Gate valve decides floor needs a wash

[bernardgreen]

Re-positioning a radiator ( installed floor standing temporarily 6 years ago ) was going to be easy as gate valves were fitted to isolate that end of the cottage.

The project suffered a delay due to the stone wall being a bit "difficult" as to where the holes for the radiator brackets could be drilled. So left until today.

Woke up, went to the lounge and found the floor nice and wet, just waiting to be mopped with floor cleaner added.

For a couple of hours yesterday there was no leakage through the gate valves, but over night that changed. One started passing water. No much but enough to be an excuse to mop and clean the stone floor.

There was a bucket in place to catch any seepage. that over flowed.

 

[YorkshireMidge]

Changes in temp (water or ambient) can be funny things with leaks. Every few weeks, I'd find a small pool of water (usually with my bare feet!) under the kitchen table and absolutely no trace of where it had come from. I'd checked everything in the vicinity and found absolutely nothing.

My other half was in the habit of dumping wet clothes from the washing machine on, or over the back of, the kitchen chairs - so I just assumed it was that.......until very late one night, I spotted drips from the kitchen radiator some three feet away, and it turned out, a slight dip in the floor and a path for the water down the "design strips" between the Karndean floor tiles we have, so there were no water marks on the tiles.

The leak in this case was due to insufficient PTFE tape on one of the valve tails into the rad. Come down in the morning, and the CH has been on a couple of hours, the leak has sealed itself, any water around the (warm) valve has evaporated, as has the trickle of water down the tile strips - leaving just the mysterious little pool.

 

[Brigadier]

My porch brickwork was spalling, with no obvious reason why.

The porch radiator, when checked, showed no signs of leaks. Didn't help that the pipework was below a varnished tongue and groove floor, which I was reticent to rip up.

Eventually though, enough was enough, so I had to take a circular saw to the floor.

I found out that the radiator was fed with plastic push fit, right under the wooden floor, with a joint right where your foot would fall when entering or leaving the house. Causing a small leak, which was soaking into the blockwork: in freezing weather, this water was expanding, causing the spalling.

Cutting off and removing the radiator, capping the pipes, and repairing the damaged blockwork, and the mystery ended.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Re-positioning a radiator ( installed floor standing temporarily 6 years ago ) was going to be easy as gate valves were fitted to isolate that end of the cottage.

The project suffered a delay due to the stone wall being a bit "difficult" as to where the holes for the radiator brackets could be drilled. So left until today.

Woke up, went to the lounge and found the floor nice and wet, just waiting to be mopped with floor cleaner added.

For a couple of hours yesterday there was no leakage through the gate valves, but over night that changed. One started passing water. No much but enough to be an excuse to mop and clean the stone floor.

There was a bucket in place to catch any seepage. that over flowed.

Perhaps the gate valve is giving you ideas how to make an indoor swimming pool in a weather like we have now, sometimes I feel compelled to clear all rubbish from my cellar and fill it up and create an indoor swimming pool, I must do this on my must do list once in my life time.

 

[ericmark]

I did the same, turned off radiator valves, carefully drained radiator, removed no leaks, cleaned out, went to put back and water everywhere, it seems the TRV had got too cold, was set to lowest setting, but not low enough.

This was some time ago in my sisters house, I knew my mothers house needed a TRV fitting, after mess with sisters I was not keen to DIY, however in the end I decided to go for it, this meant taking valve completely off, there was a drain cock, but not really in a good place, tried to drain nothing, so everything ready, including carpet cleaner to suck up spills, expecting a spillage no real way not to spill water unless using a freezing pack, working as quick as I could about 9 inch wet patch on carpet when finished and no rust in water, carpet cleaner sucked it up in no time job went so smoothly when I was expecting the worst.

Put more inhibitor in at same time, it was so good to drain clean water instead of rust coloured inhibitor well worth the money.