and gal 45s.

All that stuff was used daily by all plumbers 20 years ago and now it is garbage.

Bellingham Copper Pipes

We are replacing a water service (pipe from the meter to the house, when I discovered this piece of art.

I call it the DIY Experience:

Kitchen Faucet

When the phone rings before 8:00 a.m., I know there's a problem.

This customer's husband really tried to repair the 25 year old faucet, but it died.

Before and after photos:

A Plumber's Backyard

Sometimes even plumbers get sick of plumbing. This picture is my backyard in Bellingham, Washington, Geneva neighborhood.

My neighbors describe my place as "native lawn", "early hillbilly rustic", or "that contractor's house". I try to tell them that if someone would pay me to fix it up, it'd be done in a heartbeat. Nobody has stepped up with the dough, though.

As soon as business picks up enough, I'm tearing it down and building a modest home. In the meantime, my acre is a haven for native plants and wildlife.

Ball Plumbing Kitchen remodel

This is a kitchen remodel in a Bellingham condo. The countertop was done by a local Bellingam contractor, but the plumbing---faucet, disposer, drains, water---was done by Ball Plumbing.

Broken American Standard/Sloan toilet

This American Standard toilet is in a retail business' customer restroom. The pressure actually rattles the lid.

The still picture is what's called the "water spot". A water spot that large isn't available any more, unfortunately.

DIY Kitchen Sink Drain

I usually don't take pictures of the masterpieces I'm called out to fix, but this work of art needs attention.

Happy Holidays from Ball Plumbing!

Snow and plumbers do not mix well!

Here's before and after pics of the Great Storm of 2011. Yeah, I did it by hand....