Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Cheers.

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

On 28/03/2011 23:12, Steven Campbell wrote:
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Happy to do the job - but I suspect you are not in North Kent :-)

Not an uncommon problem. I usually wedge a towel in place, or in
extreme circumstances grip the tap with a cloth & mole grips.

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

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
On 28/03/2011 23:12, Steven Campbell wrote:
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to
turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a
price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Happy to do the job - but I suspect you are not in North Kent :-)

Not an uncommon problem. I usually wedge a towel in place, or in extreme
circumstances grip the tap with a cloth & mole grips.

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


Cheers Dave but I think the cost of the commute to Glasgow might outweigh
the cost of the job or I'd happily offer it to you ;o)
I suppose if I spin the tap 180 degrees, with a cloth against it it might
wedge against the back wall.
I'll give it another go tomorrow.
Spent a couple of hours on it today and failed miserably.

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

In article ,
Steven Campbell spam@away wrote:
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Adjustable spanner on the tap spout ? (or if it's still turning, a set
of stilsons well padded with a towel). Can usually be wedged against
something so not needing an extra hand.

Nick
--
Serendipity: http://www.leverton.org/blosxom (last update 29th March 2010)
"The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life"
-- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

"Steven Campbell" spam@away wrote in message
o.uk...
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave
me a price but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Does it have a spout to grab hold of? Perhaps keep a spanner still on the
nut below (I assume a 3/4" tap connector), and turn the tap instead, by
hand. (The angle between spanner and spout needs to be acute.)

Or, if the tap will be discarded, a big wrench to hold the spout, or a
hammer to hit it in the right direction, or just a hacksaw through the
threaded part, if there is access (in this case you may also have to replace
the tap connector, probably by cutting the pipe).

(Note the tap thread will have two nuts on it; if the other nut has seized
up, then you have a problem...)

--
Bartc

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

On Mar 29, 12:26*am, "Steven Campbell" spam@away wrote:
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in .. .





On 28/03/2011 23:12, Steven Campbell wrote:
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to
turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a
price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Happy to do the job - but I suspect you are not in North Kent :-)

Not an uncommon problem. *I usually wedge a towel in place, or in extreme
circumstances grip the tap with a cloth & mole grips.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Cheers Dave but I think the cost of the commute to Glasgow might outweigh
the cost of the job or I'd happily offer it to you *;o)
I suppose if I spin the tap 180 degrees, with a cloth against it it might
wedge against the back wall.
I'll give it another go tomorrow.
Spent a couple of hours on it today and failed miserably.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Be sure not to damage the thread on the tap. If you do, you will have
an even harder time.

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

"Steven Campbell" spam@away wrote in message
o.uk...
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants
to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but
its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me
a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Cheers.


Have you tried a gentle application of heat from a blowlamp - often
loosens things miraculously so maybe someone can then hold the tap
while you uncrew the nuts below. In extreme cases I have actually cut
a tap off a bath with an angle grinder, but you need to be delicate
not to damage the bath surface.

AWEM

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

In message , BartC writes


"Steven Campbell" spam@away wrote in message
news:RsKdnSsC_tKflQzQnZ2dnUVZ8sKdnZ2d@brightview. co.uk...
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave
me a price but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Does it have a spout to grab hold of? Perhaps keep a spanner still on the
nut below (I assume a 3/4" tap connector), and turn the tap instead, by
hand. (The angle between spanner and spout needs to be acute.)

Or, if the tap will be discarded, a big wrench to hold the spout, or a
hammer to hit it in the right direction, or just a hacksaw through the
threaded part, if there is access (in this case you may also have to replace
the tap connector, probably by cutting the pipe).

(Note the tap thread will have two nuts on it; if the other nut has
seized up, then you have a problem...)

I had a similar need for something to prevent a bath tap rotating.

I made a clamp from two pieces of wood, each around 3/4" x 1.5", and 18"
long.

Near one end, on the 1" face, I crudely carved out the wood so that it
fitted snugly along the side of the tap (right along the side, from
behind the tap, along the side of the spout and beyond the front). I
then did the same with the other piece of wood. I then screwed the two
bits of wood together, so that it was now effectively a 18" long
ring-spanner, with a large keyhole slot* near one end.
* The shape of the 'keyhole slot', which is about 6" long, actually
looks extremely rude!

I found that this 'spanner' could be fitted on the tap by jiggling it
over the four fingers of the handle. If it could not have been fitted
this way, it would have been an easy matter to slacken the screws as
necessary, pull the two pieces of wood apart, fit it over the tap, and
tighten the screws again.

Anyway...
This home-made 'spanner' worked fine. It enabled me to hold the body of
the tap stationary while removing a very difficult top, in order to
change a washer. [Of course, I greased things well before re-assembly.]
--
Ian

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

In message , Ian Jackson
writes


Near one end, on the 1" face,

Oops. The 3/4" face.
--
Ian

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

On 28/03/2011 23:12, Steven Campbell wrote:
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Cheers.


I have an adjustable spanner about 15 inches long. Holds all sorts of
valves, taps etc.

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

On Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:12:59 +0100, Steven Campbell wrote:

As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Cheers.

I've 2 ways of doing this: often I can reach the spanner and the tap (long
arms good; big hands bad for this job) or the spanner on the tap (if the
tap's a write-off you can use stilsons to to get the angle you need).
The other way is to prop - jam etc. the spanner on the back nut and turn the
tap. This works for a tight start and then the nut is loose on the thread
but is a pain if the nut's a bit tight all the way as the back spanner is
likely to drop off once wobble develops.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

On 29/03/2011 09:11, Andrew Mawson wrote:

"Steven Campbell"spam@away wrote in message
o.uk...
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants
to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but
its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber
that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave me
a price
but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Cheers.


Have you tried a gentle application of heat from a blowlamp - often
loosens things miraculously so maybe someone can then hold the tap
while you uncrew the nuts below. In extreme cases I have actually cut
a tap off a bath with an angle grinder, but you need to be delicate
not to damage the bath surface.

BTDTGTTS :-)



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

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

Not an uncommon problem. I usually wedge a towel in place, or in
extreme circumstances grip the tap with a cloth & mole grips.

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

No need for cloth if *changing* tap: mole or stilsons!

Trying to change bath tap but it just spins??
 

"Steven Campbell" spam@away wrote in message
o.uk...
As subject really. Any tips for undoing a bath tap that just wants to turn
when I try and undo the pipe work below?

I had thought of a piece of wood wedged against the wall and tap but its
fully tiled round the bath and I thought it might crack a tile.

Its one of those jobs I'd happily pay to have done but can't find a
plumber that would interested in such a small job. Not that any have gave
me a price but I imagine it wouldn't cost that much?!? Any guesses?

Cheers.


Thanks guys for all the advice.
I ended up spinning the tap round 90 degrees and put a large piece of wood
in between the taps and the tiles in order to stop the tap spinning.
Couldn't believe how easy the tap came undone when it was against an
unmoveable object as I had spent the best part of an hour the other day
pulling the tap one way and the spanner against the nut the other way and
nothing would budge it.
It was one of those moments when you hold your breath and pull as hard as
you can and all your veins start to pop out!!!
Anyway taps all changed and now sorted and not even a leak which is a
miracle for me.

Cheers again.