Sunken Bath

[churchill]

Hi, I have a leak on the cold water pipe underneath a sunken bath. The bath is surrounded by a block wood flooring which I really do not want to dig up so I was hoping to remove the bath to get at the leak. The problem is that I assume I need to remove the taps in order to get the bath out but the taps are not accessible from underneath (sunken bath against wall with taps on side of bath !). The bath sits about six inches clear of the floor with the paneling off so in theory I could maybe rig up a hack saw on a pole and try to cut through the pipes that way. Sounds a bit Heath Robinson I know. Any other ideas or advice gratefully received, before I do some real damage !

Thanks.

 

[Paul Barker]

If there is a leak the ceiling will be damaged so would it be easier to pull it down anyway do the work and put up a new ceiling? Or is it ground floor?

 

[churchill]

Unfortunately it's on the ground floor.

 

[Paul Barker]

I suspected as much. I can't offer any other ideas at the moment.

 

[big-all]

a reciprecating saw with a long wood blade will cut about 14 or 15 inches from the handle dependant on clearence
or about 12"with a metal blade
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/sea...icating+saw&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=8&y=12

or the battery version that i have will

 

[doitall]

I think consideration should be connecting it back up.

If you can't get it out how do you intend to re-connect it.

One of the benifits of hiding everything is it gets very expensive when things go wrong.

I remember the builder ripping-up a 20k marble floor, because someone had nailed a pipe

 

[Paul Barker]

We have a building of pure luxury flats.

When their p[lumbing goes wrong it will costs thousands just to change a bath tap. The bath panel is very expensive tiling slate or something. The wall was tiled after that, the floor was tiled after that. So floor tiling wall tiling and bath tiling will have to be trashed to just change a tap.

It never ceases to amaise me.

One of my favourite clients (a holiday let company who pay same day every time) whom I always give an imediate response to is going to get a mighty shock when they need this puppy sorting out.

 

[ChrisR]

I think consideration should be connecting it back up.

If you can't get it out how do you intend to re-connect it.

Put bits of pipe on both the ends to bring them to where you can get at them once the baths back in.

 

[fitz1]

ChrisR, your pipework aint very neat.

 

[churchill]

Thanks to everyone who responded - just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a trick.
As far as refitting goes I plan to cap the existing copper pipes and route some flexible pipes to somewhere more accessible !

 

[Moz]

Paul Barker

as a bathroom fitter/ tiler

can I just point out on a lot of jobs I have done on projects , where an access point aint allowed , I used to leave a few tiles under the bath , so when that waste wants changing or new taps fitted , they have spares
Im sure a few plumbers have thanked me for that in the past ,lol