Next week I will be taking a homeowner’s plumbing test, which is a test given by my town that will allow me to do my own plumbing work in my recent 2nd floor dormer. I recently took the electrical test and passed. It was only 10 questions. I’m wondering if the plumbing one is similar and if anyone has taken it or could give me some advice. I live in Nassau County, Long Island, New York. Town of Hempstead.
CRaig
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The answer to #4 is C
; > ) Greg
gravity rules and payday is on Friday..
the answers are A, A, C, D, 12, 1/4, B, ALL THE ABOVE, A, BEER THIRTY.....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
don't chew your fingernails
(everybody's a comic)
I took mine 8 years ago - piece of cake, open book. I hope yours is similar.
The local plumbing board got wind of things and now the "homeowners" test can't even be passed by plumbers.
I had a friend pass it (19 years experience, but not a plumber) and he was the first to pass it since they changed it 1-1/2 years ago. There was quite a commotion in the office, and one person even commented they will have to change the test again.
Sample question: What is the minimum thickness for a nailing plate?
answer: .062 in
I hope your governing body is more into common sense.
Just a shot at a few:
Every drain must have a trap and a vent, the vent connection within NN feet of the drain opening (NN varying by district and specific type and size of drain).
You can't (except in very specific cases) use a vent pipe for a drain or vice-versa -- they must be kept separate.
There are minimum sizes for different types of drains: 3" for toilets, most others either 1-1/4" or 1-1/2". (Pipe size is measured as internal diameter, but the standards were developed with old thick-walled pipe, so, eg, a modern 1-1/4" galvanized pipe is apt to measure closer to 1-1/2" inside diameter. But sizes are stated in terms of "standard" size, not actual inside diameter.) (There can be heated arguments as to whether it's good/bad to go to larger than required diameter.)
Backflow preventer may be required on main service and/or outside sillcocks -- check.
Regardless of above, never connect a faucet such that the spout opening will be below the "flood rim" of the bowl/tub/whatever. This is to avoid the possibility of backflow from tub into water pipes, should a vacuum be temporarily created in the water pipes.
PVC may not be used for hot water. CPVC or PEX for hot (but plastic may be outlawed in your area -- check).
When joining drain pipe (or water pipe, for that matter), you must only glue together like types of plastic: PVC-PVC, ABS-ABS, CPVC-CPVC. And you must use the correct type of solvent adhesive (and cleaner/primer).
Horizontal drain pipes should slope 1/4" to the foot.
Only unleaded solder may be used on copper water pipes.
Storm water (gutters, sump pumps, and in some cases the basement floor drain) may not be dumped into sanitary sewers. (Not true in all locales, but true more and more.)
Water heaters (and hot water furnaces, etc) must have the correct pressure/temperature relief valve (which is supposed to be tested yearly, but no one does). Valve and attached exit tube (which may be no smaller than valve fitting size) must be arranged so that discharge will not endanger people or property (beyond splashing the wall, maybe). In southern climes the valve may be required to terminate outside, in northern climes this is just as likely to be prohibited.
Don't even think about working on gas pipes.
Next week I will be taking a homeowner's plumbing test, which is a test given by my town that will allow me to do my own plumbing work
Next week I will be taking the homeowner's nucular power plant test, which is a test given by the nucular regulatory commission that will allow me to build my own nucular power plant. The questions are true/false. You need to get half right to pass.
If it glows, put it in your hip pocket.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
You fail- you spelled it the George W Bush way! Or does that get you to the head of the class?!
That was something that always irritated me about Carter. He was intelligent and apparently reasonably well educated, and had had training to operate nuke subs in the Navy, but couldn't pronouce the word.It tended to reenforce the image of a bumpkin, which is something he didn't deserve.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Now that's funny!
Don't believe I've seen you hangin' around the Tavern.
Feel free to stop in for a cold one every now and again....first rounds on me.
We could use a few more "funny guys" down there.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Actually, the exams are multiple choice, and you need to get 80% correct on the written exam to obtain either a Reactor Operators License or (a different and much more difficult exam) a Senior Reator Operators License. In addition to the written exam, you must also pass 3 scenarios on a site-specific simulator displaying a widely varying knowledge of reactor theory, plant operations characteristics, and in-depth procedure usage, followed by a minimum of three in-plant Job Performance Measures.
