Blocked Bath

jbatista

How much would it cost to replace the piping??expensive I bet!

SailorSam

If the fall of the pipe is to gentle the water will not rush away but drain slowly. Over the years what may happen you get a build up, a mixture of soap and hair and the complete run of pipe could be solid.

Salster278

I bought a carbon dioxide unplugger thingy (from Homebase - 14.99) when I lived in a flat and was worried about blocking the whole block- it's like a funnel with a cannister of lemon scented gas on it. A couple of puffs unblocked the waste pipe (ooerr missus) and now I use it every 6 months just to keep the wash basin and bath clear - i reckon it's saved me a fortune in plumber call outs

keystone

jbatista wrote: »

How much would it cost to replace the piping??expensive I bet!

Depends - cost of plastic small. Fitting its a different issue. The main problem would be access. Frequently where these things join the bath it seems like they've been welded on! If its one solid piece of lead all the way to your hopper (and it can be) the lead will have to be cut. There'll be precous little room under the bath to work The hole in the wall will probably have been done with a bolster if its lead rather than a core drill so there should be no major issue getting a new piece of plastic through the wall.

It could be an hours job - it could take nearly all day impossible to tell.

BUT here we are speculating because we don't actually know whats there in reality yet and we don't know that it needs replacing - but you did ask.

Incidentally a previous poster mentioned hair. Your biggest threat is actually soap scum that hair gets caught up in. Best stuff to shift years of that is caustic soda (not washing soda) crystalsas mentioned. Best thing you can use TBH but I just use boiling water on it - no vinegar.

Cheers

ManAtHome

jbatista wrote: »

grrr the panel I acant find any screws at all for it...

Might be at the bottom of the panel - if you have bathroom carpet, try pulling it back from the panel. Could also be a 'push-in' (no screws) - DIY bit for this is push the handle of a wire coat-hanger under the bottom, turn 90 degrees then pull (you have to mangle the hanger-y bit to turn it...).

ormus

plastic pipe is very cheap. couple of quid.
its the labour part that is expensive. could easy be 100/200 quid for a plumber.

jbatista

A big thankyou to you all.....it was ice! dynorod came back first thing this morning....the lead piping on the outside of the house were full of ice...a few kettles of wam water and hey presto...alls good again now....just need to keep an eye on it now..

jbatista

ManAtHome wrote: »

Might be at the bottom of the panel - if you have bathroom carpet, try pulling it back from the panel. Could also be a 'push-in' (no screws) - DIY bit for this is push the handle of a wire coat-hanger under the bottom, turn 90 degrees then pull (you have to mangle the hanger-y bit to turn it...).

To be honest its got a plinth at the bottom of it...but would be interested in seeing just how I can get the panel off fo future reference!

ormus

plinths can be held on with sping clips. they just pull off.
older ones were maybe just pinned on. just pull em off gently. you can normally use the same pins again. (pins = very small nails).
hardboard/plywood covers were often fixed like this.

27col

Bath panels should never be fitted without some means of removing them in an emergency. Though this fact seems to have escaped a large number of bathroom installers, both DIY and professional. Although, in the case of lead bath wastes, getting access would not be much of an advantage. If it were mine, I would be changing it for plastic pipe that can be disassembled. Solvent welded plastic pipe is continuous like lead pipe, but at least it can have removable access points put in as it is installed. I hate to think what the state of a 1950's lead bath waste might be like with 50 years of hair in it somewhere.