Sod and Bob the Builder

[Rhyd6]

Sod's Law the mono tap in the bathroom refused to turn off yesterday. We have guests for the weekend so it was rather urgent and of course our local shops were shut. In our village we're lucky enough to have "Bob the Builder", he's been retired for about 10 years now but he possesses sheds stuffed to the gunnels with things that "might come in useful". OH rang him to see if he had a tap we could install until we could buy a new one, sure came the reply I'll drop it off on my way to the pub. He did drop it off but what he failed to mention was that it was still attached to a sink! Still it saved the day but only Bob

R6

ps. We made it to the pub in time to buy him a pint for his trouble, he doesn't want the sink back so if anyone can make use of a bathroon sink let me know!!

[monabri]

Have your plumber install these.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/full-bore-is ... 15mm/46860

[Rhyd6]

Thanks for the info Monabri. Unfortunately OH has had to do the plumbing because our regular plumber is having a weeks holiday at our caravan on Anglesey in lieu of some work he did for us. Don't think he'd have appreciated a call out Once our guests have departed we can go an look for a decent replacement tap and valve.

R6

[bungeejumper]

LOL, R6, at least your main stopcock worked when you needed it to. (I assume so, or you wouldn't have got this far. ) Not everybody is that lucky. And it'll work again when you come to fit the replacement tap (or, more likely, taps since you'll want a matching pair.)

Putting these isolation valves in for future use is a matter of convenience rather than urgency. Best current plumbery practice is to put one of these valves into the pipeline for every tap, every tank, every shower and every toilet, and in a few more places besides. They get much cheaper if you buy them in fives or tens, and they take maybe 15 minutes each to fit, and then you're all set for the 21st century. (Oh yeah, they need to be fitted the right way round or else they'll leak when they're closed. Are you with me so far?)

Then again, if you can solve the tap replacement issue by simply turning off the water at the stopcock when you need to, maybe you can save yourself the trouble and go down the pub instead?

BJ

[sg31]

Isolation valves save having to drain down when having to work on taps etc. I fit them as a matter of course whenever we move.

[bungeejumper]

Isolation valves save having to drain down when having to work on taps etc. I fit them as a matter of course whenever we move.

So do I. LOL, I fitted 16 of the perishers a couple of years ago. But actually this draining-down business (for the hot water taps) was never quite as troublesome as it was made out to be. Just close the cold water gate valve to the hot water tank, run off a gallon or two of hot water, and when the taps stop dripping (as they will), you're ready to rumble. Give or take the odd gurgle and splash as air bubbles in the system exchange places with H2O.

Cold water taps, OTOH, should of course stop running as soon as you shut the stopcock. We lived a long time without isolation valves before they became standard, and not many of us drowned.

BJ