Mixer tap conundrum

[Madrab]

Yup, having used lots of different types of wastes - the click clack wastes spring can go after time, the pop up wastes go loose and sometimes don't seal properly, the rods can slip too and you also get plastic ones now, hate to think how long they'll last. The captive or swivel wastes seem to be the most reliable so far.

Of course you can't beat and old plug and chain

 

[Roger465]

This project is the gift which just keeps on giving… so I want to do the pipe cutting etc on Monday, when the plumber’s not too far away if I goes wrong.

But… we’ve pretty much established above that there’s no way of getting the mixer out with the cabinet in place, so I want to remove it and turn it upside down, get the old mixer and waste out, install the new ones, then put it all back. But I can’t find how it’s attached to the wall now.

When I open the drawers and doors (except the big one in the middle), they’re backed by white chipboard panelling, like the cabinet’s made of. No way through. The big door is open to the rear, but for the life of me I can’t see any fixings.

Up at the top, at the rear, I can see that the two big fixing holes for the basin have not been used to fix the basin to the wall – no screws, holes drilled, anything – I can see the wall tiles through them.

I’m beginning to suspect the cabinet has just been stuck to the wall with silicone! I’m a bit stumped… if you were I, what would you do next…?

Here's a pic of the rear, top right, taken from inside the cabinet. You can see the basin fixing hole, but no signs of any other fixings for the cabinet

 

[echoes]

Anything to see if you take the drawers out completely?

It's quite possible the cabinet is not secured to the wall at all.

I'd be inclined to disconnect the plumbing (get those iso. Valves ready!) and lift the basin off. Then you can see how/if the cabinet is fixed.

 

[Madrab]

Yup, basin has been fixed to the tiles using silicone, hopefully they used just enough to just secure it. Run a stanley knife along the top edge of the silicone as deep as you can get it and see if the basin will pull away towards you. If not then they've welded it to the wall with far too much and you'll need a longish thin sharp knife to run down the back of the basin and saw along the silicone until it can be pulled away.

 

[dilalio]

Use a hacksaw blade to cut down behind the basin and through any silicone.

With that type of basin, there's never really any need to fix to the wall with bolts... The cabinet supports it and the silicone will hold it to the wall... BUT... Some people do like going to town with silicone

 

[dilalio]

If its held on with silicone you'll be able to manipulate/agitate it to find the hold points... I just apply and release pressure until you get it to tear away and then use a knife or hacksaw blade to release the stubborn bits... I also have a cheese wire that I use for things like shower screen profiles when they've been siliconed to the hilt.

 

[Roger465]

Thanks guys - well, I've decided to have a break from it all over the weekend, and have a go on Monday.

I'll get the isolators on the pipes first, of course (they will be my first EVER compression joints ) then get stuck in with Stanley as suggested. But, knowing my luck, they'll have plastered silcone all over the back of everything and welded it to the wall. I think I have an old guitar string or two somewhere if it comes to that

 

[Madrab]

I have an old serrated carving type knife, the cheapest thing ever with a thin/springy 200mblade, chops through old silicone in jig time.

 

[Roger465]

So… got some pipe and isolator valves. As I’ve never done a simple compression joint before, I got a bag of olives too, in case I need to practice a bit first. Is this a good plan, or is it really so simple that even a total novice can’t screw it up?

Thought I might do it a few times on the end of the pipe I’m not going to use – tighten a valve on, then undo it, then do it again with a new olive… what do you think? Am I being silly?

Churrs

 

[echoes]

Well, it's always possible to c**k up even simple things... Depending on how much you tighten your practice joints, you might struggle to get the olives off.

If you want to practice in relative safety, then you can test your practice joints outside using a hose pipe and a jubilee clip to connect a test piece of copper tube with the valve at the other end.

Trick is to get a decent seal without deforming the pipe.
Usually, finger tight and then 1/4 to 1/2 turn with a spanner does the job. It should be tight, but don't heave at it.
You can always nip them up a bit more if they weep.

If your isolating valve has an arrow on it, make sure it points in the direction of flow.

There's always Tom...

 

[Roger465]

OK... got the pipes disconnected at the top. How do the orange things come off? Ideally I'd like to cut where they are...

 

[Madrab]

It's a push fit, hold the body of the coupler whilst pressing down on the collar, once it's full depressed then the pipe should pull out

 

[Roger465]

Well, apart from the orange thingies, which I’m going to go and tackle now, it’s been deceptively easy so far, so major disaster can’t be far away

There was a bead of silicone down the sides of the cabinet, but it wasn’t stuck to the cabinet body at all. I simply sliced through the bead behind the sink, and the whole plot just came away in my hands – nothing was really attached to anything. Good thing I didn’t go climbing on the sink when it was in use… (No, that was a joke – I wouldn't stand on a sink )

Cabinet now lifted away, just need to get the orange thingies off and try to get the isolators on…

PS the hollow inside of the sink was full of about a gallon of water! It had a little drain hole in one corner, and it all poured out, reducing the weight by about ½

I’m guessing the slots in the sink body where I removed the waste are overflow, which tells me what Screwfix are talking about when they describe wastes as with or without slot…?

 

[Roger465]

Well, here we are - compression joints in place and apparently as dry as a bone...

A little break now, and have a look at some new taps'n'traps tomorrow

Thanks a million, guys - not sure if you realise how big a deal this stuff is to me, and I wouldn't have stood a cat in hell's chance without your patient advice

PS I see the basin etc has been changed at some stage in the past... note the much smaller outline on the wall

 

[dilalio]

Yep... Wastes are "slotted" or "unslotted" depending on an overflow present within the basin... An unslotted waste can always be drilled out to provide a "slot"... Other way round not so easy