Tap connections

[jelly]

I may be missing the point somewhere.I am in the process of tiling my bathroom.I recently had the bathroom re-arranged and so thought it would be an easy job to remove the sink to tile behind it.
Looking at the connections of the copper water pipe to the tails of the taps i thought i would have trouble getting to them.
I first brought an adjustable basin wrench from wickes but found it fiddly hooking up to the nut and thought it may slip off and hit the sink so took it back and got a claw like basin wrench.This seemed too big for the nut involved.It says its for 1/2"bsp & 3/8 bsp and has stamped on it 15mm & 22mm.Don't know what this means as it measures more that that between the claws.Are these wrenches designed for the nut that fixes the tap directly to the basin or for general pipe nut sizes that i want to undo.
How do plumbers get to these hard to acess nuts. Would adjustable pliers do.

 

[Dan Robinson]

It is a a fiddly job, and without sounding mean, if you have bought the right tools (you have) and can't figure out how to use them, then quit whilst you're only £20 down.

The imperial and metric sizes you give are the sizes of the taps/fittings it will deal with - in you case it'll do both the tap connector and the backnut.

You *can sometimes* use adjustable spanners or pump pliers (I did so on Friday last as I can't find my nice Rothy's) but it is even more fiddly than with the correct tools.

A second pair of hands to stop the damn taps rotating is always helpful if you are a short a7se .

 

[Softus]

Are these wrenches designed for the nut that fixes the tap directly to the basin or for general pipe nut sizes that i want to undo.

Both.

How do plumbers get to these hard to acess nuts. Would adjustable pliers do.

Welcome to our world. There's no simple answer to your question, save to say that we have enough tools and cunning for every eventuality. Generally it's the backnuts that give more trouble than the water connections, and some basin tap backnuts are almost impossible. If it truly impossible then basin removal is the next option.

Be careful if it's on old basin - occasionally they can crack/split apart if too much force is used in the wrong way.

 

[jelly]

I just want to disconnect the water connectors.Then i can take the whole sink off ready for tiling.The water connector that is screwed onto the tap tail measures about 22mm A/F which is certainly smaller than my basin wrench measures.It would just slip off and probably hit the sink and crack it. I might use some mole grips when i can find them.
There must be a way otherwise the plumber wouldn't have been able to do them.
Perhaps i should re-purchase the adjustable wrench and persevere

 

[Breesey]

The plumber used one of these. It seems you may have bought one and taken it back. You need to go back and get it and then practice on something else to see how it works before trying to disconnect your taps so that you get the hang of it!!

That's the tool for the job, it will do the job if you use it correctly!

Good luck

 

[TicklyT]

If there aren't any isolating valves fitted for the basin taps, turn off and drain the water and cut the pipes where you would like some to be. Remove basin complete with taps and the remaining tails of pipe. Fit isolating valves on the pipes, and you can restore the water supply. Trim the tails to accommodate the iso valves or fit flexi tails when you re-assemble it.

Once you have the basin on it's back on the floor it's a lot easier to tackle removing the taps or pipe tails, or at least you can see what you are doing.