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 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.
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!

Thanks




--
goddess

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!

In all fairness to the guy, some are better than others - we had a
similar problem in our new bathroom a few months ago (it was on the
basin waste) - we only noticed once it got to the stage where it had
penetrated the edge of the vanity unit and start to make it swell...

With some of the nuts, the plastic is quite hard, while with others
(we were able to salvage the old one before it went to the tip) was
quite malleable (possibly nylon instead of plastic ?!?)

it sounds as though the top hat washers were not fitted ,if these are
conventional taps, and the plastic washer nuts have been over tightened to
compensate and broken,have you actually looked at the nuts,can you post a
picture

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js... hbutton.y=11

A good plumber would have fitted these a bad one seldem ever does

"goddess" wrote in message
...

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!

The taps from Homebase may have come with a plastic nut but if he felt they
were so unreliable why didn't he suggest swapping the plastic nuts for metal
ones, which can be purchased seperately?

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 agree

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.

Ask him why he HAD to do this as it is not normal practice


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!

I have installed lots of taps (with plastic nuts) for friends and family and
as far as I am aware they are all still in place, mine are in my bathroom
and en-suite!!

I would assume you are not going to get anywhere with this guy doing a free
repair so you may have to bite the bullet and get somebody else in.
Although if you can get access now the plumbing is done you should be able
to replace the nuts yourself if you are confident enough, if not ask a
friend.

HTH

John

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

ALex wrote:
it sounds as though the top hat washers were not fitted ,if these are
conventional taps, and the plastic washer nuts have been over
tightened to compensate and broken,have you actually looked at the
nuts,can you post a picture

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js... hbutton.y=11

A good plumber would have fitted these a bad one seldem ever does

Oh leave orf! Top hat washers have bugger all to do with it. No
requirement whatsoever to fit them. If the taps & the bath both came as a
package, which I assume from the OP they did, they 'should' fit perfectly
without a top hat washer.


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

John wrote:
"goddess" wrote in message
...

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!

The taps from Homebase may have come with a plastic nut but if he
felt they were so unreliable why didn't he suggest swapping the
plastic nuts for metal ones, which can be purchased seperately?

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 agree

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.

Ask him why he HAD to do this as it is not normal practice

I wouldn't agree with that. Taps don't always fit the holes provided
perfectly, especially when replacing the taps but not the bath/basin/sink,
so a little silicone/LSX prevents splashed/pooled water going past the tap
base.

Secondly, many taps are fitted with flexibles which don't give the rigidity
of copper pipe, so a little silicone/LSX helps to stop them moving without
having to over tighten the backnut.

I use it routinely although its an added (albeit small) expense, just to be
on the safe side. Its never going to do any harm.


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

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
goddess wrote:

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've not broken a plastic backnut but I did have a couple which slipped /
jumped on the threads through stretching. I avoid plastic ones and if
necessary replace with brass.

once again you show the limit of your knowledge,and the poor standard of
your advice .

which is why you are always looking for advice here to try and convince your
customers that they are

getting a professional job done.

ALex wrote:
once again you show the limit of your knowledge,and the poor standard
of your advice .

which is why you are always looking for advice here to try and
convince your customers that they are

getting a professional job done.

How many pairs of taps do you change in a month tosser?

Did you ever come across a new set of taps that included top hat washers?



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

"goddess" wrote in message
...

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!!

Don't lift them and twist them around.. it may make them leak.

This has caused leaking through to my kitchen
ceiling as water has being getting through.

On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 00:47:41 UTC, "ALex" wrote:

once again you show the limit of your knowledge,and the poor standard of
your advice .

which is why you are always looking for advice here to try and convince your
customers that they are

getting a professional job done.

Oh, give it a rest.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 00:47:41 UTC, "ALex" wrote:

once again you show the limit of your knowledge,and the poor standard of
your advice .

which is why you are always looking for advice here to try and convince your
customers that they are

getting a professional job done.

Oh, give it a rest.

A p[rofessinal is simply osmeoe who takes teh time and trouble tolearn
what he needs to an a job.

Did you not hear on the beeb today how a doctor in Africa texted a
colleague for instructions on how to amputate an arm and most of a
shoulder that was gangrenous?

Professional doesn;t mean knowing it all already. It means finding out
what you need to know befre making an utter balls up.

No one had sent a rocket to the moon, once, professionals were employed
to ask the right questions and get the right answers to make it happen
the first time.

Dave is a professional in his approach. He asks, he considers, and then
he acts professioally.

I wish he lived locally..

