# Solved: Plumbing (taps)



## girl friday (Apr 17, 2007)

Please helppppp

I have just recently moved into house and found that in the bathroom i can get no running water from the bath taps......all other taps are ok and central heating running good also good flush on toilet so water pressure must be ok.

Do i need new bath taps (no finance for expensive plumbers).


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## Jedi_Master (Mar 13, 2002)

Howdy girl friday...

Hmmm...

This is an extremely tough question, as there is some investigation required to find the problem. If you can...trace the lines going to the taps and see if there are some cut off valves ( some plumbers will install them for ease in replacing the taps when they become defective ), as they may be shut off ( as I doubt both hot and cold taps to be bad, if I'm reading your post right )...

Also if you are renting, you may have to contact the person you are renting from to see if there is/was a problem with the bath taps...


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Hi Girl Friday,

I assume you can get running water from the basin taps ?
You would have said if you couldn't ....

The bath taps and the basin taps are (normally) fed from the same
pipes, so my guess is that there are 'in-line' valves with the bath
taps.

If that is the case, and it does sound like it, then they would be
in the pipework feeding the bath taps, just as 'Jedi Master' has
posted already.

Have a look around and see if you can see anything like that,
if you can't see anything like that, then get someone to have a look.

It is very unlikely that you will need new taps, although they might
be dripping, which may be why someone has put valves in the line.
Sometimes its awkward to source the right washers for older taps,
but rather than replace them i have often made washers up out of
other bits of rubber.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to take the older taps apart,
if you could post a picture it would be a help,

John


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## girl friday (Apr 17, 2007)

thanx Jedimaster and John1 for you replies.
Has i am fairly new to this forem could you please tell me John1 how to post a picture


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

To post a screen shot of the active window, hold the _*Alt*_ key and press the *PrtScn* key. Open the Windows PAINT application and _*Paste*_ the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file. To upload it to TSG, open the full reply window and use the _*Manage Attachments*_ button to upload it here.


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Hi,

You are welcome to any help from these boards.
I am going to assume that you did look for the pipework on your bath
taps, but that you were unable to see any of it without taking apart
sections of the surround covering the sides of the bath.

Also it occurs to me that there might be a good reason why the bath
taps have been shut off, there may be a problem with the drain-hole.
I suggest that you pour some water down the bath plug-hole and see
that it does go where its supposed to go, presumably to the drain
outside. And not hopefully into the floor, or down the walls.

Also i assume that you are able to turn the taps ...
and that after a few turns they come to a stop,
and then you can turn them the other way,
and then after a few turns they come to a stop that way too.

Or do they just turn, feeling loose, and continue turning as long
as you turn them ... never coming to a stop ... ? ... ?
If so then they are broken.

Have you tried putting some water down the plughole,
to see if its Ok ?
Is there a sink or basin there as well ? and do those taps work Ok ?

Be very careful if you engage a plumber, the plumbing trade has an
unfortunate reputation which i am sure is mostly un-deserved.
Before getting in a workman to attend to anything like this, get a
male colleague to be involved with the work. A family member or a
boyfriend. Hopefully someone who has some practical ability. Do not
leave any workmen in your home unnattended.
And don't forget, to do any work in your home/premises a plumber has
to be legally certified. This became law a few years ago.
Any bona-fide plumber will be happy to show you his certification, cos
they have to pass a test for it.

How to post a picture ... the easy way.
Go to google.
go to google images.
put in "bath taps" , i got a choice of 2,930 to choose from.
(don't forget the speech marks)
pick a pair that looks as close to yours as you can.

I chose this pair
*******








*******

I went to the site from the google thumbnail, scrolled down to the
picture, right clicked on the picture, and copy-pasted the address to
the 'insert image' part in the advanced section of the reply

I am going to post this now to check that the picture has come up Ok.
If its Ok, i will explain one of the ways to post your own pictures.

John


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

It looks like JohnWill has already covered the 'Manage Attachments'
section in the advanced part of the 'Post Reply'

Please go into more detail with your replies.
Like ... :

_yes, i have looked, but its dark and the pipes go behind the
towels so i can't see where they go.
I will move the towels later and get back to you.

I will pour some water down the hole, and get my mate to tell me
if it comes out at the drain outside, and get back to you._

Please try to answer any of the queries, they are only so that we
can think whats the best way to act.

Also have your email running when you go to TSG, that is so that you
will get an e-mail alert if someone replies.
Well, assuming you have an email sound available on your e-mail,
you can set the e-mail to check for a reply every so often, five to
ten minutes is fair, too often just makes extra traffic, you can
always set it back to a longer time when you're not actually on
the TSG site.

There are plenty of people looking in, and wondering why your bath
taps don't run.

Cheers, John


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## girl friday (Apr 17, 2007)

I hope i did this right. if so you should be viewing the type of taps i have.

Sorry but i should have made my self clear at the beginning. The bath taps did run for 2 days before they stopped (been in house now for 1wk). I do not have a seperate shower cubicle. the shower is over the bath so i know that the plughole or pipes are not blocked, or leaking the water drains straight to the outside drain at a good flow. I have not taken the bath panel off to look yet as had no time been working nights.

At first both hot and cold taps ran at a good pace. then they just stopped. i tried again a day later and got a small flow but not a lot of water. then nothing since.


