Great tips, especially the permanent marker under the tape idea—wish I'd thought of that earlier. Honestly though, photos have been my lifesaver. First time I tackled plumbing, I sketched out this elaborate diagram thinking I was being thorough. Fast forward a few months... couldn't make heads or tails of it. Now I just snap quick pics from different angles and jot down simple notes. Less hassle, less confusion later on.
"First time I tackled plumbing, I sketched out this elaborate diagram thinking I was being thorough. Fast forward a few months... couldn't make heads or tails of it."
Haha, been there. But do you really find photos alone enough? I mean, lighting can be tricky, and sometimes the angles don't quite capture what you need. Totally agree diagrams can get overcomplicated fast...but maybe a combo of simple notes and pics is the sweet spot. Either way, props for ditching the overly detailed sketches—those things can be a nightmare later on.
Totally agree diagrams can get overcomplicated fast...but maybe a combo of simple notes and pics is the sweet spot.
Photos are decent, but honestly, I wouldn't ditch diagrams completely. The trick is keeping them simple—just basic lines and labels. Fancy sketches always seem helpful at first, but months later they're just confusing clutter. A quick, clear diagram paired with a couple of well-lit pics usually does the job for me. Lighting issues aside, photos alone rarely capture the whole story...especially in tight spaces.
Yeah, I get where you're coming from on the photos vs. diagrams thing. Photos alone can be tricky because you never quite capture all the angles or depth clearly, especially when you're squeezed into tight spots under sinks or behind appliances. I've wasted more time than I'd like to admit trying to decipher a blurry picture from my phone later on—"is that fitting angled or straight?!" 🙄
Diagrams do help clarify connections, but I agree they can easily spiral out of control if you're not careful. Personally, I stick with super basic sketches—just enough lines and labels that future-me won't have to guess what's going on. Simple really is better in the long run.
But speaking of documentation struggles, has anybody found a solid way to note down valve positions reliably? It's one of those things that seems obvious when you're standing right there ("I'll definitely remember this!"), but later on it turns into a guessing game. I've tried arrows, little notes, even color-coding sometimes, but nothing feels totally foolproof yet.
Totally agree with you on valve positions—it's crazy how something so straightforward can get confusing later. A couple things I've found helpful:
- Quick video clips instead of photos sometimes capture valve orientation better, especially if you slowly pan around the area.
- Marking valves directly with a Sharpie or paint pen (like "open" and "closed" positions) has saved me a few headaches.
- If there's room, zip-ties in different colors can also help indicate valve status clearly.
Still experimenting myself, but these tricks have definitely cut down the guesswork.
