Plumbing..

 

Plastic Pipe. Water Supply. Tanks. Hot Water cylinder. Ducks. Sewerage.

Showers. Removal of the bath may be regretted. Regular baths may be part of the treatment regime advised by a doctor or surgeon. Room size 2020  x 1440  A Shires1500 studio bath fitted across the bathroom is certainly preferable to having no bath at all. The 525 x 460 Avoca basin sits nicely with the 900 x 760 offset quadrant shower. For ease of access a shower tray should sit directly on the floor even if there is difficulty routing the waste. This waste was boxed-in just below the ceiling of the room below. Raising a tray or excessive cuttingof joists should certainly be avoided. Extract or Ventilation. Avoiding mould and fungus growth. Extract fans will not function properly unless make-up air can enter bathroom cloak room or kitchen. I ensure there is a gap under the door for make-up air to enter the space concerned. Ideally some fresh feed air should be able to enter the ground floor hallway where it mixes and warms and naturally rises up the stairs, goes under the bathroom door to push its way up and out through the extract fan vent or window. Just leave a lower hallway fanlight open, the bathroom door ajar and see the vast improvement in extract performance. You will be delighted, that is unless a burglar enters via the open window while you're in the shower.

The Fernox Battle against legionnaires disease. Fernox LP Sterox is a new non hazardous water treatment biocide used to clean and disinfect water systems and appliances.  It is unique in providing a very wide spectrum of biocidal activity and will effectively treat all water borne bacteria and viruses.  (If used properly) Taking all necessary precautions I thoroughly clean water storage tanks prior to application of this product. I have certainly found LP Sterox useful for treating systems in busy commercial premises. Such a system is best left treated over a weekend.

LP Sterox is particularly valuable in modern water system hygiene management where more conventional treatments such as chlorination may be unsuitable. Fernox state that "One Litre will treat a 300 litre system during normal use. Or a 400 Litre system if left for 24 hrs after application. Both hot and cold concentrations confirmed to be 100 ppm minimum. I of course also insert a test strip into a static water sample for a couple of seconds. With LP Sterox hours of flushing is no longer necessary. Systems in continually occupied buildings can now be treated with less interruption to services.

Leaky showers?

This shower trap would appear to have been fractured upon installation.  It was connected to a poorly aligned waste pipe.  A short section with a slight bend at the trap end solved the problem.  Alternatively  a 90 deg bend fitted directly on the trap allows connection to a pipe with any degree of fall. Note A boxed in shower pipe running along a kitchen wall at high level is certainly preferable to cutting large chunk out of joists !

 

Fitting a new lift washer or syphon in a cistern?
Note. W/C pans do not flush properly if bits of old polythene washer are left
wedged inside the pans main flushing orifice. Don't say I told you.

It's Faulty but none of this washer is missing.

If the flush from the rim of the pan is uneven I vacum for any bits of washer. This may not be the first syphon washer replacement.

Washer bits may be found only   after a poor flushing close coupled suite has been dismantled a few times. Or you may learn to accept a partialy flushed bowl. A powerful vacum cleaner may do the job. This stuff may be obvious  to most DIY enthusiasts but not to some busy plumbers. Your plumber will appreciate a reminder.Well he might?

Replacement of a dual flush mechanism is far simpler if an identical part is available.

Replacement of the major part  was done without having to disconnect the cistern.  I turned off the supply and disconnected the dual flush button. Lifted the centre section to flush it. I gripped the valve body and twisted it a little to remove it. The new one was put in and locked into position. Clockwise- Anticlockwise ? I shall not say as the two latest mechanisms differ. Check with a small mirror if  necessary to confirm.

You can just see one of the retaining lugs on the base part.

Faulty one removed. The inner cable was kinked. The cistern lid should not be left suspended by the cable.

Lid was replaced ensuring that an easy radius cable is maintained. Shires (Ireland) were help-full and handled my enquiry promptly. Ask for a spare with your new cistern as it must be identical.

