TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

plumbing, drainage and waste water questions here please

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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Deleted-user-3 »

how about if the lad sticks the condensate pipe so far into a horizontal pipe that it blocks the bog! :roll:
All my advice should be taken with a rather large pinch of salt, all the gear, absolutely no idea whatsoever ;)
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Dickie »

BATH FITTING:-
When fitting a steel or acrylic bath; level & fix 25x50mm battens along two walls for the bath to rest on, this will be the acrylic bath's wooden frame or the the edge of the steel bath(ensure your batten takes into account the bath panel height & remember to ensure your bath panel is measured at the lowest point on the floor, it can be trimmed for the high point). Fit & fix your bath onto the battens, tighten the legs DOWN onto the floor and level the bath, even with a floor that's not level - this makes for a quick & level bath installation, but of course the bath manufacturers installation instructions should be read and followed.

PLASTIC BATH PANEL FITTING:-
As stated above, ensure you don't have a gap at the bottom of your bath panel by measuring at the lowest point on the bathroom floor.
'Plumb' a line down from the front edge of the bath & mark the floor at several points, from these marks allow for the panel thickness & the front lip or thickness of the bath(remember your panel sits back from the front of the bath, behind the lip). Mark back from the 'Plumb' lines to allow for the above thickness & fix another 25x50mm batten along the lenth of the bath
(if you're also fitting an end panel; remember to allow for that thickness on the batten).
Now fix a vertical 25x50mm battens to the wall up to the underside of the bath(again remember the panel etc thickness) and another vertical 25x50mm batten at the other end of the bath.
Trim(with fine wood saw) & fit your front or end panel. You may need to 'scribe' the panel to the wall/walls.
Velcro strips are great for fixing bath panels..........Job done
NB. All the normal Plumbing connections & manufacturers bath fitting instruction(that should be followed to the letter) have been omitted.
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by John-JCs »

Hi John, I will move your tip to the deccie forum :wink:

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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Mrtoolman »

Rubble bags are ideal for catching water in areas that are hard to drain eg: a radiator with no drain point. Just shut the valves off wrap the bag round and crack the nut saves alot of time and mess!
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Razor »

We do this a lot! You can get a 1200 K2 rad into a decent bag. Just make sure it's a proper bag not a bin liner and check it doesn't leak in the bath first :wink:

Sadly it seems the OP has left us for being a nawty boy :roll:
I think I'll take two chickens...
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Dickie »

Here's a copper tube bending detail that's very usefull;
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/plumbing/Pipe% ... BillP).pdf

You may need to click on the re-directed link?? Sorry.
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Dickie »

Often you can get radiators coming away from a stud partition or Timber Frame wall, the radiator brackets may have been fixed with lightweight fixings into the plasterboard. So how do you fix this?? Here's a wee tip that'll keep that rad on the wall;
Remove the radiator & expose the brackets & the 4 duff fixings, take a note of where the brackets are fixed - height from floor etc.
Remove the brackets.
Now, you're looking at PlasterBoard, it may have been skimmed, it may not?
Fitting noggings/dwangs is not always easy, you end up trying to fix them behind the PB & to the nearest stud. So here's a tip that'll make the job easier;
Do this for the each radiator brackets.
Cut a vertical slot in the PB, just wide enough to permit you to slide the a 12mm board(below) in, cut it from the bottom wall stud runner to just above where your top rad bracket fixing will be.
Get some 12mm MDF, OSB or plywood(is best), cut a couple of strips say 150-200mm wide & long enough to reach from the bottom horizontal runner stud to above where your top fixing is required.
Screw a PB screw about 30mm in from the side of your board, this will help you maneuver it into place & help you hold it there. Slide the board in, now, locate the 12mm board behind the PB, to ensure you can get a good fixing with your rad brackets, the bottom is sitting on the bottom runner(to give vertical support) & about 20-30mm behind the PB to the side of your slot.
Screw several PB screws through the PB into your board(if you can't hold it firmly enough, put a long screw in that catches the board, pull it out until the board is tight behind the PB. You can do this with your fingers or a a claw hammer). Put a strip of PB into the slit you made & fix this also to your 12mm board, repair/paint the PB as required, refix your rad brackets onto the PB in there correct location & rehang/connect your radiator...............Job done!!
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by caricature »

Picked this up from an old boy in a local hardware store,if you have a dripping tap and suspect it maybe the ceramic's take it out and soak in vinegar,there maybe a bit of grime or scale build up.I have just done mine and it worked.
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Dickie »

I got a call from a pal the other night. 'Can you come over & fix my toilet roll holder'? 'The missus is giving me a right ear bashing about it'!! Well, we've all been their chaps, eh!!
So I go over & see what I can do. There he is, 4 burnt out masonary drill bits & his green bosch cordless that's not far behind them!! 'Ah' I said, 'You've got porcelian tiles there matey, they're lovely but as hard as a whore's heart'!!

