Category Archives: Home And Family

Installing New Bathroom Taps

Posted on by Scott
John Pawlett

Would you like to save money, make your bathroom look better, and be able to take pride in the fact that you did it yourself? Deciding to start a home improvement project can be a little freighting but with the right tools and information, you will soon be on your way. You will have the confidence to do it yourself and know that you have done a good job.

The first step to getting started with your new tap project is getting the information to do the job. You need to consult the web and/or educational books to make sure that you have all that you need to make this process happen.

Once you have all your information compiled and feel ready to undertake your home improvement project, you need to look at all the different tap manufacturers for the best quality for the money you are willing to spend. You will want to purchase a tap that is durable, as well as, blending well with your existing bathroom accessories.

You now have the perfect tap purchased. It is sitting in its box awaiting its new home on your bathroom vanity. You need to make sure that you have the correct tools available. This would include:

A basin cock wrench or pipe wrench

Philips-head screwdriver

Flat-head screwdriver

Slip-joint and adjustable pliers

Adjustable wrench

Bathroom caulk and caulk gun (plumber’s putty will also work)

New flexible tap supply tubes

Thread sealer

Your next step in this process would be to remove the old tap. To do this, you will need to shut off your water supply either under the sink or at the main water-supply valve. The hot and cold water supply tubes will need to be loosened. At the tap stem, loosen and remove the compression nut with a basin cock wrench or pipe wrench. To remove the tap now, all that you need to do is remove the nut holding the tap to the sink. The tap should lift off.

Chrome-plated brass hardware may start to decay after time so you may wish to change that as well. A bucket should be placed under the drain to contain excess water still in the drain. A new stopper may come with your new tap. If this is the case, you might like to change that also. This will give you a consistent look on your new design.

You will need to wrap your tap stems with a thread sealer. Before inserting the tap stems into the correct holes install the rubber gasket to the base of the tap. Don’t worry if your tap did not come with a rubber gasket. A bead of caulk will do the trick. When you have the tap in position, you can thread the washer, nut, and mounting nut on to the tap tailpiece. Tighten these nuts by hand.

You may now attach your supply tubes to the tap stems. Make sure that you apply thread sealer to the shut off valve threads. Tighten the coupling nuts to the supply stems. Be careful not to over-tighten the nuts. Reconnect the hot and cold water supply stems.

You are now ready to clean the supply tubes to your new tap. To do this you need to remove the aerator from the tap. Now turn on the water. You will need to check for leaks while the water is running. If there are none, shut off the water and replace the aerator.

Now sit back and enjoy your new bathroom tap. You can take pride in the fact that you just installed it yourself.

Michael

Fixing Leaking Taps

Posted on by Scott
Scott Rodgers

y have a combination of different types of taps in your house. Some may have a single lever and others may be the old fashioned types with a separate tap for the hot and the cold, and which twist to turn the water on and off. These are called compression taps and they have a washer inside the mechanism. This washer will deteriorate over time and the tap will, as a result, begin to leak water. A dripping tap wastes gallons of water every day so it is well worth your while to fix it straight away.

The important thing when fixing taps for the first time is to set aside time when you won’t get interrupted and so you can concentrate on the job at hand. Maybe do the work when the kids are not in the house or when the babysitter is there. Also, put the plug into the sink so you don’t lose any small parts down the drain. Also, have a container so you can put all the parts in the same place as you take the tap apart so you aren’t trying to find them at the end of the task. And when you are starting to repair the tap, just take a moment to make sure you wouldn’t rather replace the taps themselves. It could be that you have the budget to replace them, so it would be a waste of your time to repair them if you are going to replace them anyway. Plastic is cheaper but has a shorter life span more expensive materials because it can not handle wear and tear easily.

The first thing to do if repairing the tap is to turn off the water supply to the fixture. Don’t forget to do this in your enthusiasm to fix the tap itself because as soon as the water pressure is released, it will more than likely completely soak you and the entire bathroom. If you can’t find the valve for the taps, you’ll have to turn off the water supply to the whole house, which is normally found near your water meter.

Next job is to take off the tap cap. It might unscrew or possibly require levering off with a flat screwdriver. Take out the screw that keeps the lever on the valve pipe and remove the lever, and remove the outside layer of the the valve pipe if it exists. Now you’ll be able to see a hex shape nut that can unscrew the valve stem assembly from the housing using an adjustable wrench. And then, now that the valve stem assembly is removed, you’ll find the old washer on the end sitting in a valve seat.

Remove the brass screw and take out the old washer by using your tools. Clean the end of the washer holder and put in the new washer. If you don’t know what size to replace it with, then take the old washer to the plumbing store and they will give you the right washer so that you can return and put the tap back together again. Buy a few spares so that you don’t have to go back to the store each time you need a new washer. Put the tap back on gently after and maintain a steady stream for a couple of minutes to be certain there is no dripping.