 

Fitting Appliances. A competent Installer will be alert for any changes in unpacking and installation requirements. Tea and biscuits at an appropriate moment will encourage perusal of a manufacturers installation handbook before the serious work proceeds. Study the manufacturers care instructions before cleaning filter. Ensure programme cycle is finished and machine is empty. Note the drip tray. The non availability of hot and cold fill machines may result in more water damage claims to insurers. When fitting a cold only machine do remove any unwanted hot supply copper pipe-work. Dead legs can breed bacteria, corrode and readily perforate.

Designers are going to great lengths to ensure that washing machine  filters are easily and regularly cleaned. The highest point of a discharge hose is usually below the level of the top of the soap tray. In event of valve failure this allows excess water to flow into the waste. As long as the door is closed of course.. The hose clip if fixed to the wall will prevent the hose jumping out of the standing waste pipe.

A plumber may also decide to fit  a trap at the base of a standing waste. Especially if it is connected directly to the below ground drainage. A Hepworth waterless trap should not freeze if used externally. and it may keep mice out of you dishwasher waste. Available in good plumbers merchants. Some people have reported their un-rinsed plates in the dish-washer becoming inexplicably squeaky clean?

Have a torch and batteries available for emergencies
It may be wise to isolate the electrics before crawling into a confined wetted roof space to trace a leak source.
These days the roof space may contain wiring for pumps, instant shower pull switches and even recessed light fittings with transformers.

Plastic pipe

Insert's missing and looks like a rat cut this pipe. I sometimes find inserts missing from the plastic pipes in fitted kitchens that have cost thousands of euro. If you are concerned ask a real plumber to examine the system.

If I were an insurance claims manager I would send a competent plumber back to find all those joints that nearly burst during past freezing incidents. You can see exactly how far the pipe has been pushed out of the  fitting. See the feint white mark around the pipe.

The joint  was carefully dismantled.  Note the ring is almost off the pipe. It was in a roof space. In awkward spot 3ft away from a bust that had destroyed the house during a Christmas holiday four years previously.

Water supply inexplicably reduced. If an old stop-cock has been recently used it is quite possible for a swollen washer to remain seized in the closed position, but allowing a much reduced supply through the small centre hole. This is why an experienced plumber prefers to leave a stop-cock slightly open with water trickling from the lowest point while replacing a ball valve at a higher level. A combination of sediment and bacterial slime  (possibly iron) was found severely reducing the  flow in some  1/2 in below ground plastic water supply pipes. Sediment deposition alone could not constrict such a small pipe carrying water at a reasonable velocity. It is possibly  due to overheating of  the supply pipe where it rises to enter the property.  Occurrences have been in un-shaded black tarmac driveways. Continental high pressure type taps or blocked tap aerators may not may not allow sufficient flow for the incoming main to be self cleansing. Once iron sediment is deposited in a pipe an iron bacterial slime may develop further restricting the flow.  Some sediment may be purged from the below ground water service pipe-work when the full flow garden tap is opened. Ageing lead water services may be affecting  both quality and pressure of drinking water  at the kitchen tap. All metal service pipes that are breaking down should be replaced.    New trenchless technology  enables us to replace your old water service pipe with minimum disturbance to the driveway or garden. Supply reduced at new kitchen taps? Inappropriate use of a high pressure continental type mixer tap will not always explain poor water supply at the new kitchen sink. The type of additional isolating valve used also matters greatly. Which one would you choose?

Manufacturers can get it wrong. Beware the stop-cock that has been cast with the core inserted the wrong way round. In other words the arrow points the wrong way.....You can spend some _time wondering why the supply is not restored after turning it on. I was taught to make sure that the loose jumper and washer could be lifted by  blowing through it in the flow direction before fitting Hopefully there aren't to many around. Perhaps the manufacturer can see this pic more clearly than the one I emailed to him. Drinking Water. Apartments. Ideally each separate dwelling unit should have one tap that delivers clean drinking water directly from the rising main. During warm weather all drinking water  in your building, being piped directly from below ground, will be similarly cool when run for a while.  Any water that is warmer may be from a tank. This can be confirmed by a plumber.             -------------------------------- Which one will allow the best flow ? The difference is obvious.

