In article ,
Jonathan George wrote:
I'm about to embark on an attempt to refit my bathroom. I'm happy
doing the plumbing myself, but I'd quite like a bit of reassurance
that my plan will work!

I'm about to do the same!

There is currently a bath, basin and toilet. I'm going to turn the
bath round, and possibly change the wall the basin backs on to
(although it will stay in the same corner, so this shouldn't be a
major job). The toilet isn't going to move. I'm also planning on
adding a power shower.

Hey - You are not secretly employed by my SWIMBO are you? Thats exactly
what I'm about to do!

I don't have to worry about replacing the
toilet, as I'm having my soil stack completely replaced and the guy
who's doing that is going to put the new loo in at the same time.

Not having a new soil stack, but installing a new crapper though.

The basin and bath both have mixer taps (monobloc for the basin), and
all cold water is fed from the rising main. Apparently this is against
building regs or something similar, as there are no double check
valves or similar. Is this correct?

My toilet cistern is fed from the mains and all else comes into the
bathroom on 22mm pipes (15mm Teed off to the sink) I have *no* check
valves anywhere in the house (apart from the kitchen which I replumbed
last year) So I'm going to have to drain the entire system at least once
in the process of re-doing it all )-: I've also got to turn a radiator
into a towel rail which will entail draning the CH system... Good job
we're having such a nice hot summer...

I've got a cold water cistern in the loft and a hot water tank in the
airing cupboard, next to the bathroom. Assuming the previous paragraph
is correct on the cold water front, I was planning on taking a branch
from the cold water feed to the hot water tank and using this to
supply cold water to the bath and basin taps, leaving the toilet on
the rising main. The shower installation instructions say that I
should have a separate 15mm feed from the cold water cistern to the
shower, and a 15mm feed from the hot water tank taken off below the
join to the vent pipe and before any other draws. All sound ok?

Everything I've read and been told suggests that taking a separate feed
off the cold water tank and a separate feed out of the hot water tank
(via Essex Flange) is the way to do it rather than T into the existing
pipes. This is what I'll be doing. The pump I've ordered has 15mm
connectors, but the run to the bathroom (2 rooms away from the tanks)
is 22m. I don't see this as being a real problem and theres no-way I'm
going to lift 2 rooms worth of pipes to change it...

The exising wastes are metal and from measuring the diameter appear to
be 1.25" for the basin and 1.5" for the bath. I'm therefore assuming
that if I can cut them off square with a hacksaw (which could be
easier said than done, as they are right against the wall, I can use
standard 32mm and 40mm pushfit connectors to join them onto new
plastic pipes and then use solvent weld/more pushfit depending on how
confident I'm feeling. Does this sound ok? And if so, is it necessary
to strip the paint off the old wastes before I do it?

I'm all plastic as far as waste is concerned... Angle grinder might be
eaier to cut the pipes with... I used pushfit in the kitchen stuff and
it's worked a charm.

What's the best way to strip old paint off pipework, especially if
access is limited (why anyone would paint pipework that's right at the
back of the airing cupboard, I have no idea).

Steel wool & elbow grease...

Hopefully that all makes sense. All help greatfully received!

Hope it all goes well for you!

We've already spent too much on bits & pieces, (and blew the budget
on a fizzy bubly bath thing), but what the heck, it'll last us many
years hopefully.

Gordon