Adventures in plumbing
Nov. 11th, 2006 04:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swehA few weeks ago I noticed my bathroom sink was leaking. Drip drip drip... while water was in the basin and the plug was in. I checked underneath and yes, the U-trap was damp underneath and water was leaking from around the plug hole. My guess was that the drain flange had moved and this had caused the old old putty to crack and start leaking.
So I get some new plumbers putty, pull the drain apart (not so easy; this stuff doesn't look it's been touched for 20 years) and manage to remove the drain flange. Yeah the putty there was pretty disgusting and wet. Clean up, apply new putty, put drain back together. Tighten. And tighten. Drip. Drip. Yuck, it's dripping a little through the thread. That's OK, I can get some tape or gunk that fixes that; no problem. But, hang on... the tap is also leaking? What? Check above; yeah so water does pool around the bottom of the tap. I'd noticed it before but hadn't put 2 and 2 together and realised that this meant the tap was leaking inside and so causing water to pool underneath. Doh.
So today I get a new tap. Oh, and this came with a new drain assembly. That's neat. Except I now need to remove the old drain flange. Which I had just fixed with new putty the week before. Joy. Hammer and chisel and effort and I get the old flange out and chip away most of the putty. Put the new tap in... and the pipes from the inlet valves to the tap are too small. Off we go and get new longer flexible pipes. OK! Put it all together... and now the U-tube is 1/8" too low; it won't fit into the outlet pipe! Well, it almost does. The threads just touch, so with a little force I manage to join it all together.
Close the plug, turn on the water, check... no leaks. Turn on the hot water.. OK.. cold water.. OK. No leaks. Open the plug... water goes out.... crap. Water floods out of the connector between the U-tube and hte outlet.
Disconnect the U tube and now the outlet pipe is moving slightly as well. And... yes, the rubbery seal (not sure if it was putty or caulk or something else) around that pipe cracks and falls off. Gruh. OK, so I take a hacksaw to the plug drain pipe and cut off 1/4". Now the U-tube fits nicely and I don't see any leaks. I guess I should apply new sealant around the outlet pipe just to be safe.
But I think I now have a leak-free sink!
So I get some new plumbers putty, pull the drain apart (not so easy; this stuff doesn't look it's been touched for 20 years) and manage to remove the drain flange. Yeah the putty there was pretty disgusting and wet. Clean up, apply new putty, put drain back together. Tighten. And tighten. Drip. Drip. Yuck, it's dripping a little through the thread. That's OK, I can get some tape or gunk that fixes that; no problem. But, hang on... the tap is also leaking? What? Check above; yeah so water does pool around the bottom of the tap. I'd noticed it before but hadn't put 2 and 2 together and realised that this meant the tap was leaking inside and so causing water to pool underneath. Doh.
So today I get a new tap. Oh, and this came with a new drain assembly. That's neat. Except I now need to remove the old drain flange. Which I had just fixed with new putty the week before. Joy. Hammer and chisel and effort and I get the old flange out and chip away most of the putty. Put the new tap in... and the pipes from the inlet valves to the tap are too small. Off we go and get new longer flexible pipes. OK! Put it all together... and now the U-tube is 1/8" too low; it won't fit into the outlet pipe! Well, it almost does. The threads just touch, so with a little force I manage to join it all together.
Close the plug, turn on the water, check... no leaks. Turn on the hot water.. OK.. cold water.. OK. No leaks. Open the plug... water goes out.... crap. Water floods out of the connector between the U-tube and hte outlet.
Disconnect the U tube and now the outlet pipe is moving slightly as well. And... yes, the rubbery seal (not sure if it was putty or caulk or something else) around that pipe cracks and falls off. Gruh. OK, so I take a hacksaw to the plug drain pipe and cut off 1/4". Now the U-tube fits nicely and I don't see any leaks. I guess I should apply new sealant around the outlet pipe just to be safe.
But I think I now have a leak-free sink!
