can\\\'t undo taps
- Thread starter diydope
- Start date
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I don't quite understand what you're saying.diydope said:
Has the hexagon shape of a nut become rounded?
If so, then which nut?
Or has a thread become damaged?
If so, then which thread?
Also, what type of mixer tap are you removing? Is it a two-hole or one-hole tap?
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Diydope:
Your best plan is just to replace the faucet.
Get a rag and wrap it around a hack saw blade to make a handle, and plan to spend a long lonely evening cutting the faucet off from the top side.
Tape a piece of sheet metal down on top of the sink to protect the finish of the sink from the hack saw so you don't leave it marred and scratched.
What's happened is that the brass nut under the sink has seized in place and can't be turned. When you install the new faucet install PLASTIC rosette nuts (which serve as BOTH rosettes and the nut that holds the rosette tight to the underside of the sink). The plastic ones are superior because they don't rust and you can always remove them.
I use a piece of square cross section steel I picked up free from a welding shop to tighten those plastic rosette nuts. Take a plastic rosette nut to any welding shop and they'll set you up with something that will work.
PS: I've spent my fair share of time cutting faucets off from above with a hack saw blade, so I know it can be a long, tiring experience, but it's pretty well the only option now.
Your best plan is just to replace the faucet.
Get a rag and wrap it around a hack saw blade to make a handle, and plan to spend a long lonely evening cutting the faucet off from the top side.
Tape a piece of sheet metal down on top of the sink to protect the finish of the sink from the hack saw so you don't leave it marred and scratched.
What's happened is that the brass nut under the sink has seized in place and can't be turned. When you install the new faucet install PLASTIC rosette nuts (which serve as BOTH rosettes and the nut that holds the rosette tight to the underside of the sink). The plastic ones are superior because they don't rust and you can always remove them.
I use a piece of square cross section steel I picked up free from a welding shop to tighten those plastic rosette nuts. Take a plastic rosette nut to any welding shop and they'll set you up with something that will work.
PS: I've spent my fair share of time cutting faucets off from above with a hack saw blade, so I know it can be a long, tiring experience, but it's pretty well the only option now.
I'm assuming you mean the hex which becomes visible when youtake the cap off the tap is rounded. If they're standard rotating type taps you may well find that the valves(ALLthe brass parts) are replaceable for a few pounds.
When things are tight most plumbers apply heat, and then a big pair of grips. 99.9% of things will then come undone! You may have to hold the tap still, which can be tricky.
When things are tight most plumbers apply heat, and then a big pair of grips. 99.9% of things will then come undone! You may have to hold the tap still, which can be tricky.
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Nestor_Kelebay - just curious - have you managed to decipher the posting and understand which thing is damaged and/or seized? If so, which is it?
For the benefit of the east-of-Atlantic readers, I hope you don't mind me pointing out a couple of English quirks....
faucet == tap
rosette nut == backnut
IMO plastic backnuts are inferior to brass ones, because they're weaker.
However, monobloc kitchen mixers almost always have a horseshoe shaped backplate and a nut on a stud that screws into the underside of the tap body - backnuts (aka rosettes) generally only appear on bath and basin taps.
One more thing - brass doesn't rust.
For the benefit of the east-of-Atlantic readers, I hope you don't mind me pointing out a couple of English quirks....
faucet == tap
rosette nut == backnut
IMO plastic backnuts are inferior to brass ones, because they're weaker.
However, monobloc kitchen mixers almost always have a horseshoe shaped backplate and a nut on a stud that screws into the underside of the tap body - backnuts (aka rosettes) generally only appear on bath and basin taps.
One more thing - brass doesn't rust.
Try eating some spinach.
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Softus said:
It's really hard to read your posting because of the way that you quote - have you tried using the forum's built-in quoting feature?
For example, if I write this:
[ quote="Softus"]Here's some quoted text[ /quote]
but without space after each square bracket , then it comes out as follows:
In the UK we have plastic top hat washers, which don't rust. But these apply to basin and bath taps, not to kitchen sink taps.
For example, if I write this:
[ quote="Softus"]Here's some quoted text[ /quote]
but without space after each square bracket , then it comes out as follows:
Softus said:
Sounds like the Canadian "rosette" equates to a "top hat washer" in the UK.Nestor_Kelebay said:
Er, this topic is about a kitchen sink, not a bath/basin. The instructions that you're quoting refer to the latter.Nestor_Kelebay said:
That's odd - in my experience people do pull on them. Mostly, it's small people, known as children.Nestor_Kelebay said:
OK.Nestor_Kelebay said:
That's still not an argument for using plastic instead of brass.Nestor_Kelebay said:
In the UK we have plastic top hat washers, which don't rust. But these apply to basin and bath taps, not to kitchen sink taps.
You're making an assumption that doesn't hold true in the UK - a monobloc tap can have two handles and no lever.Nestor_Kelebay said:
It isn't - see above - but this doesn't apply to kitchen sinks anyway.Nestor_Kelebay said:
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Softus:
How do you know this is a monoblock mixer tap in a kitchen?
I'm reading the text where this question supposedly originated from and it reads as follows:
"Introduction
Fitting new taps is required either because it is part of the installation of a new bath/basin, or because the taps on a bath/basin have become old and worn or simply for cosmetic reasons. The type of taps you can have are dependent upon your bath / basin.
If there is one hole for the taps, then you will require a mono-bloc mixer (these have two smaller diameter pipes coming out of the single hole for hot and cold). If there is two holes then you can have separate hot / cold taps or a two hole mixer (two taps one spout). Some mixers also have a lever on them for controlling the plug (i.e. opening and closing)."
Diydope said he has "mixer taps". Where does it say that it's what you call a "mono-bloc" mixer, and where does it say that these "mixer taps" are on the kitchen sink and not the bathroom sink?
How do you know this is a monoblock mixer tap in a kitchen?
I'm reading the text where this question supposedly originated from and it reads as follows:
"Introduction
Fitting new taps is required either because it is part of the installation of a new bath/basin, or because the taps on a bath/basin have become old and worn or simply for cosmetic reasons. The type of taps you can have are dependent upon your bath / basin.
If there is one hole for the taps, then you will require a mono-bloc mixer (these have two smaller diameter pipes coming out of the single hole for hot and cold). If there is two holes then you can have separate hot / cold taps or a two hole mixer (two taps one spout). Some mixers also have a lever on them for controlling the plug (i.e. opening and closing)."
Diydope said he has "mixer taps". Where does it say that it's what you call a "mono-bloc" mixer, and where does it say that these "mixer taps" are on the kitchen sink and not the bathroom sink?
I never thought, let alone wrote, that I knew he has a monobloc, nor am I assuming that he has.
My mention of monobloc was intended to point out that you were assuming the use of backnuts.
This was one of many assumptions that you've made, not the least of which is that we knew what on earth a "rosette" was when you first referred to one.
Another assumption is that UK backnuts can be driven by a box spanner made of square section tubing; well they can't, because they have need a hexagon box spanner or a tool that we generally call a basin wrench.
Because of your increasingly speculative assumptions, coupled with the fact that the OP has posted only once, I will not be adding anything else until we have more facts on this topic.
My mention of monobloc was intended to point out that you were assuming the use of backnuts.
This was one of many assumptions that you've made, not the least of which is that we knew what on earth a "rosette" was when you first referred to one.
Another assumption is that UK backnuts can be driven by a box spanner made of square section tubing; well they can't, because they have need a hexagon box spanner or a tool that we generally call a basin wrench.
Because of your increasingly speculative assumptions, coupled with the fact that the OP has posted only once, I will not be adding anything else until we have more facts on this topic.
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