goddess wrote:
About six weeks ago I had a new bath and shower fitted. The other day
the bath taps came loose and I am now able to lift the taps up and
twist them around!! This has caused leaking through to my kitchen
ceiling as water has being getting through. Tonight the plumber who
fitted the bathroom came back to have a look and said that both of the
plastic nuts seem to have broken (one of them into three pieces) and
says that it is our fault for buying taps from homebase and that the
taps he would've supplied would have come with metal nuts and this
wouldn't have happened!

I don't know is the answer, however; I have seen a few cracked plastic
backnuts, although they were all old. Never had a new one crack or split.
Brass backnuts shouldn't ever split or crack.

Homobase like all the other DIY sheds buy cheap crap, with poor quality
control from China & sell it at inflated prices.

I can only tell you what I would have done.

When installing a new bath & taps I would use a box spanner to tighten up
the backnuts before I installed the bath. Thus everything is done under
fairly controlled conditions with easy access. If the backnuts broke at
that stage it would have been obvious and I would have either have dug about
in the 'bits' box for some brass ones, or gone & got some.

I can't see why anyone would leave broken backnuts on a bath knowing for
sure that it would result in a non paying call back?

I argued with him but he wouldn't back down that two nuts wouldn't
just break of their own accord through me just using a tap as a tap!
He was having none of it and said that he would charge me £40 to
replace them!! It's a load of codswallop if you ask me! I think he
broke them when he put them on which resulted in him putting sealant
around the taps so that they would temporarily stay in place.

Its not uncommon to put sealant around the base of a tap to stop
movement/leaks.

Can anybody tell me whether plastic nuts are unreliable as he says
they are?? I find it hard to believe that they would just break
after only being used a few times!

Only used a few times in about 6 weeks? I understand you are miffed, but
please be realistic.

I've never had a plastic backnut split or crack when new. Thats not to say
it couldn't happen. If it happened it wouldn't make any sense for the
plumber to ignore it, he would almost certainly have substitute plastic or
spare brass backnuts knocking about in the bottom of his toolbox - I
certainly do - and too ignore it would lead to a call back.

I hate call backs, they are a right PITA, they disrupt job planning, make me
late for the pub & generally cost me money, so I avoid them like the plague.

So, don't know what happened, this advice is worth what you paid for it.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk