On 15/11/2012 21:24, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , The Other Mike
writes
On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:42:42 +0000, stuart noble

wrote:

The spout on our kitchen mixer tap has always been a bit stiff so I
thought I'd take it off and have a look. Problem is, the grub screw at
the back is too close to the tiles to get any sort of screwdriver in
there. I had thought I could hold a bit in a pair of mole grips, but
even that's too long. The gap I have is around 23mm. An allen key with a
phillips/pozi head might fit, but is there such a thing? I'm sure
plumbers must have encountered this problem.
Cheers for any advice

23mm is not a lot to play with, I have an Xcelite right angled ratchet
screwdriver, but even that might struggle with so little clearance (it
was a
*very* silly price from Farnell a few years back but was the only way
to do one
particular job and someone else was picking up the bill)

It's similar to this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MINI-RT-RIGH...EWDRIVER-TOOL-
SET-/280392063150

If the tap is on flexies then just remove the nut and use a normal
screwdriver

Alternatively use a core drill from the outside and then use a long
screwdriver,
refit core and bodge with silicone sealant and gaffer tape.

To avoid this problem, I on a couple of occasions I've made sure that I
fitted the tap 'the wrong way round', so that the grub-screw was at the
front (and adjusted the handles to suit). Of course, if you do have to
remove the spout (say to replace the O-ring), to forestall the
inevitable departure and loss of the grub-screw, make sure that the plug
is in the plug-hole.

Wow, that's what you call forward thinking!