Jennifer

Consumer’s Guide To Bathroom Taps

Posted on by Scott
James Hickman

This article explains the key questions that you should consider when purchasing new taps for your bathroom. The information is aimed at consumers in the United Kingdom.

Question 1: Whats the tap made of ?

Taps can be made from a range of materials of varying quality and cost.

A general rule of thumb is that the heavier the tap the better the quality of materials used!

Plastic

Plastic taps are very cheap and very low quality. They are very light and are offered in a variety of colours. Plastic taps cannot be recommended for bathroom use because of their poor performance and short expected operational life.

Standard Brass ABS/Mazac

Standard brass is regularly used to manufacture the bodies of mid-priced, medium quality taps.

Many tap components (such as handles) can be made from ABS (plastic) or an alternative material sometimes referred to as Mazac (Pot Metal). These are cheaper than using brass, and whilst the quality is regularly very good, brass offers a better finish and lasts longer.

Standard brass taps are suitable for bathroom use, with or without ABS or Mazac components.

DZR Brass

Whilst, standard brass has gained complete acceptance in many facets of the water distribution industry, in certain circumstances when exposed to particular combinations of pH and concentrations of chlorides, they can experience a serious form of corrosion known as dezincification.

The answer to this is a dezincification resistant alloy, normally referred to as DZR brass.

This is the Rolls Royce material for taps and the highest quality product will be made from DZR brass without any ABS or Mazac components

Question 2: Will the taps work with your system pressure ?

First the good news, if you have a combi-boiler or un-vented hot water system then you dont need to fret about pressure, both high pressure and low pressure taps will work well with your system.

However, if you have a traditional gravity fed system, with a cold water storage tank in the attic, and a hot water cylinder then you will want to be more cautious.

Firstly you want to work out how much water pressure you have:

Calculate the distance, in meters, from the bottom of the cold water storage tank, to the outlet of the tap and multiply by 0.1 to give you the pressure in bar:

e.g. 1.1 Meters x 0.1 = 0.11 bar

2.5 Meters x 0.1 = 0.25 bar

If you want a bath/shower mixer with a showering handset, then you must determine the distance from the foot of the cold water storage tank to the height at which the handset will be used, not the height of the tap, or the handset when it rests in the support.

You also need to be aware that elongated pipe work runs rapidly use up any pressure inside a system, so if your taps are a long way from the cold storage tank then you will want to lessen the calculated pressure to take account of this.

Once you have a good idea of your water pressure then you need to verify that whatever taps you are looking to buy will work at that pressure.

As a rule of thumb many designer taps come from Europe where the water systems have superior pressure than in the UK and these taps wont work if you have very low pressure.

Designer taps made specifically to work on low pressure systems are normally more expensive and the retailer will highlight the fact that the taps are suitable for low pressure systems. If it doesn’t say specifically that the taps will work with low pressure then assume the worst and don’t buy without asking the retailer to verify the pressure requirements.

Question 3: What is the operating mechanism of the tap ?

Ceramic disc and spindle refer to the two alternative ways that the inner mechanism of a tap can operate.

Ceramic disc technology is usually used on more costly taps, as they function better and last longer. When the lever is turned, two ceramic discs are parted opening the valve and allowing the water to pour.

The traditional spindle design is commonly used on inferior quality, cheaper tap designs. The tap has a spindle through the core, with the valve seat attached via a screw thread. A standard tap washer is fixed to the end of the valve seat. As the knob is turned the spindle rotates and the screw thread moves the valve seat up and down to adjust the flow of water

Ceramic Disc Taps

Benefits

Drip free never change another tap washer again !

Long Life should never need to be replaced under regular use

Simple to Operate only a quarter turn is required to go from full on to off

Variety of styles works with modern lever designs and round handles

Draw Backs

Inferior flow rates – Unsuitable for very low pressure systems

Spindle Taps

Advantages

Superior flow rates suitable for most systems, high or low pressure

Draw Backs

Hard to operate – handle has to be turned many times from off to full on

Higher maintenance – washers will need replacing often

Less choice of style – cannot be used with modern lever designs

There are two key things to consider.

Unless you have a very low pressure system or are looking for the lowest feasible price then it is best to go for ceramic disc taps.

When comparing tap prices always ensure that both taps use the same mechanism. They may look the same, but if one is ceramic disc and one uses a spindle then the cheapest tap may actually be the worst value!

Question 4: How will the taps connect to your system?

Mono Basin & Bidet mixers are attached to the water supply by connectors, sometimes referred to tap tails. These come in two types, flexible and rigid and the purchaser normally doesn’t get any option within a range of taps.

