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My bath is cracked, Ive got a replacement ready to fit but plumbers are all booked up, so just wondered is it an easy job to replace one, or a PITA?
Going to fit some isolator valves for the taps anyway, so I can do that, take the old one out and if it's too difficult just leave taps isolated until someone can come in and do it. We've got another shower anyway so it's not essential.
If it's fairly straightforward DIY job then any tips, any special tools I need?
I'll report back when my house is a swimming pool
It depends on how the bath is fitted. Mine was in place first then tiled around on 3 sides. replacement will be very difficult
If its only tiled on one or two sides then its much easier
the plumbing should be relatively straightforward if the taps and plug are in a similar place
IMO the most difficult part is removing the old bath without wrecking the tiles. Again this depends on how well its fitted. My bath sits on a full cradle of timber all screwed into the bath but many plumbers do not bother with this.
Pictures would help us assess
It's only tiles on two sides as the room is longer than the bath so should remove ok I think.
Just off to Screwfix for valves, what's the difference between isolating valves and full bore isolation valves?! Do full bore allow more flow, so I'm guessing they'd be best for a bath?
Yes
. full bore are better IMO
If both old and new baths have screw adjust feet it might be possible to lower the old bath without damaging the tiles and Jack up the new one into position, following liberal application of silicone.
But there again it might not.
I've abandoned the idea! Plughole is in a different place so I'll have to add to the already mad looking mess of short bits of waste pipe and angles that is currently under the bath!
Go full bore 22mm valves.
Replacing the waste pipe is easy enough. Get the solvent weld stuff and it's a case of cutting the old one and gluing new bits on. Do a dry run before finally gluing.
From memory, you might need a box spanner to fix the taps onto the bath, it's a lot easier than mole grips - do this before putting the bath in place.
I used the braided flexi hoses with a built in valve, which made it a lot more convenient when connecting.
Other than that, maybe a bit of waste pipe, connections and a new plug/overflow fitting
A quick tip, when its fitted and you are ready to caulk/silicone around the edges, fill the bath with water first to settle it in.
Flexi tap tails with press-fit couplings, isolator valves that are easily accessible, not needing to be a contortionist if you need to get to them. Make sure the drain clears properly so you don’t have a pipe of stinky water under the bath.
It's worth saying twice, fit the taps before installing, when in place you might not get room to turn a spanner on the retaining nut.
ok back again!
so i got a quote to fit the bath + taps +screen which was 380 inc vat, not sure if thats a fair rate, but i havent got that cash spare so im going to try it myself!
Just got a few questions 🙂
- should i get seperate isolator valves or just new flexi hoses with isolator valves fitted? Current tails are 3/4 to 15mm compression, so not sure what fitting id need on the end of the valve that would go to the existing tail. Im thinking new tails might be easier.
- need to remove all the old silcone from the tiles, do i jst get remover gel and a plastic scraper thing?
- the waste pipes.... heres a pic of them, theres the plughole, trap then lots of little bends to get it to align to the waste. Is there a sort of solvent weld flexy connector i can use to connect after the trap to the part where the waste drops down through the floor, to save me having to cut pieces of pipe?
lastly, im going to turn water off (obviously!) then fit the iolation valves / tails and remove the old bath. Now depending on how things go, how well behaved my kids are, what mood my wife is in etc, it might be a few days before i get the new bath in. Is it ok to just leave the isolation valves closed with water back on for a few days, or are they mainly designed for short periods of being closed and not connected to stuff?!
thanks
If you can get new hoses with valves on that will become less joint to tighten. As said above. Put them on the taps before fitting the bath.
Silicone, screwfix do some silicone remover and vitrex do a remover tool.
Waste pipes. I can't see the images but waste pipe comes in 32mm and 40mm buy a length of what you need and the joints and bends and buy some solvent weld adhesive. You'll need a saw. Make sure the pipe is solvent weld as the compression pipe won't glue together. A compression ubend / trap will join to solvent weld though.
Click and collect all the bends from Screwfix and plan out the pipes and assemble it dry first before glueing
Leaving the valves closed is ok. It's exactly the same as turning the tap off.
I'm not a plumber and I can do it.
I've just seen that pipe photo, that's some crazy routing from here. Some one had bought too many bends and was desperate to use them. But you could probably cut that long straight one and build from there.
It depends on how the bath is fitted. Mine was in place first then tiled around on 3 sides. replacement will be very difficult
Same here, I had to break the lowest row of tiles on all three sides to get it out and the new one in. Two of the walls were plasterboard and the tiles took off some of the plasterboard so it was an uneven surface to put back tiles on. Was a PITA finding matching tiles (imperial sizes and the right shade of white). It's OK, but the tiling annoys me, really needs the whole three walls re-tiling to get it all to match properly.
Another question!
Can I leave the old olive and lower compression nut on the pipe when fitting the new Flexi connector, or do I need to remove the old olive and use a new one?
Ta
If the fittings are similar or identical, and you include a bit of "boss white", ptfe tape, you can certainly get away with it.
Is the olive going to seat properly? if its in doubt it might be worth doing it "properly".
TBH having got myself tooled up from compression and soldered joints, John Guest push fittings are great. Shove them on and its done, no faffing about.
Just spend the money on the John guest flexi tap tails: Tap which you fitted before you fit the bath at the top and 15mm push fit on the bottom end.
https://www.wickes.co.uk/John-Guest-Speedfit-FLX28-Monobloc-Mixer---15mm-x-M10/p/117411
or
https://www.wickes.co.uk/John-Guest-Speedfit-FLX15P-Flexi-Tap-Connector---15mm-x-1-2in-x-300mm-Pack-of-2/p/121329
depending on your tap.
about a tenner.