Drinking water from a contaminated tank? A contaminated tank begins to re-fill as soon as cold  water was drawn from the kitchen mixer. The tank was uncovered when the roof was sprayed with insulation some time ago.   The solution The original incoming supply was traced and clamped

Do you have a beautiful new kitchen in a new location. Perhaps in a converted bedroom some considerable distance from the rising main in the original kitchen. Thankfully this is not a common find. Is it? A plumber would certainly not simply connect the cold water to the  nearest pipe-work without confirming  the source.                   An accessible stop-cock was fitted and         drinking water piped to the kitchen mixer.         Time to put the kettle on.!         The tank was cleaned and a dust cover added of course.

  Water storage tanks.

While up in the roof space retrieving the suit cases for that long holiday, 
observe for a moment your water storage tank, especially if an old galvanized steel one. 

Do not poke at it until the tank is drained out..

The holes may be larger than expected..

Unsupported pipe-work can cause distortion of the side wall of a  plastic water storage tank. Eventually the tank connector can simply pop out or tear the side wall of the tank. This more likely with the recently made connectors that have smaller flanges. Do you have a tank connection like this?

It is preferable that plastic tanks sit on a supported flat plywood base at least 22mm thick.

( I suggest plywood as it may hold up longer if wetted.) Roofs can leak.?

The noticeable sag at the end of this tank may increase a little as each summer passes.

Poorly supported plastic storage tanks, warping and spilling contents are  not  an 
uncommon emergency call out job for the plumber. ( Especially when the tank
sits unused for some days in a very hot roof space, Like during your vacation)

Spewed washers A plumber may have not noticed the reduced flange size of some tank connectors.  And some fittings are over-tightened. There are lots of tank connections like this all over Dublin just waiting to be disturbed by the unwary plumber. Especially difficult to address in apartment blocks where cost of maintenance is shared by many.   I use only one washer externally. Your plumber will have an opinion.   Never never use two plug-tops on the  same flex as part of an extension lead.  Live plug-top found  in the dishwasher  opening  by the cautious  house purchaser.

Does your plumber use two washers to fit a tank connector?             The left hand smaller flange may not retain the inner washer. Ask you plumber to check for spewed plastic washers  inside the water tank. They can result in severe leakage. Manufacturers please take note. So much risk of water damage for so little brass? Your plumber may decide to apply PTFE tape alone with precision on the mating surface of the flange and thread,  using a washer behind the nut on the outside wall of the tank. Pulling it fairly taught your plumber may find he can get cover from the flange edge to the thread. Loose and Broken slates.  I prefer to drill and screw when assembling and fixing a tank stand in the roof  space of older slated property. This has been made easier in recent years. Long Philips wood screws and powerful battery drills and drivers are now available. Any nailing is usually done on the ground and  it is taken into the roof space in sections.

 

Steam from the cylinder vent mushed the chipboard tank cover.   Measuring elements to earth leakage.  The electrician will check out the earth leakage protection.

Clearing mush from tank. Note connections plugged.   The faulty dual immersion heater element was working to earth so by-passing the thermostat.  Luckily it was on a timer. Such uncontrolled heat generation is possible  when a single thermostat is switching the  common neutral from faulty elements. The latest dual immersion heaters have two thermostats. One for each element. The client should see a much reduced electric bill.

 

Tank overflow warning pipes. I have come across storage tanks with no overflow warning pipe. It is to be found connected to the same tank as the ball valve but at a lower level. ( Approx 2ins lower ) This is to ensure that in the event of ball valve failure, excess water will discharge from the overflow pipe before reaching the body of the ball valve. This eliminates the risk of back siphonage and contamination of the drinking water.

I have found the odd extra tank tacked on for additional volume with no active draw off connection. These can tend to become unhealthy as roof space temperature rises. Ask your plumber to ensure that there is a healthy flow through all tanks when water is drawn off. Additional tank links at a higher level will enable water temperature to equalize through all tanks. Insulating a storage tank will help prevent water getting to hot in the summer ( freezing in winter) It is most important that the supply to a shower be from a clean healthy source.

Bacteria will multiply quite quickly in warm static water. It is safer to clean your teeth with drinking water.

