Bathroom Refit - final part of the saga!

[Deleted member 15266]

To recap, after my bathroom refit we were left with 4 leaks. 1st the emergency plumber fixed the outlet pipe. 2nd my husband, with advice from this board, fixed the water seeping through the top of the taps. Now we are left with one small drip from one of the nuts on a copper pipe the plumber made. My hubbie has dismantled it and put in PTF tape and it is fine most of the time except during the night it seems to give out a small drip - teardrop size. Is this worth bothering about ? I think my hubbie will have a breakdown shortly if he needs to do anything else.

 

[Bahco]

Turn off water and drain offending pipe ( or take a chance of a soaking).
Undo the nut and wrap 4 turns of ptfe around the olive.

Should do the trick.

 

[bathjobby]

Whilst your doing the above, a few pence (even at B&Q) gets you a new olive. The usual problem here is that once they are overtightened, the olive distorts or collapses and then your fighting a loosing battle usually even with a whole lot of PTFE tape. Put the new olive on, hand tighten the fitting, then put about a half turn on it with a spanner then put water back on check it. If it drips put just a quarter turn on it with spanner and recheck. You shouldn't need to do this more that about 3 further quarter turns before you get a dry connection and sometimes you'll get dry first time !
N.B. On those quarter turns it is usual to get a metal on metal squeaking noise, thats the olive compressing into the joint.

 

[Deleted member 15266]

Thanks, guys but we have tried the tape and the new olive, the mystery is it only happens during the night. Would a bit of plumbers mait or something round the nut help?

 

[bathjobby]

Is this joint just joining 2 pieces of pipe ? and is it exposed ? where is it ?

 

[ChrisR]

The mains pressure is higher at night though you don't say what pipe this is.
Try another 1/4 turn, then leave it alone.
Good chance that after a week it'll have stopped by itself, seriously.

This is not an approved professional way to go about plumbing, but whenever I'm called to a small leak it's stopped by the time I get there!

 

[bathjobby]

Agree with you ChrisR, particularly in hard water areas. Was just thinking that if they have tried new olive and got the correct compression on the joint, then the pipe is probably burred or slightly damaged. So depending what and where it is, probably best to cut it back and rejoin and if the are not adverse to speedfit joints, they do a 300mm repair piece; just a sheathed flexi with pushfit connectors either end, can have job done in 10 mins.

 

[Deleted member 15266]

Think we'll leave it for a week. The pipe is the one joined to the basin hot water tap. Husband says if it doesn't stop he is going to take off both tap pipes and replace with the flexible silver ones. I think he'd have been as well to fit the bath and basin himself!

 

[Deleted member 15266]

Sorry forgot to say its an elbow joint about half way down the pipe.