Tag
Water pressure
15 articles
ArticleHow to Install a Wall-Mounted Shower Mixer: Checking the Wall Outlets, Setting Eccentric Unions, Mounting the Mixer, Slide Rail or Shower Column, and Leak TestingA client has bought a new chrome shower set and wants it fitted this afternoon. Another is renovating a bathroom and asks you to "leave the pipes ready for the shower" before the t…
ArticleHow to Install an Outdoor Garden Tap (Wall Faucet): Choosing the Tap and Location, Teeing Off the Supply, Fixing the Wall-Plate Elbow, Preventing Hose Backflow and Fixing LeaksA townhouse client wants a tap by the front gate to wash motorbikes and the yard. Another wants one on a balcony for her plants, a third on a rooftop garden beside the water tank.…
ArticleHow to Install a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) on a Home Water Supply: Measuring Pressure, Choosing and Positioning the Valve, Setting It and Fixing Common FaultsA client on a lower floor of an apartment block says the taps "explode" when opened, the washing machine hose burst last month, and the water heater's safety valve drips every even…
ArticleHow to Install a Whole-House Sediment Pre-Filter on the Main Water LineSand in the shower head, a brown film in the toilet cistern, an RO purifier that clogs its first cartridge in a few weeks: these are signs that particles are travelling through the…
ArticleInstalling an evacuated-tube solar water heater on a town house: positioning, pipe connections, non-return valve, electric backup heating and commissioning"Can you install an evacuated-tube solar water heater on our roof?" The unit looks simple: a horizontal tank, a row of glass tubes and a frame. But a poor installation has serious…
ArticleInstalling an under-sink RO water purifier: connecting the feed valve, the drain line and a dedicated faucet, and flushing the filters correctly"Could you come and install the RO purifier I just bought, under the kitchen sink?" It sounds simple, but many jobs end in a call-back because a push-fit connector weeps and floods…
ArticleWater heater leaking, safety valve dripping continuously or no hot water: 7 steps for plumbers to check and fix it safely"Our water heater keeps dripping from the valve at the bottom — is it about to break?" "When I showered this morning, water was running down the wall from the bottom of the heater.…
ArticleTaps spluttering air and water flowing in bursts because of air in the pipes: finding the cause and bleeding air from water supply pipes correctly"The water came back this morning, but when I open the tap it keeps spluttering, the water spurts out in bursts and splashes everywhere, flowing and stopping." Plumbers often get c…
ArticleWeak shower flow: 7 steps to find the cause, from the shower head to the roof tank and the water heater“My shower just drizzles, I can never rinse the soap off.” “The cold water is strong, but as soon as I turn on the hot water it gets really weak.” “On the ground floor the water gu…
ArticleSolvent-welding uPVC pipe correctly: square cuts, chamfering, applying cement, hold time, cure time before pressure testing and fixing leaking joints"I only glued it yesterday and this morning the joint is already weeping." Most of the time the cause is not bad cement but poor technique : an angled cut, no chamfer, a dirty or w…
ArticleInstalling a washing machine correctly: supply valve, overflow- and odour-proof drain hose, levelling the machine and a leak-free test run"The machine is brand new, and a week after it was installed water spilled onto the floor, the bathroom smells of sewage, and when it spins it shakes and walks out of place." Plumb…
ArticleWater pipes banging, vibrating and knocking when a tap is shut off (water hammer): 7 steps to find the cause and fix it for good"Every time I turn off the kitchen tap there's a 'clunk' inside the wall, and the same when the washing machine finishes filling." Plumbers get this call quite often, especially fr…