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi sounds like an air block.
Is there a water tank in the loft?
Get a small hose pipe approx 3 foot long.
Put over the ends of both hot and cold tap..may take some doing.
Warming hose ends with a blow lamp or warm air gun..hair drying etc will help.

Turn on hot tap to maximum..Connect hose on both taps.
Hold hose on both taps and let the cold water go up the hot water tap.
If someone can be in the loft to hear and see the water enter the main water tank all the better.
That should clear the air block.

Rereading your post..no water from both taps?
There are stop valves in the loft [assuming you have one]
Either side of the tank..for some reason they may have been turned off.

If you can run hose from the basin tap [cold tap] and use first on the cold bath tap..leaving hot tap closed.
And let the water from basin tap flow up bath tap to the main tank in the loft.
Repeat for the hot tap.

Are you saying you can use the shower above the bath?
Or did that stop after 2 days?
Sounds like after 2 days you have drained all the water in the main tank.
Can you check that there is water in the main tank?


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Hi,

You say you have a shower attachment over the bath,
not a separate cubicle ....

So i wonder, is it fitted with the taps ... 
like this sort of thing,
where the two bath taps are a kind of mixer unit,
with the shower feed pipe running up to a bracket over the bath.

******








******

I'm afraid your picture did not make it.

If its one of those mixer-type units,
my guess is that it needs repairing - assuming that the
bathroom basin is working alright.
_
Is there a sink or basin there as well ? and do those taps work Ok ?
_
You do have a basin in there too, yes ?
And the basin taps do work Ok, yes ?

Blues Harp,
It doesn't seem to fit the general behaviour of an air-lock to me,
it seems to me more like a blockage.
A blockage in the outlet part of a double tap unit.
It would be unlikely that a blockage could present itself in both taps
at the same time, almost impossible, so my guess is that if there is
a blockage, it would be in the 'shared' part of a double tap unit.

I don't think that an air lock is likely in pipework that has a tap
to atmosphere, they are usually in circulating systems.

*******

However, if it turns out that the bath has two distinctly separate
taps, then why should they both stop roughly together ... ?
As Blues harp says, in that case maybe there are stop valves some
where in the system, or maybe a ballcock unit thats got itself
stuck shut, and needs free-ing up.

Some newer bath units have shutoffs behind the bath run from the
overflow, they are supposed to reduce the tap flow in case the person
filling the bath forgets about it, and the overflow has a mechanism
to turn the taps down low.
When the taps are shut, it drains out and returns to normal.

But, like anything else, they can go wrong.
Although these are not common, but you never know.

******

It is usual for the basin to be run from the same pipework that feeds
the bath, this is why there are questions about how the basin taps
are behaving.

On balance, i think that its a problem with a double tap and shower
unit, lets see what girl friday says.
She also seemed to suspect the taps in her first post,
she may have been right.

Cheers, John


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi john1.
"Blues Harp,
It doesn't seem to fit the general behaviour of an air-lock to me,
it seems to me more like a blockage."

Almost everytime Ive had to drain down a water system..to change taps..install baths etc.
The one thing that seems to always happen is air gets into the system and either the toilet or basin or kitchen sink for that matter no longer receives water.
The only way to remove the air is by making water pressure from another source ie a tap with mains water pressure up the taps that do not run..thus freeing the air.

Until girl friday returns with some more info..it's hard to say what has caused the problem.
Your suggestion of the ball valve in main tank not working could also be the cause.

The curious thing is most houses[UK] have the one main water tank..so all water to all taps basin..kitchen would be affected.

A plumber [one north of Watford] should only charge approx £60-£70 to check your water system.


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## Zeppfan (Apr 20, 2006)

guys,

Let us not forget about age of the piping itself. sediment clings to the walls of cast iron pipe and eventually restricts and even clogs the pipe.

Girl Friday? How old is your home? Do you have iron water pipes or copper?

I would lean towards a blockage, but until we can know more, air lock cant be ruled out either.


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## girl friday (Apr 17, 2007)

Thanx alot guys for all your information.

Problem now solved i took on the idea of blues_ harp28 and used the hose pipe from basin taps to bath taps and it worked wonders now have both hot and cold running water in all bathroom taps. The shower was not via mixer taps but a proper shower unit on the wall.

thanks again...well done all


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

:up: it's a trick I picked up many years ago..does the job.


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Thats great!
I am glad you've sorted it out.

Blues harp, i shall have to remember that one,

John


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I have never heard of an air block before, learn something every day. I've done lots of plumbing in various locations, and when I turn the water on, it's always managed to find it's way out all the taps. 

Very strange...


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi I must admit..many years ago I spent many hours trying to get water to run from the bath taps.
A friend walked in hose in hand put one end of the hose on the cold tap one on hot 5 mins later we had water..I could have kissed him [I didn't of course]


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, it's something that I'll keep in mind. 

It's a bad day when you don't learn something, even if it's not about computers.


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## jim.sanderson (May 15, 2007)

If you take the back off so you can see the pipes, there should be VALVES trun on.(if pipes are there)
If this does not work, the water is truned off some wair else


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## blues_harp28 (Jan 9, 2005)

Hi jim and welcome to TSG.
You may not have noticed but the problem has been solved.
But your suggestion is a good one.


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## jim.sanderson (May 15, 2007)

Blues-harp28, I would never have thought of that. 
That one gos in the book.good one,thanks jim


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