Bath soak away leaking

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Edtw
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by Edtw »

Hey all,

The soak away of the bath is leaking but I can’t get it off the bath. The grub screw or whatever it is is rusted away and I can’t seem to be able to grip it in any way. I think it’s more likely to be a small hexagonal bolt, but my tools don’t quite fit. Do you know what it’s meant to be?

My solution was to take off the cap, tighten the screw that I expect to find behind, and then things might be alright. Or put some silicone sealant there or maybe a rubber ring. But I can’t do either of those things without getting the cap off. Absolute nightmare. At the moment, the whole lot can be moved around, and so a gap forms where water just bypasses the soak away, puddles beneath the bath and leaks through to downstairs (where it’s ruined the ceiling of the garage over the years).

See photos. Thanks!

Ed
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ayjay
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by ayjay »

Edtw wrote: Thu Jul 09, 2020 11:44 pm
The soak away of the bath is leaking but I can’t get it off the bath. The grub screw or whatever it is is rusted away and I can’t seem to be able to grip it in any way. I think it’s more likely to be a small hexagonal bolt, but my tools don’t quite fit. Do you know what it’s meant to be?
That looks like an overflow to me, ( a soakaway is something completely different) any fixing inside that is likely to be an "Allen headed Grub Screw", you'll need the correct size Allen key to undo it.

Allen keys come in both Metric and Imperial sizes, older ones are going to be Imperial, and more recent fittings will be Metric, it is important to have the correct fit.
One day it will all be firewood.
wes56
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by wes56 »

You have a W&O or waste and overflow.
Where's it leaking from - the overflow or the waste?
The overflow doesn't seem to have a rubber sealing washer?
How come the bath water is allowed to get that high so that it overflows?
Sometimes, just twisting the overflow will release it from its fixing.
fin
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by fin »

rather than messing on with that old one id be replacing the lot with a new one from screwfix or toolstation.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/pop-up-bath-waste/27022
Edtw
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by Edtw »

Yes, sorry, overflow not soak away. I may well like to replace it, but I need to get it off somehow. Unless I take an angle grinder to it!!

The leak is right at the bath face - so it essentially bypasses the overflow and runs down the outside of the bath and onto the floor instead of down that white plastic pipe. If you look at the first photo, where the white edge stops and meets black, that’s the gap. But the whole chunk can be shifted about so that gap can appear on any side if it’s knocked.

Is it supposed to have a rubber sealing washer, then?

I don’t think an Allen key fits it - it appears to look like the end of an Allen key itself, so I need a tool that fits onto an Allen key, if you see what I mean. I have a couple, and one I think is close to fitting but not quite (the rust residue is left on the inside of the tool but it doesn’t grip).

We’re big people haha so the water easily rises to that level, but we try to have it lower. Need a bigger bath really but there’s no room.
Last edited by Edtw on Sat Jul 11, 2020 2:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Edtw
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by Edtw »

Actually, I’ve tried the twisting tactic, and the base plate does become looser but doesn’t come off entirely. Weird I didn’t try that before.

Could get a saw down there now if I wanted to. But looking at that screw fix link, it looks like I’ll have to take it off on the other side of the bath. It’s very snug there to take the screws out (screwdriver won’t fit), and moving the bath would be a serious palaver, but I’ll see what I can do with the tools I’ve got.

Thanks very much all!
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wes56
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Bath soak away leaking

Post by wes56 »

new pics show you have a pop-up waste and overflow. Sometimes the cover plate is fixed with a pozi or philips screw. Your first pics are too blurred to make out whats going on.
There's a spindle inside and twisting and pulling (& WD 40) should bring the cover plate and box off the spindle - thats if you cant unscrew it.

Definitely ditch that W&O set-up with the pop-up cable that always seems to go wrong. Change for a conventional W&O - no pop-up.
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