Discussion
Just had this mixer shower fail in a house in the West Mids. Bad time of year to get a plumber and only managed to get one to respond. Job looks straight forward in that it’s remove the old mixer from the wall and screw on a new one. What sort of price should this be and is it an easy job if I tackled it myself?
Franco5 said:
Just had this mixer shower fail in a house in the West Mids. Bad time of year to get a plumber and only managed to get one to respond. Job looks straight forward in that it’s remove the old mixer from the wall and screw on a new one. What sort of price should this be and is it an easy job if I tackled it myself?
If the pipes are a standard 150mm apart and hot on the left, 1/2in BSP, you should be able to use any standard thermostatic outlet e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thermostatic-Diverter-Acc...
Simple enough job. Turn the water off and drain the shower valve. You'll probably need to remove the control knob and take off the plastic/chrome body as there is likely a fixing of some sort between the valve and the tiles. After that get the plastic collars off and undo the chrome nuts on the pipework. The valve should then come off.
That's when it gets interesting. You may... may be able to use the existing nuts and olives that will be on the pipework and simply screw up to the next valve. Its a chance and worth a go to save a lot of agro but chances are it will weep.
If thats the case you need to carefully split the olives and get them off without damaging or deforming the pipework. Then clean it all up and use the new nuts and olives supplied with the replacement valve.
All going well its an hours job but a plumber will charge at least half a day.
That's when it gets interesting. You may... may be able to use the existing nuts and olives that will be on the pipework and simply screw up to the next valve. Its a chance and worth a go to save a lot of agro but chances are it will weep.
If thats the case you need to carefully split the olives and get them off without damaging or deforming the pipework. Then clean it all up and use the new nuts and olives supplied with the replacement valve.
All going well its an hours job but a plumber will charge at least half a day.
21TonyK said:
Depends on the valve cost but if you dont have the tools that doesn't sound silly if that including VAT. I'd hope that would be nicely finished off with any silicon needed etc, again another cost if you DIY.
That price is all in including a new rail as it’s all a bit knackered so it’s maybe the way to go until I can get myself on an evening plumbing course at the local college. I’m OK with following instructions for jobs if everything goes as it should but if things go wrong the limits of my knowledge are soon exposed.I would not go for a 'like for like' replacement, I'd get something which has proper separate controls for flow and temperature, and is thermostatic.
Unfortunately some mixers in that style are not the same inlet spacing as the generic thermostatic bar style.
I changed one, it was a matter of dremmeling the tiles to allow the pipes to mover further apart!
My neighbour did his by accessing from the back, cut through some plasterboard from the next room.
Sounds drastic, but easy to make good, compared with tiles.
If you have some spare tiles, that helps a lot!
Beware of adaptors which restrict the flow, unless you have oodles of pressure.
Unfortunately some mixers in that style are not the same inlet spacing as the generic thermostatic bar style.
I changed one, it was a matter of dremmeling the tiles to allow the pipes to mover further apart!
My neighbour did his by accessing from the back, cut through some plasterboard from the next room.
Sounds drastic, but easy to make good, compared with tiles.
If you have some spare tiles, that helps a lot!
Beware of adaptors which restrict the flow, unless you have oodles of pressure.
Plenty of more modern looking valves with adjustable pipe spacing available
Before you start properly I would remove a plastic collar to make sure you can access the nuts. We just replaced a valve and the original tiles had been tiled over. Couldn’t access the nuts, had no spare tiles so had to do the whole cubicle. A £300 job became a £4k job.
Before you start properly I would remove a plastic collar to make sure you can access the nuts. We just replaced a valve and the original tiles had been tiled over. Couldn’t access the nuts, had no spare tiles so had to do the whole cubicle. A £300 job became a £4k job.
I've now looked at the pic on my laptop rather than a phone. Looks like the shower is overdue a complete refresh.
Worth noting that on an old valve a replacement cartridge can be a false economy. Our old Bristan valve needed 3 new cartridges in 3 years at £110 each. the problem is wear on the valve body. I wish I had just replaced it the first time it started dripping.
Worth noting that on an old valve a replacement cartridge can be a false economy. Our old Bristan valve needed 3 new cartridges in 3 years at £110 each. the problem is wear on the valve body. I wish I had just replaced it the first time it started dripping.
blueg33 said:
I've now looked at the pic on my laptop rather than a phone. Looks like the shower is overdue a complete refresh.
Worth noting that on an old valve a replacement cartridge can be a false economy. Our old Bristan valve needed 3 new cartridges in 3 years at £110 each. the problem is wear on the valve body. I wish I had just replaced it the first time it started dripping.
I think it’s time for a new shower.Worth noting that on an old valve a replacement cartridge can be a false economy. Our old Bristan valve needed 3 new cartridges in 3 years at £110 each. the problem is wear on the valve body. I wish I had just replaced it the first time it started dripping.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff