In article , Kevin
Murphy writes
I have some Grohe jets and a shower arm to fit. The drawings which
come with them indicate that they should be screwed directly into a
pipe-end embedded in the wall. There are no written instructions.
Could anybody give me advice on this?

The ones I have (and haven't yet fitted either!) are 1/2" BSP (Brit.
Std. Pipe Thread) So is the shower arm, the mixer tap, the divertor
valve and the other fittings. The Grohe jets even have a PTFE seal
built-in, so no sealing is necessary.

To use, go down to your local plumbers' merchant and look at a selection
of BRASS, female BSP fittings - elbows and straight. You can get them
with flanges to take screws (per standpipe-type outdoor taps) or
without, and compression fittings or 15mm solder couplings on the other
end. Use whichever suits the application, but remember that well made
joints in the wall are paramount. You'll be tiling over/around them, so
repairing leaks is a horrid job. For the nicest finish IMHO (YMMV), set
the female fitting so that the rim just breaks the surface of the tile
line by 1mm or so. It'll be covered by the surround for the fitting (if
the shower head's pipe didn't come with one, it should have done), but
being slightly proud of the surface helps stop grout, etc. getting stuck
in the thread when you're finishing off the tiling.

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(there are limits to ASCII art!)

When you fit the shower head, wrap the pipe _lots_ with PTFE tape (also
from PM) in an anti-clockwise direction, as you look at it from the
wall's perspective - so that the tape stays in place whilst you wind the
pipe into the 1/2" socket. As I said, if you have the same Grohe squirty
bits as I bought, PTFE ought to be unnecessary for them.

One final point, pipe thread of most sizes is available in two forms -
tapered and straight (parallel sided). I think you want straight for
this application - IIRC tapered is usually for cast iron conduit and gas
work. Check with the PM - it's what they're there for. If they don't
know or are snooty, find another one!


Regards,

Simonm.

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SIMON MUIR, UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY, BRISTOL www.ukip.org
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