I have two pedestal style bathroom wash basins in my house (i.e. both bowl
and pedestal made of pot). On one, the pedestal and bowl are in contact,
but the pedestal isn't taking any of the load. On the other one the bowl
and pedestal aren't touching at all. On both of them the pedestal can be
freely moved. Are they correctly installed and should I worry please? We
hand a similar one in our old house and bowl and pedestal seemed to be
solid as a rock.

Mark W.

"Mark Webb" wrote in message
k...

I have two pedestal style bathroom wash basins in my house (i.e. both bowl
and pedestal made of pot). On one, the pedestal and bowl are in contact,
but the pedestal isn't taking any of the load. On the other one the bowl
and pedestal aren't touching at all. On both of them the pedestal can be
freely moved. Are they correctly installed and should I worry please? We
hand a similar one in our old house and bowl and pedestal seemed to be
solid as a rock.

When we moved here the original (1937) washbasin was here, with its
pedestal. I used to worry because you could see air (as it were) between the
pedestal and basin. Spouse said the pedestal was just there to hide the
pipes and had no supporting function. since then I looked at others, all
pedestals seem to be for cosmetic (modesty) reasons. Washbasins were always
firmly held by wall brackets.

Mary

Mark W.

In article ,
(Mary Fisher) wrote:

When we moved here the original (1937) washbasin was here, with its
pedestal. I used to worry because you could see air (as it were)
between the
pedestal and basin. Spouse said the pedestal was just there to hide the
pipes and had no supporting function. since then I looked at others, all
pedestals seem to be for cosmetic (modesty) reasons. Washbasins were
always
firmly held by wall brackets.

Mary

I suspected as much, although I seem to recall the non-pedestal type as
being supported on steel/iron brackets beneath. The pedestal variety
obviously have none and consequently must have a heck of a lot of leverage
on the wall when full of water.

Mark W.

Mark Webb wrote:

I suspected as much, although I seem to recall the non-pedestal type as
being supported on steel/iron brackets beneath. The pedestal variety
obviously have none and consequently must have a heck of a lot of leverage
on the wall when full of water.

Not as much as there is when someone places both hands on the front of
the basin and leans forward!

IME most pedestal basins are attached to the wall by very modest screws,
and rely on the pedestal for most of the support. That's not to say you
can't firmly attach the basin to the wall.


--
Grunff

Grunff wrote:
IME most pedestal basins are attached to the wall by very modest
screws, and rely on the pedestal for most of the support. That's
not to say you can't firmly attach the basin to the wall.

Thick galvanised brackets screwed to the wall make a fairly neat
support, the back of the basin slots down into them. A dollop or
two of silicone sealant gives additional help.


J.B.

"Mark Webb" wrote in message
k...

I have two pedestal style bathroom wash basins in my house (i.e. both bowl
and pedestal made of pot). On one, the pedestal and bowl are in contact,
but the pedestal isn't taking any of the load. On the other one the bowl
and pedestal aren't touching at all. On both of them the pedestal can be
freely moved. Are they correctly installed and should I worry please? We
hand a similar one in our old house and bowl and pedestal seemed to be
solid as a rock.

Mark W.

This evening we've been at baby son's 'new' house, assisting with installing
his new shower. He's already put in his new bathroom suite and I noticed
that the pedestal DOES support the washbasin, which is only screwed to the
wall to support the lower part of the basin.

What's more, the pedestal doesn't go all the way to the wall, the pipework
can be seen very easily from the sides.

Mary

In article ,
(Mary Fisher) wrote:

and I noticed
that the pedestal DOES support the washbasin

Is the consensus therefore that the pedestal should be providing some
structural support?

Mark W.

"Mark Webb" wrote in message
k...
In article ,
(Mary Fisher) wrote:

and I noticed
that the pedestal DOES support the washbasin

Is the consensus therefore that the pedestal should be providing some
structural support?

I doubt that there's a consensus. Some do, some don't.

I suggest that if there are sufficiently substantial wall supports for the
washbasin the pedestal is merely cosmetic. If there are flimsy supports a
pedestal would offer a back up.

There's no one-size-fits-all ... :-(

Mary

Mark W.

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

snip

When we moved here the original (1937) washbasin was here, with its
pedestal. I used to worry because you could see air (as it were) between
the
pedestal and basin. Spouse said the pedestal was just there to hide the
pipes and had no supporting function. since then I looked at others, all
pedestals seem to be for cosmetic (modesty) reasons. Washbasins were
always
firmly held by wall brackets.


Modesty reasons ?! You are Twiggy and I claim my 5 quid....

Mark Webb wrote:

Is the consensus therefore that the pedestal should be providing some
structural support?

Look at how the basin is attached to the wall. If it is a couple of
small screws, then the pedestal is structural. If it is two large bolts,
or a pair of brackets, the the pedestal is decorative.

--
Grunff

Yuk (Mark Webb) wrote in message . uk...
I have two pedestal style bathroom wash basins in my house (i.e. both bowl
and pedestal made of pot). On one, the pedestal and bowl are in contact,
but the pedestal isn't taking any of the load. On the other one the bowl
and pedestal aren't touching at all. On both of them the pedestal can be
freely moved. Are they correctly installed and should I worry please? We
hand a similar one in our old house and bowl and pedestal seemed to be
solid as a rock.

Mark W.

I've just installed a fairly std size (B&Q) wash basin in our
bathroom. The basin came with some chunky size bolts (3.5"/~6cm long)
with large steel washers. Although the bolts were substantial they
were not sufficient to free stand the basin (Nor were they meant to
BTW) So after gently easing the basin up and my mate sliding the
pedestal in, tightening the bolts up further it's standing solid as a
rock. IMHO basin bolts are taking ~60% of the weight and the pedestal
the other 40%. A couple of thoughts on points others have made ...

Someone said ...
"What's more, the pedestal doesn't go all the way to the wall, the
pipework
can be seen very easily from the sides."
- IMHO, on a plan view the pedestal is a 'U' shape so all pipe work
and waste _should_ easily fit inside this for a tidy finish. Top of
pipework to the taps is then connected with flexible braided
connectors.

"If it is two large bolts, or a pair of brackets, the the pedestal is
decorative."
- I don't believe it that "cut 'n' dry", maybe the pedestal is
slightly less structural.

Anyway HTH - Oliver

Oliver Brearley wrote:
Someone said ...
"What's more, the pedestal doesn't go all the way to the wall,
the pipework can be seen very easily from the sides."
- IMHO, on a plan view the pedestal is a 'U' shape so all
- pipe work and waste _should_ easily fit inside this for a
- tidy finish.

It does - however, it helps if you are "handy".


Top of pipework to the taps is then connected with flexible
braided connectors.

Oh yuck, that's horrible. Connecting up is one of the few things
a bending spring is useful for - you can get some nice sweeping
curves in 3 dimensions using one of these that are very neat.
It's still worth annealing the pipe before bending, though.


"If it is two large bolts, or a pair of brackets, the the
pedestal is decorative."
- I don't believe it that "cut 'n' dry", maybe the pedestal
- is slightly less structural.

Depends on the brackets - if they're small clamps of thick sheet
metal screwed to the wall, with the back of the basin sitting in,
the basin needs extra support from the pedestal. If they're long
brackets that extend along the side of the basin, they support it.


J.B.