Master bathroom plumbing questions

[ToughButterCup]

25 minutes ago, Home Farm said:

In the past 18 months I’ve made and built stuff I never thought I’d be capable of.

...

The tradesmen around us are like bees, fluttering from one better pollenated paying project to the next. We’ve been living out of the guest room for months now, and we’re fed up.

 

Ditto. 

It's been 4 years of that for us. Truth to be told, I'm exhausted nowadays. But I know every last detail of what's happening, every wrinkle, cockup and success. Without the anchor of BH I'd be lost.

 

It's (for me) back to the 70s... head-down -arse-up-go

[H F]

19 minutes ago, Dreadnaught said:

@Home Farm, well said! Hope it goes well for you. Everyone needs to start somewhere.

 

I wonder, will you be making videos or passing on tips? I'd be keen to learn as you learn.

 LOL! Not sure I’m going to be teaching with this, but will 1000% be making a video. The lesson will hopefully be that this can be done... and done well. Not a botch job. The bathroom we ripped out was professionally done, and it was a horror story with leaks. 

 

This is epic for me. Well out of my comfort zone, but I’m confident it can be done. At least all the waste, towel rail pipes and water have been professionally extended when the guy did show up. 
 

 

[H F]

Off to the store. Time for an epic day.

[joe90]

39 minutes ago, Home Farm said:

The bathroom we ripped out was professionally done, and it was a horror story with leaks. 

the times I have come across “professional “ work that was bad is innumerable, at least if you do it Yourself you know you have done your best and not bodged it. When I was self employed as a small time builder I was called “D.I.P. Builders”, when people realised DIP was not my initials they asked what it stood for and I told them “do it properly”.

[wozza]

That shower waste you have looks like a Wirquin Twisto - I got supplied one with my shower tray, I took one look at it and went and got a McAlpine shower waste.

 

I don't know how they perform against each other but the build, fitting method and quality of the McAlpine is far superior.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by wozza

[Pocster]

@Home Farm you got this ! . I’m building a bleeding house from zero experience- so I’m damn sure you can do this . As it happens I’m at a similar point as you are . Knowledge is power ! 

[Ferdinand]

When you are doing sealant you must have one of these or similar

 

https://www.toppstiles.co.uk/fixing-finishing/silicone/topps-tiles-sealant-finishing-tools

[Russell griffiths]

I have fitted a mcalpine trap and have to say it was a very well thought out and built piece of kit. 

Not cheap but very well made. 

[Big Jimbo]

1 hour ago, pocster said:

@Home Farm you got this ! . I’m building a bleeding house from zero experience- so I’m damn sure you can do this . As it happens I’m at a similar point as you are . Knowledge is power ! 

Just dont get sucked in to buying any walk on glazing.

[H F]

Thanks for all the tips, advice and support guys.

 

I'm plugging away at it... got distracted yesterday because the diaphragms on the blower pump for our home sewage treatment plant went, so that was another lesson yesterday. But I fixed it, and it's working. No pongy sewage. 

 

We also had the tank emptied... back to the bathroom today... progress is steady.  

Edited February 14, 2020 by Home Farm

[Ed Davies]

48 minutes ago, Home Farm said:

We also had the tail emptied

 

???? tank?

[H F]

1 hour ago, Ed Davies said:

 

???? tank?

Yeah. The tank. Typo.

[Nickfromwales]

Mixed bag here because I’d have recommended using a flexible waste to alleviate such a baptism of fire. 
FWIW, a large number of tray-specific traps come with a flexi and in some of those instances you have to use it.