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
ALex wrote:
it sounds as though the top hat washers were not fitted ,if these are
conventional taps, and the plastic washer nuts have been over
tightened to compensate and broken,have you actually looked at the
nuts,can you post a picture


http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;js...CFFA?_dync ha
rset=UTF-8&fh_search=top+hat+washers&searchbutton.x=9&searc hbutton.y=11

A good plumber would have fitted these a bad one seldem ever does

Oh leave orf! Top hat washers have bugger all to do with it. No
requirement whatsoever to fit them. If the taps & the bath both came as a
package, which I assume from the OP they did, they 'should' fit perfectly
without a top hat washer.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman

Should the silicone be there or is it just me and the OPs plumber that also
puts a little silicone between the taps and the bath?

A plastic top hat washer once broke on my kitchen sink. As I did not "twist
the tap around" I had no leaks.

I have always fitted brass nuts and brass top hat washers since then.

A Darwin award should be given to the OP for twisting the taps around IMHO.
"Oh look I have a loose tap, let me twist it around and see what happens,
bugger my kitchen ceiling is wet, can I blame the plumber?"

Adam

ARWadsworth wrote:


Should the silicone be there or is it just me and the OPs plumber
that also puts a little silicone between the taps and the bath?

Nope. I do it as a matter of course. Very often when you replace the taps
into existing baths/basins/sinks there will be a small gap somewhere that
lets pooled water drip down. Also helps keep them in place when flexibles
are involved.


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

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Should the silicone be there or is it just me and the OPs plumber
that also puts a little silicone between the taps and the bath?

Nope. I do it as a matter of course. Very often when you replace the
taps into existing baths/basins/sinks there will be a small gap
somewhere that lets pooled water drip down. Also helps keep them in
place when flexibles are involved.

I must admit to thinking a combination of flexible baths, flexible tails
from the pipes and plastic nuts isn't a recipe for strength.

--
*It ain't the size, it's... er... no, it IS ..the size.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Should the silicone be there or is it just me and the OPs plumber
that also puts a little silicone between the taps and the bath?

Nope. I do it as a matter of course. Very often when you replace
the taps into existing baths/basins/sinks there will be a small gap
somewhere that lets pooled water drip down. Also helps keep them in
place when flexibles are involved.

I must admit to thinking a combination of flexible baths, flexible
tails from the pipes and plastic nuts isn't a recipe for strength.

Agreed. Neither is a thin SS sink, a heavy, long neck 'designer' mono
mixer, flexibles & a single bolt fixing - but its very common.


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

On 8 Dec, 21:05, 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.

Of course it caused leaking. Why did you think that "twisting the taps
round" was a good idea?

If you wish, blame the plumber or the tap maker for fitting taps in a
way that didn't remain secure - but twisting a loose pipe (and an
obvious fault) around until water comes out is pretty clearly your
cause, not some resultant implied damage.

On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:21:25 -0800 (PST), Andy Dingley
wrote:

On 8 Dec, 21:05, 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.

Of course it caused leaking. Why did you think that "twisting the taps
round" was a good idea?

If you wish, blame the plumber or the tap maker for fitting taps in a
way that didn't remain secure - but twisting a loose pipe (and an
obvious fault) around until water comes out is pretty clearly your
cause, not some resultant implied damage.

I didn't read it as meaning the pipe was leaking .I read it as water
was getting through between the tap and the bath when the shower was
in use . I also didn't read it as meaning that Op twisted the taps
round and round .I read it as meaning when the taps were turned on and
off they started to turn as you would expect if the backnuts were
loose or broken .Accentuated if flexi tails are fitted .

;1468331 Wrote:
On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:21:25 -0800 (PST), Andy Dingley
wrote:
-
On 8 Dec, 21:05, 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.-

Of course it caused leaking. Why did you think that "twisting the taps
round" was a good idea?

If you wish, blame the plumber or the tap maker for fitting taps in a
way that didn't remain secure - but twisting a loose pipe (and an
obvious fault) around until water comes out is pretty clearly your
cause, not some resultant implied damage.-

I didn't read it as meaning the pipe was leaking .I read it as water
was getting through between the tap and the bath when the shower was
in use . I also didn't read it as meaning that Op twisted the taps
round and round .I read it as meaning when the taps were turned on and
off they started to turn as you would expect if the backnuts were
loose or broken .Accentuated if flexi tails are fitted .



Thanks for sticking up for me! Can't believe some people think I'm that
dumb that I'll actually stand there twisting the taps around and then
wonder why there is leaking! The pipe wasn't leaking like you said,
water was getting through because of the loose taps. We've fixed the
problem ourselves now and are spreading the word about the plumber's
shoddy workmanship!!




--
goddess

"goddess" wrote in message
...


Thanks for sticking up for me! Can't believe some people think I'm that
dumb that I'll actually stand there twisting the taps around and then
wonder why there is leaking! The pipe wasn't leaking like you said,
water was getting through because of the loose taps. We've fixed the
problem ourselves now and are spreading the word about the plumber's
shoddy workmanship!!

I bet the plumber is spreading the word about shoddy customers too.