Have a ball.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Edited 10/21/2006 9:48 am ET by NickNukeEm
Nice knowing that the reactor near you may be operated by a guy who only got things 80% right.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Like the old Med School equation: C = MD
Yeah, and half of all doctors graduate in the lower half of their class.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Tough to judge someone based solely on a written test, which is why more practical applications are tested, and weighed more heavily in the overall score.
Ironically, I knew of a few guys who tested in the lower 80s that were far better operators than some who tested far higher. Some people are just not good test takers. But get them in a real plant, and be prepared to watch and learn.
I had a mentor who was crusty, uncouth, and had a devil of a time taking a written exam (we took our written exams over 20 years ago, when it was a six hour test and all essay questions, before they swapped to multiple choice), but I was the RO on shift with him when the sh*t hit the fan, and he had to take over as the high scoring senior control operator couldn't figure out what was going on or what to do. He was let go not too soon afterwards. With his upper 90s test score.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
If you have any plumbing problems your Pharmacist may be able to help!
Have a good day
CLiffy
Before you take the exam, slip into the men's room with a tube of skin lotion and polish your butt-crack.....always impresses the examiners when one of their newbies is well-groomed.
Edited 10/20/2006 5:26 pm by Notchman
sh%$ runs downhill
I should've known......................................
Craig:
Don't take it personally. It's not you that we have a problem with, in fact I'd hazard a guess that most of the guys here like the idea that you want to do it correctly and legally. The fact that you came here looking for advice, testifies to that. It's the 10 question test that goes up our collective butts and drew the less than happy response! Most of us had to demonstarate thousands of hours of experience before we were even allowed to sit for our tests! And it wasn't just "I showed up for work so that counts as hours". The experience had to be documented so that the state licensing board could tell that the applicant wasn't the site gopher and had more knowledge of where the local coffe shops were than construction techniques. I guarentee you that any test we took had way more than 10 questions and lasted way longer than 1/2 an hour!
There is just no way that 10 questions can tell if someone has any kind of a clue as to how to do plumbing or electrical or whatever, and the results of bad work can be catastophic! We spend way too much of our time looking at and correcting work done by unqualified people (some of whom had licenses of one sort or another!) for a question like yours not to stir us up. Just take a look through some of the photo threads for some examples of some truly scary work.
My advice to you, yes, take that test but don't assume that it qualifies you to be a plumber. Get a copy of the local code book and keep it with you. Maybe find a friend who is a plumber and have him help you and teach you. Get all the required inspections, do the work to a professional standard and most importantly, ask questions if you don't understand something. In other words, learn how to do it before you do it and then do it to the absolute best of your abilities.
My personal opinion is that homeowners should be allowed to do thier own work if they are qualified but I don't believe that there is a 10 question test that exists that can qualify anybody!
BILL
I have a great deal of respect for skilled tradespeople and what they bring to the table. But honestly, all these homeowner tests are designed to do is put a bit of a knowledge hurdle in front of DIYers who will be doing the work themselves ANYWAY. It just saves embarassment and re-work when the plumbing inspection is done. If it's a substitute for inspection, then I agree with you: it's not in the public interest.
As to whether or not I'm "qualified" to do my own work on my own home: I'll be the judge of that. If the city or a utility company requires an inspection or testing of my work, I'll be happy to submit to it. I have no interest in hiding anything- if I did something wrong, I want to know about it before my finished surfaces go up. Every inspection that's been done on my work: foundations, framing, insulation/VB, electrical, plumbing etc. has passed with only minor commentary. I'm not "qualified" by your standards to do any of it.
Read my post again, it's the test that is pretty useless, not the people...
Being a homeowner does not automatically make a person unable to do the work well anymore than being licensed guarentees that a person is a professional. My point is exactly that, it's the individual, their knowledge,their ethics, their willingness to learn, and their abilty to physically do the work correctly that makes the difference.
No 10 question test is going to do anything other than give some poor schmuck a false sense of security and a lot of heart ache when the inspector comes through and that's assuming that the inspector actually catches all the problems when he's there. The inspector is a compliance tool, not a safety net for lack of knowledge.
The problem is not with someone like you who (it appears) takes the whole thing seriously and would probably do your best to do it right, with or without the 10 question test. It's the "weekend warrior" type who believes that simply because he was able to pass a foolish little test he is now "qualified" to do it all and gets himself (or someone else) in serious trouble. I have seen plumbing fixtures lit up with 120 volts because someone somewhere (the homeowner in this case) thought that they were qualified to do the work. What's the guy like that going to say to the family of the person who gets injured by his negligence, "Gee, I passed the test..."?
BILL