Hope you can help with my latest nightmare! Advice please on:-
1) Compression vs. soldered where pipework will be inaccessible
2) Can't stop a new compression joint from weeping.
I am gutting and refitting a downstairs toilet, I have exposed the pipework behind a boxed in soil stack and stud wall where I will put access panels where possible but some of the existing compression 15mm 'T' and elbows will be inaccessible behind plasterboard.
1) I read that compression or unsoldered joints should be visible and accessible, otherwise use soldered joints. I feel it best to replace the existing with soldered copper fittings, as few joins as possible behind stud/ box work. Does that sound right?
So I am busy fitting new pipe + fittings to be soldered.
2) Where all this new pipework joins the existing H&C feeds in an adjoining washing room under the sink, I have cut into the cold feed and fitted a compression isolator valve. I have used a copper olive with PTFE tape wound over it. I hand tightened it, then 1/2 turn with spanner. I noticed a small weep from the top nut, so I tightened it, it was still weeping, so I tightened it more !!!
It is still weeping slightly, I have probably overtightened and it is crushing/ distorting the olive into the pipe, which is probably never going to seal.I fear more tightening will just cause damage. HELP please.........!
Problem :- The valve is quite close to an existing soldered 'T' so to get clean pipe I need to cut away approx 20mm pipe and old olive. That will be close to the T. The small tail from it was bent to shape so I'm not sure how much 'good' 15mm undistorted pipe is there to bed a new fitting into.
I could take the soldered T away and replace it, but I feel I am just stripping everything back and back creating more problems as I go just to try and avoid problems in the future - that may never happen. If it ain't broke . . . . !!
And, there must be a mass of speedfit /pushfit/ compression etc out there buried deep in walls and floors, so am I going OTT?
I like to think not, because you haven't seen the state of some of the existing pipework.
1) Compression vs. soldered where pipework will be inaccessible
2) Can't stop a new compression joint from weeping.
I am gutting and refitting a downstairs toilet, I have exposed the pipework behind a boxed in soil stack and stud wall where I will put access panels where possible but some of the existing compression 15mm 'T' and elbows will be inaccessible behind plasterboard.
1) I read that compression or unsoldered joints should be visible and accessible, otherwise use soldered joints. I feel it best to replace the existing with soldered copper fittings, as few joins as possible behind stud/ box work. Does that sound right?
So I am busy fitting new pipe + fittings to be soldered.
2) Where all this new pipework joins the existing H&C feeds in an adjoining washing room under the sink, I have cut into the cold feed and fitted a compression isolator valve. I have used a copper olive with PTFE tape wound over it. I hand tightened it, then 1/2 turn with spanner. I noticed a small weep from the top nut, so I tightened it, it was still weeping, so I tightened it more !!!
It is still weeping slightly, I have probably overtightened and it is crushing/ distorting the olive into the pipe, which is probably never going to seal.I fear more tightening will just cause damage. HELP please.........!
Problem :- The valve is quite close to an existing soldered 'T' so to get clean pipe I need to cut away approx 20mm pipe and old olive. That will be close to the T. The small tail from it was bent to shape so I'm not sure how much 'good' 15mm undistorted pipe is there to bed a new fitting into.
I could take the soldered T away and replace it, but I feel I am just stripping everything back and back creating more problems as I go just to try and avoid problems in the future - that may never happen. If it ain't broke . . . . !!
And, there must be a mass of speedfit /pushfit/ compression etc out there buried deep in walls and floors, so am I going OTT?
I like to think not, because you haven't seen the state of some of the existing pipework.