Running out of water in the  bathroom lately? I often find that cleaning / replacement of the ball valve will solve the problem. If the mains water pressure is reasonable  then fitting an equilibrium ball valve  increases the fill rate substantially.  It is more expensive than an  ordinary one but well worth it  and cheaper than an extra tank. If you have a plastic tank is it properly supported over the entire base area??

Would you clean your teeth with this smelly water?  No it's not a fish with a claw. It's a submerged sparrow. Ensure that your tank has a proper dust cover.

Cooler contaminated water may not smell as bad so a visual check is the only way.

left - a bird soup in a  plastic storage tank. That's why I clean tanks with a large diameter suction hose. Do allow for such essential works when spending on the latest pumped, high  pressure body jets.

HOT WATER STORAGE CYLINDER.

This blown cylinder is to have a new bottom brazed on.

This cylinder was lifted up when its base was blown out. This was caused by the feed and open vent pipe freezing in the roof space. Fortunately it did not burst nor was a low level hot tap turned on at the time which would have caused it to collapse. A lucky escape for the householder. Lagging pipes alone may not be sufficient  to prevent them freezing if they are above the main attic insulation. Sometimes the trap door may need to be left partially open. Or a controlled frost protection heater can be used.

Immersions Ensure that linen cannot be heaped around the Immersion heater cap, wiring or switch. If there are signs of overheating or scorching ask your electrician to replace wiring and switch and consider relocation of the switch. Boiling hot water from the hot water taps is usually an indication of a faulty immersion heater thermostat. Domestic Hot water Pitching. Also warm or hot water emitting from cold taps  is a sign that the highest point of the cylinder open vent may be to low causing hot water to  pitch into the cold water storage tank, The open vent may be sagging to dip into the water allowing circulation.  Under these circumstances a plastic tank may fail. especially if poorly supported.

W/C Cistern Overflows.

I called to a recently built house and found that all three W/C Cisterns had high external overflow type syphons
 but no discharge pipe through the external wall. Hence, ball valve failure would have pitched water onto the floor.

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I am sorry that I cannot advise you to hold your ball valve float down to check for proper overflow discharge provision as the water level rises  because I'd get a lot of solicitors' letters about expensive bathroom carpets. Of course some cisterns have lower internal overflow type syphons  that allow discharge via the pan. Following  substantial water damage the ball valve may be fixed but still no overflow pipe fitted.    Note  the overflow hole  in the side of the cistern.

High type syphon requires overflow  warning pipe to be fitted.

Top Tip!

A hangingduck may costs very little. But a stuck duck costs a lot especially if it defies the plumbers extraction tools.

It may be stuck in a valuable period pan. The new Snake may have the answer.

It costs very little to fit. Up to €140 to remove.   Well! there is the cost of this simple extraction tool. You can also hang your coat on it. Well you could have

Local flooding in the Dublin area..

Sewerage.(The Sewer Gas Interceptor) Is your property near a petrol filling station or accident blackspot? Some local authorities have decided not to use them They don´t pass empty bottles or cans easily.    Broads Trap Manhole with white Glazed channel. Roding eye bung is missing. so sewer rats can get  into local drainage without wetting their little paws. They may sit here and listen for the welcome hum of the waste food disposal unit.

The warmer air rising within buildings can pull in vapoursor gases if the roding eye is not re-sealed. Roadway fuel spillage or leaking mains gas can enter both surface water and sewer networks. Ensure that the roding eye is made gas tight with a plug and mastic or similar. The immediate drainage around a property should be ventilated and all connections to it trapped in any event. Such items left undisturbed in the merchants for some months is an early sign of a down-turn in the housing sector. (left) The part of the gas interceptor trap that you can see when you look into a manhole to see where the smell's  coming from. The roding eye plug's probably not there because there was no suitable sealant to hold it in place Or it was removed to provide an alternative outlet if the trap gets blocked with grease from a food waste disposal unit. Macerator. The grease solidifies when it hits the colder  water in the broads trap. Sewers were designed and built to convey human waste.  Not unwanted curries and bent spoons.  The use of these devices will certainly,  increase the risk of grease blockages,  waste water and boost any rat population  in your drainage. Fortunately many local authorities have  banned the use of food waste disposal units. The Greater Dublin Regional Code of Practice  for Drainage Works.  Chapter 18.4 “The use of, under sink food macerators/food grinders for processing and discharging waste food to the drainage system are prohibited” In Dublin Use the Brown bin During a long dry spell the water seal in surface water gullies may be topped up to compensate for evaporation.

