In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
John Smith wrote:

Hi,

I have changed the washer on two old - very old - taps in my house,
(I think the taps are about 40 years old), and they are still leaking
after having replaced the 1/2 inch washers.

To be frank, I am not certain is the half inch washer is the right
size as each tap looks as if it could do with a slightly bigger
washer - anyone know if older taps used to have 'bigger' size washers
and, if so, where can I lay my hands on replacements today?

Anyhow, after replacing the washers the taps are still dripping and
so my options appear to be:

1) Buy a hand grinder and grind down the seat. I have never done this
before, have no idea how difficult it is and whether it works or not?

2) Replace the taps altogether. I have never done this before and I
have put off doing it as the copper pipes leading to the taps look
old, are in a difficult place, etc, etc, but it is something I have
been thinking about doing/learning so... If I go down this route what
things should I be wary of and what new whizz bang products are
available in terms of fittings there days - i.e. should I consider
those flexible pipes that fit on taps, push-fit fittings, etc?

Any thoughts, advice on the above would be of use,

Thanks,


John.

A lot of hardware shops sell a range of washer sizes. Take the innards of
one of your taps with you, to get some washers which fit.

If this still doesn't stop the drips, re-cutting the seats is the next step.
This can only be done a certain number of times - and may or may not be
possible, depending on whether they've been done previously. Cut as little
off as possible - consistent with getting a flat, unpitted, surface on the
seat.

If that doesn't work either, it's new taps. If you get taps which are
broadly similar to the existing ones, you'll probably find that the existing
pipes fit straight onto the new taps without requiring any modifications.
However, getting 40-year taps off without breaking the basins or whatever to
which they're attached may present a bit of a challenge!

If you *do* need to modify the pipework, you could use flexible braided tap
connectors (Screwfix D18417 or similar) to connect to the tap itself - and
shorten the original pipe to suit the braided hose. *Don't* use pushfit
fittings - because they are designed for metric pipe sizes and your pipes
are almost certainly imperial. In addition, you probably won't be able to
clean up to old pipes (traces of paint etc.) sufficiently for pushfit to
seal properly. The hose I suggested has a compression fitting at the remote
end from the tap. The 15mm variety will fit old 1/2" pipe ok. If any of the
taps are 3/4" and use 3/4" pipe, you will need 3/4"/22mm flexibles (designed
for joining a 3/4" tap to a 22mm pipe) - for which you'll have to buy
special olives to fit to 3/4" pipe rather than 22mm. The hose I suggested
also has a built-in 1/4 turn service valve - which makes it easy to isolate
the tap for subsequent washer changers without having to turn the whole
water system off.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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