Bellingham Crawlspaces

 More often than not, access points for plumbing installations and repairs are a bit of a squeeze! Our plumbers embrace the unique spaces we encounter on the job here in Bellingham so that homeowners don't have to. 

Added Enhancements for the Perfect Flush

At Barkley Plumbing, we're not shy about having our own signature flush. With 40+ years of experience and skilled hands to match, our journeyman plumber goes beyond installation. After making some adjustments and employing our choice performance enhancing parts, we leave Bellingham homeowners with a brand new toilet and a perfect flush!

Water Heater Installation in Small Bellingham Crawlspace

 Below is a great example of the interesting spaces we see in households serviced by the Barkley Plumbers! Bellingham is notorious for its beautiful and well-kept homes that were constructed in the 18 and 1900s, and our plumbers take pride in keeping these homes safe from water damage so that we can admire them for decades to come!

Dishwasher Air gaps

 It's Washington code to have an airgap installed on a dishwasher. It's purpose is to prevent dirty water from backflowing into the dishwasher. It must be installed a minimum 1" above flood level, which is the top of the sink. It's discharge has to be before the p-trap.

 Pretty basic stuff.

The residential airgap has been redundant for decades. 

Dishwashers come with a looped drain in the back of the unit, one. Two, the dishwasher pump--the one that forces the water out--has an internal check valve preventing water to go back into the machine. derp...

Now, why am I ranting? Lookie here:

Bellingham dishwasher air gap

This air gap is installed under the sink, then covered by insulation! The reason it was installed under the sink is the beautiful countertop only has one hole for the faucet.

That's the third one in two weeks! Guys, air gaps leak eventually and if you put them under the sink it will damage the cabinet, wall, and floor.

Insurance won't cover the damage because of glaring code violation.

By the way, the insulation was a first for me. The owner said it's a "Canadian thing" and shall remain. And so it does.

Plumbing Discount Mailer

 Wow!

I received a slick oversized postcard from a local heating company through the mail today.

"Tankless water heater: $400.00 off plus a free disposer!"

    Okay, let's look at that. A total of almost $1,000.00 discount, if they replace my really nice disposer and my tank-type warhorse of a water heater (as if...) with a high maintenance, energy and water-wasting tankless-type water heater.

    How much are they overcharging to begin with? If I gave that much back on any job, I'd be paying you.

"$200.00 off water heater replacement"

    Ya gotta wonder about the quality of the materials and the final price of the job. Water heaters are practically a break-even job for me, so discounting $200.00, I'd make more money not working.

    The postcard goes on and on, but you get the drift.