Fitting a bathroom suite
- Thread starter novis
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2scoops0406
Depends on what you call easy. To most DIY'ers, it can be pretty difficult !!
Not hard really if you can apply yourself - just time consuming if you work as well. Lots of DIY info to show you how to do each unit. Also depends if you are stripping out everything and replumbing everything, or just replacing unit by unit using existing pipework.
If you have lots of time, don't need to use the bathroom while water is off, can adapt or refit each connection then go for it - it does give you some sense of satisfaction.
Better to price up the whole job yourself first by finding the suite you want, add on all the pipework costs, any extra electrical costs, tilework estimates and then see how that compares to some quotes.
Daily papers show completely fitted bathrooms installed for varying amounts of thousands - look very nice - depends how much you want to spend and the final effect you are after.
Gone on a bit, but there is always more to it than how much 'they' charge.
If you have lots of time, don't need to use the bathroom while water is off, can adapt or refit each connection then go for it - it does give you some sense of satisfaction.
Better to price up the whole job yourself first by finding the suite you want, add on all the pipework costs, any extra electrical costs, tilework estimates and then see how that compares to some quotes.
Daily papers show completely fitted bathrooms installed for varying amounts of thousands - look very nice - depends how much you want to spend and the final effect you are after.
Gone on a bit, but there is always more to it than how much 'they' charge.
If you have some plumbing experience i. e. you can reroute pipework and can do leak free joints and also you have a free week to spend on it, then go ahead.
However if you have not done any plumbing you will regret your decision as I did 11 years ago when I first attempted plumbing. Leaks galore and to the untrained 1 leak can take hours to fix.
If you decide to have a go , you can always post on here if you get into any difficulty
However if you have not done any plumbing you will regret your decision as I did 11 years ago when I first attempted plumbing. Leaks galore and to the untrained 1 leak can take hours to fix.
If you decide to have a go , you can always post on here if you get into any difficulty
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remember the first close coupled cistern i did (years ago ) took me ages to assemble it
didnt leak tho
didnt leak tho
point is we all had to learn and still are
copper is a doddle try wiping lead
and before you ask yes i still can weather im allowed to or not
and before you ask yes i still can weather im allowed to or not
I actually bought some wiping tools and material from an old boy who was retiring (at 78). He offered to teach me to wipe a joint and I was well up for learning. At the merchants I merrily told them this would be the last lead-lock I would be buying, in future I would be installing one of those superb looking lead-copper wiped joints.
They took the wind right out of my sails and told me the water regulations prohibited wiped joints. I felt a prat that I had let the merchant tell ME the regs.
Can anyone confirm he was correct, I never bothered to check.
They took the wind right out of my sails and told me the water regulations prohibited wiped joints. I felt a prat that I had let the merchant tell ME the regs.
Can anyone confirm he was correct, I never bothered to check.
yes its right but you cant tell me a wiped joint is worse than a leadloc
POint is that the lead is exposed , without an oxide layer, to the water, so we all go mad with lead poisoning. I've not done any "science" on it but my instincts suggest that that's ******! There's another reg that says you shouldn't have any lead in the water supply AFTER a piece of copper, because the dissimilar metals business makes the lead go into solution, Hmm, really? I wonder what the quantities are!
Lead loc's are sort of OK when you've done a couple but has any one tried LeadLine's? I found they don't work if you do them up as per the instructions - the O ring splits every time, with or without lubricant. If you do it half up and then undo it a bit and get the O ring in the right place then do it up again, it's OK. And at least you can get them off if you need to, unlke lead-loc's.
Lead loc's are sort of OK when you've done a couple but has any one tried LeadLine's? I found they don't work if you do them up as per the instructions - the O ring splits every time, with or without lubricant. If you do it half up and then undo it a bit and get the O ring in the right place then do it up again, it's OK. And at least you can get them off if you need to, unlke lead-loc's.
I started off with compression fittings... got the first few wrong. Yes, I followed the logic that if something leaks you do it up tighter. Well, who said plumbing was logical
In a couple of difficult places I found that I really couldn't do compression any more than finger tight, so I used copper pushfit on those. I really wish I had done that throughout after that, would have solved a day or two of leak-fixing.
A mate of mine is doing his bathroom at the moment and is using solder ring fittings. I think he is brave, but I think he now regrets it as they were leaking last time I asked... I would suspect water in the pipes is causing it.
Plastic pipe is ok if you are going to box it in. It would look a bit saggy (especially hot) even when supported properly. It is easier to use, because you can put it in place and say "naah, take another 5mm off" and just snip it.
However, with a little care and attention copper can be installed very well, very neatly and with ease, even by a first timer. And I think if you use copper then you will gain more satisfaction when you stand back and see a row of several pipes all perfectly aligned and straight.
In a couple of difficult places I found that I really couldn't do compression any more than finger tight, so I used copper pushfit on those. I really wish I had done that throughout after that, would have solved a day or two of leak-fixing.
A mate of mine is doing his bathroom at the moment and is using solder ring fittings. I think he is brave, but I think he now regrets it as they were leaking last time I asked... I would suspect water in the pipes is causing it.
Plastic pipe is ok if you are going to box it in. It would look a bit saggy (especially hot) even when supported properly. It is easier to use, because you can put it in place and say "naah, take another 5mm off" and just snip it.
However, with a little care and attention copper can be installed very well, very neatly and with ease, even by a first timer. And I think if you use copper then you will gain more satisfaction when you stand back and see a row of several pipes all perfectly aligned and straight.
lead is ok just jumbles your short term memory
lead is ok just jumbles your short term memory
lead is ok but cant remember why
lead is ok just jumbles your short term memory
lead is ok but cant remember why
Just used my first push-fit connectors for my tap tails. Was hopeful, yet sceptical - what if they leak? - how would I tighten them?
However, I cut the existing pipe with a new-found ratchet pipe-cutter, cleaned the pipe (thumb over hole), pushed on the fitting, slight tug to ensure all ok, turned water on - and guess what?? - no leaks!! brilliant.
Mind you, I do like to know how things work - so how do they?
However, I cut the existing pipe with a new-found ratchet pipe-cutter, cleaned the pipe (thumb over hole), pushed on the fitting, slight tug to ensure all ok, turned water on - and guess what?? - no leaks!! brilliant.
Mind you, I do like to know how things work - so how do they?
Listening to you guys go on about lead pipes, I worked on Lab fitting years ago and we had a regular plumber working with us all the time working on fume cupboards and also the normal work plumbers do, but my point is he served his time on Liverpool corporation you know what I mean leaving school at fifteen working on the job and also tech college thrown in, I remember him saying to me that drainage, lead roof work and working with lead was all part of the job in the early sixties, he also told me that the plumbing that he wanted to try his hand at was Ships plumbing apparently completely different than the bog standard stuff, and I also remember when I was a little snotty in Lancashire that our back boiler started to leak and mi dad blamed me for being to heavy handed with the poker, anyway a local plumber came to our house and out came the fire place and the fire back to fit a new back boiler and it was all lead pipe work.
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