plumbing advice about taps/pipes...

[nicetrousers]

Hi, Im looking to replace my current taps on my bath with taps that have
an intergrated shower attachment. How difficult is it to replace taps? Ive
seen the taps I want but i'm not sure if id need to do indepth pipe
changes and use special bits and bobs. I've maybe nievely assumed that it
would be a case of screw them off / screw them on.

here is a photo of the underside of the taps;

[DLMURL]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb152/kenandlilysmum/bathpipes.jpg[/DLMURL]

any help is appreciated, thank you

 

[badbob]

Personally I'd avoid those shower/bath mixers and buy seperate units. Damn annoying you have to flick between bath and shower, and I find they wear out quickly. I just bought a bath mixer tap just for the bath, rather than combined bath/shower mixer. And will connect shower mixer to the pipes also, so both are active without flicking between each type. No more wet head when I just want to use the bath tap when it's on shower mode. Of course you'll need to buy a seperate shower mixer.

 

[nicetrousers]

ok badbob, thank you

 

[bigcheese]

It looks like you have a lot more room to work on those pipes than you would usually find behind a bath. You should quite easily get an adjustable spanner in there. You will need to isolate the water to them. You might be lucky and have isolation valves somewhere on the pipes. If not, it would depend what type of system you have as to how to isolate them. Do you have a combi or a system boiler (tank in loft & hot water cylinder?

 

[REDSAW]

hmm!.
my mates call me tapman, thats mr tapman mind you.
looks like a nice bodge on the back nuts there.

this tin bath set up looks quite spacious from the picture,
how long they take to replace is anyones guess.
the last ones i did took 4.5hrs to do, and yes i have done more than 2 before. (@least 3).

turn of water supply,
cut both pipes 10'' bellow tapthreads
undo nuts (brass ones)
undo black back nuts, remove taps
buy one 15mm to 3/4'' push-fit hose
one 22mm x 3/4'' push-fit hose
fit tap and back nuts
screw on hoses
push on pipes
turn water on.

 

[WaterTight]

are they different sizes then?
i thought it was a trick of perspective

 

[Bernie2]

Fairly easy job.

Turn off water obviously, drain down obvious again. Undo back nut a turn or two (The black plastic one) a bit of WD40 may help. Then the brass tap connector nut on top of the pipe.

Then take the back nut right off if you can ,on both taps. As you do this the "top hat" plastic washer should come away with it.

Then remove taps by lifting each one up and undoing the back nut if its not off already. Take out taps and throw away back nuts and top hat washers as well as old taps and any cushion washers on the bottom of the tap acting as a buffer between the tap and the enamel on the bath. Remove old fibre washer on tap adaptor. Replace with new.

Then get new 3/4" combined shower and bath tap unit. Place cushion washer on taps, and here is the fiddly bit, then get new top hat washers and back nuts ready. Feed the end of each stem through the bath and before they touch the brass tap connector place on top hat washer then back nut. Part screw them on, then lower tap stems onto tap connectors and hand tighten the tap connector brass nuts onto the stems. Then tighten tap back nut and top hat washer. Then tighten tap connector brass back nut checking that the shower unit is central over the tap hole in the bath and that the cushion washer is properly in place.

The idea being that you will have little or no movement in the pipework, so you have to feed the shower down onto the pipe from the top.

Long explanation I know but fairly easy to do. You may need a crowsfoot spanner as well

 

[obseen16]

is it me or does it look like the hot n cold are the other way around on that pic? i.e Cold on the left Hot on the right,

 

[Mushybees]

I think it's you
Looks like two 15mm pipes to me.

 

[david williams]

one 15 one 22 ,maybe 15 cold main 22 hot,wrong way round. if cold main is 22 off cold water cistern in loft,if so shower mixer will run cold as main pushes low presure hot back to cylinder

 

[Bernie2]

Your right, it does look like it could possibly be 15mm and 22mm but you can't be sure as camera perspective may give a wrong impression.

Anyway if it is the cold is on the left in the bath.

And yes if its cold mains water its a completely different job and requires an nrv on the main. Also a bi flow mixer.

 

[Puddle]

You are right Bernie,it only looks smaller due to camera perspective,on closer inspection they are both are 22mm
But as David says,pressures should be checked,do not want to go to all that work and expence,then find waste of time