Emergency help please - got a leak

[dilalio]

Yup. Well I got about a month out of it, leak-free bliss. So of course I stopped the daily check (bit of bogroll round below the big nut, see if there are any water marks on it), and tonight I saw water seeping out onto the bathroom floor... everything soaked in the cupboard.

So all ripped apart again, will do silicone this time when it's properly dried.

As you say, took me about an hour to clean the mait off everything

Just one thing... there's obviously a rubber ring underneath, between the big plastic nut and the sink - do I smear silicone on both sides of it?

Thanks YET AGAIN

Life is too short mate!

I'd have that leak identified in 10 mins and sorted within the hour, even if I had to go and get a new part.

A lot of people are just not meant to do Plumbing! I have builder mates who'll do everything except plumbing and electrics... They've tried... And paid the price!

Something is going on that is perhaps leading you to wrongly identify the source of the water in the vanity unit.

My money is on that my friend.

 

[Roger465]

A lot of people are just not meant to do Plumbing! I have builder mates who'll do everything except plumbing and electrics... They've tried... And paid the price!

Something is going on that is perhaps leading you to wrongly identify the source of the water in the vanity unit.

My money is on that my friend.

Well, you're right about me being allergic to plumbing - I've always known that. But I'm pretty good at all the other things, so when something seems so simple... anyway, the water was definitely coming through the joint under the waste, I could see it clearly.

What I then discovered was that the big plastic nut was on the loose side - I DID tighten it properly when I did the job (Mait came squeezing out everywhere), so I don't know how it got loose, unless some sort of thermal expansion/contraction phenomenon.

Anyway, first time I did all this years ago (with your generous help) using silicone, it lasted till now, and was only disturbed because I had the pinhole leak in the cold riser, and decided I would replace the hated waste I fitted previously while I was at it. Leave well alone in future...

So it's all been drying out overnight, and am just off now to stick it all together again.

Thing is too, it's not so easy to get a decent local plumber to do this sort of thing - perhaps understandably, they're not really interested in coming out just to do this fiddly little job. Our family has used one local guy for aeons, but have finally had to accept that he's actually a bit crap. And expensive.

So me it is

 

[Roger465]

Or use a basin mate. No Silicon, no mait, no mess. Works every time.

Thomas Dudley Ltd Basin Waste Seal Kit 3 Piece Set - Screwfix

www.screwfix.com

Good suggestion thanks, but bearing in mind my level of incompetence, I'm going to stick everything together with silicone - seal it up like a submarine, and hopefully leave it for decades

 

[BlueLoo]

...and indeed I have slight seepage where indicated. I know it's not straight - never has been, since before my time (possibly since 1994, when the house was built), but the bottom grey pipe is fixed in place, as far as I can tell. I don't like to try and force anything, as I have a tendency to break things

View attachment 317298

The bottle trap clamps onto the grey outlet pipe via the nut which tightens a tapered rubber ring.

I don't know if you can buy the rings, or if I should maybe get a new trap, and hope it'll seal better... the seepage is very small, and only happens if I run the taps for a while, but still...

Your pipe is not straight so the seals wont ever sit properly.

You need to cut the down pipe and swan neck back in properly so that everything is aligned.

Don't, for the love of God, use any silicone.
Don't use anything.
It is self sealing.

(Push the swan necks to the back to keep your cupboard space).

 

[Roger465]

Your pipe is not straight so the seals wont ever sit properly.

You need to cut the down pipe and swan neck back in properly so that everything is aligned.

Don't, for the love of God, use any silicone.
Don't use anything.
It is self sealing.

(Push the swan necks to the back to keep your cupboard space).

Thing is, it was OK like that for 30 years till I disturbed it, so maybe it just needs a new rubber seal - I'll have a rummage in Pandora's Box later and see if I have one.

Don't know what a "swan neck" is, sorry

No, I wouldn't use silicone on this bit

 

[BlueLoo]

Thing is, it was OK like that for 30 years till I disturbed it, so maybe it just needs a new rubber seal - I'll have a rummage in Pandora's Box later and see if I have one.

Don't know what a "swan neck" is, sorry

No, I wouldn't use silicone on this bit

Swan neck just allows you to connect offset piping.

You could just use a flex i think.