Hi. I have an old house with a number of old taps I am hoping to replace with newer designs. None of the taps currently have flexi tails or isolation valves, but I can turn the water off upstream. I haven't changed a tap before (though have done some plumbing), so for each I am looking for advice please on how much of the existing plumbing/sink will need changing too, and what tools will be needed, as I know some specialist tools can be needed with taps.
Kitchen sink
Hopefully this is the most straightforward of the three. I am looking to replace this:
For one of these:
The plumbing underneath:
While it looks like the hole in the sink should be fine to accommodate the new mixer, I am not sure about the plumbing. For one, the pipe seems to taper (into 15mm?) This isn't something I've seen before. Then the spiral clamp thing. To free the mixer tap, would it just be a case of undoing the nuts on both pipes and the bolt, then the clamp should come off? Which tools are best in this space? Then for fitting the new pipe, would I need isolation valves and flexi tails? Or flexi tails with built-in isolation valves? If so, there isn't a lot of pipe I can cut before it tapers (as presumably I can't cut it past the taper?) Won't be able to get the pipe slice in here too - so is one of these best in the space?
Bath shower mixer
I currently have one of these.
It's a real pain having separate controls for hot and cold, so am looking to swap for this:
The plumbing:
So this one only goes through the bath in two places (no bolt in addition to the two pipe connections?) And again, no flexis or isolation valves. Similar questions here please - how to get the tap out (is it just those two nuts on each connection, and if so which tool - especially considering the one on the far side of the bath won't have great access as I'd rather work from the cold-tap side of the bath than get under it as it's a real mess down there). And then what to do re putting in flexis/isolations. Here there is a constraint of the pipe teeing off quite quickly, so can't cut very far down.
Bathroom sink
This one might be the most difficult. Current separate hot and cold (they were traditional turning taps until I recently fitted a quarter-turn reviver kit, but now they make a loud whooshing noise, I guess because they aren't designed for ceramic glands):
The separate taps are annoying when the primary use is hand-washing, so I would like to fit a mixer like
I know this will look a bit funny given the positions of the holes and I'll have to plug one up, but I don't think it will look too bad.
More concerning is the size of the holes - would one hole be likely to accommodate the new tap? If not, how straightforward is it to increase the hole size? Would rather not get a new sink. Current plumbing (same for both taps):
Access is a lot easier for this one, and there are also no constraints on the pipe length - so if the hole is big enough and I'm happy enough with the odd placement, best would be to cut the pipe as far down as needed and put in flexis?
If you made it this far, thanks, and I'd appreciate any advice whatsoever!
Kitchen sink
Hopefully this is the most straightforward of the three. I am looking to replace this:
For one of these:
The plumbing underneath:
While it looks like the hole in the sink should be fine to accommodate the new mixer, I am not sure about the plumbing. For one, the pipe seems to taper (into 15mm?) This isn't something I've seen before. Then the spiral clamp thing. To free the mixer tap, would it just be a case of undoing the nuts on both pipes and the bolt, then the clamp should come off? Which tools are best in this space? Then for fitting the new pipe, would I need isolation valves and flexi tails? Or flexi tails with built-in isolation valves? If so, there isn't a lot of pipe I can cut before it tapers (as presumably I can't cut it past the taper?) Won't be able to get the pipe slice in here too - so is one of these best in the space?
Bath shower mixer
I currently have one of these.
It's a real pain having separate controls for hot and cold, so am looking to swap for this:
The plumbing:
So this one only goes through the bath in two places (no bolt in addition to the two pipe connections?) And again, no flexis or isolation valves. Similar questions here please - how to get the tap out (is it just those two nuts on each connection, and if so which tool - especially considering the one on the far side of the bath won't have great access as I'd rather work from the cold-tap side of the bath than get under it as it's a real mess down there). And then what to do re putting in flexis/isolations. Here there is a constraint of the pipe teeing off quite quickly, so can't cut very far down.
Bathroom sink
This one might be the most difficult. Current separate hot and cold (they were traditional turning taps until I recently fitted a quarter-turn reviver kit, but now they make a loud whooshing noise, I guess because they aren't designed for ceramic glands):
The separate taps are annoying when the primary use is hand-washing, so I would like to fit a mixer like
I know this will look a bit funny given the positions of the holes and I'll have to plug one up, but I don't think it will look too bad.
More concerning is the size of the holes - would one hole be likely to accommodate the new tap? If not, how straightforward is it to increase the hole size? Would rather not get a new sink. Current plumbing (same for both taps):
Access is a lot easier for this one, and there are also no constraints on the pipe length - so if the hole is big enough and I'm happy enough with the odd placement, best would be to cut the pipe as far down as needed and put in flexis?
If you made it this far, thanks, and I'd appreciate any advice whatsoever!
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