Ive been fitting barrooms for a 1/4 century and I’ve never had a come back from a flexi. They are thinner walled, they do have grooves / undulations, but it’s just water and no solids so, apart from a build up of ‘human / soap fatty scum’, ( which builds up in a rigid waste pipe JUST AS WELL I ASSURE YOU ), there is no issue using a flexi at all.
If it’s out-stretched then it could benefit from being supported, but after that I’d never say it was to any detriment whatsoever. 
If the supply waste pipe is rigid with no movement X/Y/Z then you will need to be mm perfect in the execution. No twist, and finished plumb and flush to the waste hole and aligned dead centre. 
Good advice given about mocking this up dry, but some fittings will bind and not allow you to push them home as they will do when lubricated with the glue. Gaining 2-3mm over 2 or 3 fittings ( during re-assembly ) will put you off centre. Beware   

[MrMagic]

16 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

When you are doing sealant you must have one of these or similar

 

https://www.toppstiles.co.uk/fixing-finishing/silicone/topps-tiles-sealant-finishing-tools

 

+1 on this. Since switching to these my mastic lines look 1000 times better. Some good 'how to' vids here - 

 

 

(I've got the Fuji kit from the video, works perfectly with the black bits to go over grout lines/joints etc)

[ProDave]

Where I want a nice finish to sealant, I use "Corner Tape"

[joe90]

Interesting vid about silicone, I wonder what our own guru thinks? ( @Nickfromwales).

[Ferdinand]

4 hours ago, Home Farm said:

Yeah. The tank. Typo.

 

The man clearly needs a Dvorak keyboard, then the typos will be even more fun - what my dad used to call a (phonetically) "Vorjack" keyboard after the composer. He never quite got the hang of it, even though he became quite dogmatic about using it and it protected his PC from anybody else most successfully because it completely wrecked normal touch typing.

 

It also wrecked his touch typing on anybody else's PC.

 

 

Here's one to the Vodka, and the Schnapps, which probably both help us British monoglots.

 

Ferdinand

Edited February 14, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Nickfromwales]

On 14/02/2020 at 15:51, joe90 said:

Interesting vid about silicone, I wonder what our own guru thinks? ( @Nickfromwales).

I always use clear CT1 to do the fundamental sealing, for waterproofing etc, wiped back to the point it’s not noticeable, and then apply the most minimal bead of silicone I can get away with. 
Silicone doesn’t last much more than 5 years or so, after being wiped / cleaned etc, so I treat silicone as a sacrificial, cosmetic seal rather than the fundamental and cosmetic seal this chap seems intent on creating in one go.

A good video for ‘DIY / daily drivers’ but not what I do. 
The last thing you want is for silicone to get a hairline gap and start letting water in constantly, whilst you carry on bathing / showering x times a day and the water is merrily soaking into the house structure for the duration, undetected.

I’ve done loads of insurance jobs where the room looks immaculate but the studwork and plasterboard are completely turned to mulch. That’s been solely down to tiny amounts of water being absorbed by the fabric of the house, day in day out, over a number of years. One job where I could literally just squeeze the 4x2 and wring it like a sponge. Two bathrooms back to back so the bath hid the leak from the en-suite shower until the downstairs ceiling eventually gave up the fault.

Finished that job on a new years eve, ( just as their guests were arriving I was getting shown out via the ‘staff exit’ ), and not even a cold beer or king prawn in breadcrumbs made it in my direction. ?  

[MrSniff]

Gutting and refitting our main bathroom was the first major project I undertook some 15 years ago. It took an age, but plumbing makes me nervous and I was dry fitting everything (several times) and redoing (several times) until my paranoia was reduced. The only problems were a silicon shower seal which failed, and looks to be going again (so will be redone as Nick says above - thanks) and finding out that JG plastic pipe and inserts and shallow compression fittings don't make such good bedfellows - apparently light and water was not the multifunction my wife was hoping for in the kitchen...

 

With those lessons learned, and other great stuff gleaned from this forum, I would have no hesitation in doing it again when necessary.

Edited February 17, 2020 by MrSniff

[H F]

Pipe connected and working beautifully. 

[H F]

I also have the stupidly heavy tray in.

[Onoff]

Fugi kit everytime for me. I aimed for no bigger than the 5mm fillet.

 

 

[H F]

18 hours ago, fleming007 said:

Just call a good plunber and let him do his job

Getting the plumbers to turn up has been the battle as I’ve mentioned at the outset of this post.

[H F]

On that note, we finished all the work on the bathroom yesterday - massive clean up operation today and we've moved back into our bedroom. Will share some photos tomorrow. 

[H F]

We’re pleased with the way the bathroom turned... still finalizing the decorations (mirrors, etc).. but it’s largely done now,