A common find in the Dublin area... Drain blockages and local flooding can be caused  by failure of  contractors to remove debris and  shuttering from construction works. Rotted timbers will continue to collapse into drains for many years to come. Property managers and insurers ignore such  simple advice at great cost to all.  You see them in the  papers  wading  around  in hard hats and wellies trying to look surprised  Do not walk in floodwater without a rod, stick or brush handle to check for safe ground. There may be an open manhole ahead of you. Manhole covers do get displaced during flooding and  the water is rarely clear. Children playing in flood-water are in danger of disappearing  into an open manhole. Just like a three year old who was fortunately rescued by her quick thinking father after she was spewed out into the nearby river. Other parents may not be so lucky.. It surprises me when I see the experts wading around without checking the ground on sky-news reports from England / Wales. and more recently in the Shannon, Cork and Galway.

Also worth noting in recent  developments are access junctions with un-used  channel branches. These will quickly cause blockages especially if running contrary to the main channel flow. We dressed them with  quick setting cement until the builder returns to site. Like never?

This small gulley-trap scoop is available from D.I.Y. stores. Hardened builders mortar left in the bottom of gulley-traps will cause restriction and frequent blockages. It may take some time to carefully remove such deposits

Structural cracks Waste pipe discharge may be seen entering  a gap between the top of a  gulley trap and the concrete surround. In dry conditions continuous wetting of one particular area below ground could lead to un-even clay shrinkage and building  settlement cracks.   Note.. Pipes or ducts filled with water will not try to float upwards when concrete is poured around them. Another good reason for properly  supporting plugging and testing.

Beware. Hidden or discarded Drugs Users Implements. Beware of hidden needles when clearing around or shutting off stopcocks in pavements. Use hand tools especially when clearing gutters or gulley traps.

Some clients do not advise that a  blocked waste contains chemicals from previous attempts to clear it. I use Rubber gloves when clearing or dismantling at all times... Eye protection also may be needed especially in a confined space.

Trenchless technology? Is there something in the latest gas pipe material to make it distaste-full to the sewer rat. This gas service has been moled through a drainage pipe. Entry from a gulley branch can be seen on the left. The depth of the drainage pipes cannot be established if access covers are buried under tarmac or cobblelock  The covers were found with a metal detector,  the gas was re-routed and the pipe replaced Rocks in soft ground can deflect a moling tool. Is there something in the gas pipe material to make it distasteful to the sewer rat if he stumbles upon it ?  The drains have backed up and the rods refuse to travel beyond the position of a recent excavation. It is reasonable to assume that you may  have a damaged pipe.

Damaged pieces would appear to have been removed from within the surrounding concrete. Ideally all damaged pipes would be reported and properly repaired or replaced before a sewerage back up occurs. Bord Gais sub contractors have so far promptly returned to rectify the damage as shown in the two photographs here. A reminder that blocked drainage should be cleared with care. Root cutting tools should not be used in drains without visual confirmation that it is roots and not a gas pipe.

My suspicions were aroused?

This Sycamore sapling is thriving in a very dry plant box near the drains?

Keep plants away from loose manhole covers.

 

A Mixer mounted on the far side of a bath may present a danger to the small child that wishes to play with it. Side mounted taps can be recessed on the near edge of a bath. OK you may wish to fix a hand spray bracket to the far wall but is it really worth the risk?

Found recently in an important church building. The necessary low water level may have been interpreted as tanks no longer in use

Beware! If you are having a building  re-roofed ensure that overflow pipes are left in place. This large expansion tank  overflow and copper weathering  slate would appear to have been  pushed down into the roof space and slated over. Ball valve failure would have  caused substantial water damage.

 

Heating. Corrosion. Black-Museum. Home.