How to drill Porcelian wall tiles.
Right chaps, this one aint gonna be cheap or easy OK?

Firstly, you need the right gear, you'll need something that's going to hold the diamond tip drill bit in place & lubricate it with water. There's few ways of doing this, but a suction type holder, pressure bottle & hose is by far the best, not cheap I know. As with the drill bits; shop around on E-bay.
Next is the diamond drill bits, I prefer the hollow ones, they seem to lubricate better & bore quicker, again there's some good deals on E-bay. Most in the trade buy from a guy in Hong Kong, who sells on E-bay.
Lastly, a drill, any drill with a fast & slow speed. Cordless is always best, if you've got one.

Secondly, so you know where you want a 6mm hole right. Mark it with a permanent marker, then line up your bore hole & ensure the suction pad is stable on the tile, sometimes a wee torch is handy just to line it up correctly.
Set your drill(no hammer) to a slow speed, pump in some water, put some pressure on your drill - just to ensure it doesn't slip. Start drilling & pumping water in until you have started your hole about 3-4mm into the tile. Remove your rig, sucker, water pump & hose etc.

Thirdly, use your drill at a higher speed & spray plenty of water on the drill bit with any old squirter(I use an old Windowleen plastic bottle), keep removing the drill bit & cleaning it, bore the tile until you're about 3/4 through it, about 8mm.

Finally, get a masonary nail(Obo nail) & hammer & carefully punch through the remainder of the hole............Job done!!

I got this tip from an old tiler pal of mine & I've never brocken a tile yet.
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by wayneburgess63 »

Quick tip for syphoning water out of e.g a cylinder.
before you start getting a mouth full of crappy water, fill the hose with water and plug the end you are leaving downstairs for example then take the other end and feed it in the cylinder (you can put a bit of copper in this end to stop it coiling up inside the cylinder) then go downstairs and remove the plug you had in the other end and the water you put in earlier will thunder out and start the syphoning process, :)
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You Can not Turn off the Water

Post by uppeprlumbers »

If you cannot turn off the water at the main stop tap, tie up the float arm in the cold water cistern to stop it filling, turn on all the taps (except the kitchen cold tap cold tap) and flush the WCs. You can then work on the problem pipe.

To work on the rising main, locate the outdoor stop tap. Use a stop tap key (~£9; available from plumber's merchants) to turn off the tap and cut off the mains supply to the house.

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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by peterwellsplumbing »

If you are buying new taps for yourself or a customer, find out if you system is sealed (combi or system with unvented hot water) or open vented. If open vented don't buy ceramic tap inserts. they should only be used with sealed systems, the 50 gallon tank in the loft can get dust etc in it, this then gets between the ceramic faces on a ceramic tap scratches it and makes it drip when turned off. open vented washers only. They never tell you this when you buy a tap.
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by Marcin »

If you are an ambitious DIYer attempting to solder all your copper joints, use propane instead of MAP.
MAP is for professionals, heats 15mm connectors way to quickly, burns flux after 20 seconds. After a number of failures (OK, all connections were tight, but also VERY ugly, I decided to switch to propane. Same water-tight results, no leaks after the tests and I achieved much better-looking joints.
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Re: TOP TIPS! What are your top tips that you CAN share?

Post by wine~o »

peterwellsplumbing wrote:If you are buying new taps for yourself or a customer, find out if you system is sealed (combi or system with unvented hot water) or open vented. If open vented don't buy ceramic tap inserts. they should only be used with sealed systems, the 50 gallon tank in the loft can get dust etc in it, this then gets between the ceramic faces on a ceramic tap scratches it and makes it drip when turned off. open vented washers only. They never tell you this when you buy a tap.
and the award for worst tip in the "top tips thread" goes to........peterwellsplumbing

I've never heard such guff. Your loft tank should have a lid on it, and dust isn't going to be an issue. Far more of a problem would be hard water and limescale causing a scratch on the ceramic disc.
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