Both types join directly to normal 15mm copper pipe work.The tap manufacturer usually decides what type of connectors each range of tap he makes will have.

Which kind is most suitable for you depends on where the taps are being installed and who is doing the installation.

Flexible Connectors

Best for DIY Installers: You dont require any plumbing skills, the bendable hose will simply trasnsform into whatever shape is necessary and the connection is made easily by tightening the compression nut with a wrench.

Best for small spaces with difficult access. The flexible hose allows connections in places that would be almost impossible to get into with rigid pipe work.

Rigid Connectors

Best for professional installers: The rigid connectors become part of the sturdy copper pipe run that connects the supply to the tap. The connections are made with capillary fittings, lead free solder and a blow torch. The end product looks neater, lasts longer and is much less prone to leaks.

Best for more open spaces with simple access. Even the most professional installer will want a large enough space to bend and fit the copper pipe run from the supply. If the space is too compact then flexible connectors may be the only viable option.

Question 5: Does the Tap meet the necessary Bylaws and/or Standards ?

British Standards

The first thing that confuses many people is that British Standards for taps are not quality guarantees. They just state certain things that a tap meeting with the standard should do. There is also no requirement that any product is tested by a third party to verify it actually meets the standard, so an assertion that a product meets BS5412 is only as reliable as the business making the claim !

The British Standards signify the minimum that a tap should meet to perform a particular application.

The key British Standards applied to taps are:

BS5412

The specification for low-resistance single taps and combination tap assemblies.

BS1010

The Specification for draw-off taps and stop-valves for water services

There is no British Standard at all for Ceramic Disc taps. So the very fact that somebody quotes that the tap complies with BS5412 or BS1010 lets you know that it is an inferior design spindle tap!

Water Bylaws

All products attached to the UK drinking water supply must be compliant to the UK Water Bylaws. There are independent testing and certification schemes in place to establish conformity, however these are not mandatory in the UK.

The expense of outside certification is high and many top brand tap manufacturers decide not to pay for certification. Any taps that have KIWA or WRAS approval have been tested for compliance and should be of a good quality, but all taps installed in the UK, must by law comply with the Water Bylaws.

Greg

Fixing Water Leaks In Your Bathroom

Posted on by Scott
Scott Rodgers

look around your home and you will see how incredibly important water is to the successful running of your household. It is hard to imagine a house without running water to use to clean, wash and drink. Having well maintained fixtures to keep providing that water on demand is, therefore, very important, and if one of them starts to leak it is important to fix it as soon as possible so that you don’t waste thousands of gallons down the drain.

One of my great pleasures in life is to head off early on a Saturday morning, either by myself or with a friend, and enjoy a day fishing. Nothing equals the freedom of mind and soul as you place yourself in the natural beauty of the wilderness. It isn’t that I’m a particularly good fisherman. On average, I don’t catch a lot of fish and even the ones that I do catch aren’t very big. The joy of of not being in a busy city and the ability to be worry free for the afternoon, is more valuable then capturing a fish.

At the end of the day I head back home, clean and prepare any fish I may have caught, and then run a delicious warm bath. It is the end to a perfect day, relaxing in the hot water, often with my eyes closed for half an hour.

Of course, this is not such a great experience if I can hear the noise of a dripping. If this occurs, I usually disregard it. I must keep it in mind though because one leak could cost me infinite gallons of water per week.

In the case that the bathroom faucet is at fault, then you must disassemble it in order to discover what the problem is. If you’re not sure, it is quite acceptable to take the whole tap mechanism to the plumbing store and asking them to advise you what part needs replacing. On the contrary, if there is a leaking noise, you must let the bathwater sit and search the bathroom for the dripping. It is essential this is done immediatly the more time that is wasted the greater probability of deterioration.

There is a chance that you have a leak whereby the water is traveling along the water line for some distance before it starts to drip on the floor due to the pressures of gravity. There is possibility of dripping near the drain of the tub. In either case, it is better to replace the parts rather than merely applying silicone, so that you stop it happening again for several years.

Or it could be that the bathtub itself has developed a leak. This is a difficulty that many people need help with. The cheaper and easier option is often to replace the tub itself. However, if you have an old tub that you particularly cherish, perhaps because it is longer and deeper than many modern varieties, then get in a plumber who will be able to advise what the possible solutions are and the relevant costs.

Regardless of what you decide to do, if you have had a leak, then get in a builder to check that there has not been any significant rot or damage to your home. This is particularly true if your bath is not on the ground floor, as it could have caused your ceiling to crack, or caused damage to your walls. And you need to make sure you remove any water that is sitting on a surface because this could produce mold which can develop into a serious health hazard.

Anne-Marie