Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Keep a 40mm to 43mm (1.5" solvent weld pipe size) adaptor in your van for when you are fitting a waste trap from our continental friends! They come 40mm OD and our UK pipe doesn't fit!! I can tell you where to buy them, Sanifix on 0845 450 1940 or 01902 636095

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Don't lick your finger before smoothing silicone! It adds bacteria into the silicone and relicking your finger puts silicone in your mouth and it's NOT good for you!!

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

ALWAYS use the correct cutter and not a hacksaw when cutting JG Speedfit or Hep20 etc. O rings can get damaged otherwise....

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

I don't sell it, stock it, work for them or have anything to gain but try out Everbuild Styxall, especially the crystal clear one! I use it all the time for applications where you need to seal in a shower screen and test it immediately.

 

[dontknowitall]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Black marks on glass - lighter fuel and WD40 are useful weapons.

Also WD40 (with kitchen roll) makes many scratches on your car/van disappear and it also clears those annoying tar spots that find their way around the wheel arches and up the doors. (Wash off with car shampoo after using WD40.)

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

WD40 is good for loads of things. I polish out black marks and improve scratches if not deep using T-Cut and mix in some talcum powder or jeweller's rouge for extra cutting action. Mix just water with them too. You have to rub really really hard and be patient but it can save a costly piece of glass.

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Only hand tighten basin mixer flexible hoses. Never allow any twisting of the braiding and be careful not to bend them more than 30 degrees - read the installation instructions to double check. I've known manufacturers of the hose to invalidate the warranty when a hose has failed.

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Get a pop-up waste mechanism working smoothly by making sure the horizontal and vertical bars actually touch before fitting the connecting joint. You will probably have to carefully bend the horizontal bar when in place to do this - never bend it near a threaded connection though.

 

[mikejthomas]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

If you are fitting a waste to an acrylic bath and the layer of fibreglass to acrylic is not sealed to draining water (OR overflowing water) then seal it in with a little silicone (there are loads of tiny holes that can allow water to drain into the sandwich layer of some bath shells and materialise as mysterious leaks on the outside of the fibreglass....). Some wastes come with double seals to encapsulate this area for a good reason!

 

[Guest123]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

When using a flexi bath overflow tube for a combined waste and overflow that is going to be way out of reach, say on a double ended bath and in the centre of the bath at the back wall, for extra security, fix it with a jubilee clip. Never comes off and gives peace of mind.