Replacing a kitchen sink mixer tap

ferry

Easy for some of you intelligent species but could you please advise me (embarrassingly)on a straight swap I'd like to do myself.
If I undo the retaining bolt do the hot and cold water pipes screw into the underneath of the tap?
Looking at it do the hot and cold water pipes just sit under the tap with a washer all secured in with by centre bolt IYKWIM?

Apologies for the newbie type question but any advice(in plain English appreciated)

Pete

martyn05

When you buy a mixer tap it comes with 2 copper pipes that have a thread at one end and nothing at the other. You connect the 2 pipes into the mixer then thread them through the hole in the sink. You then fit your hold and cold water supply pipes by means of a compression joint. To secure the mixer to the sink you get a couple of washers in the box and a long threaded rod and a long nut. You need a plumbers tool to tighten this up.

The instructions in the box are quite clear. I did one about 4 weeks ago and it was fine.

keystone

ferry wrote: »

Easy for some of you intelligent species but could you please advise me (embarrassingly)on a straight swap I'd like to do myself.
If I undo the retaining bolt do the hot and cold water pipes screw into the underneath of the tap?

How old is the existing tap? Is it a monobloc or one with twin threaded connections either side if the spout. If its a monobloc it will have a single threaded rod that screws into the tap body and to which you screw a "long nut", as it has been described, to secure the tap. If its of the twin type it will have a backnut on each of the threaded water connections. Whichever it is the basic answer to your question is yes.

Don't forget to isolate the supplies first. Are there isolating valves already in place? If not you should fit some when you do the job.

If you are replacing a monobloc with another monobloc then its not beyond the whit of man that the new tap body will fit the old tails provided they are screw in ones. Older monoblocs had the tails permanently fixed into them at manufacture.

If its a two hole sink then you won't be using a monobloc.

Apologies for the newbie type question but any advice(in plain English appreciated)

Never apologise for asking questions about something you are unsure about. You'll have more questions once you have read responses so don't hesitate to come back.

Hope this helps in the meantime.

Cheers

keystone

martyn05 wrote: »

When you buy a mixer tap it comes with 2 copper pipes that have a thread at one end and nothing at the other. You connect the 2 pipes into the mixer then thread them through the hole in the sink. You then fit your hold and cold water supply pipes by means of a compression joint. To secure the mixer to the sink you get a couple of washers in the box and a long threaded rod and a long nut. You need a plumbers tool to tighten this up.

The instructions in the box are quite clear. I did one about 4 weeks ago and it was fine.

A monobloc might come with copper tails, it might come with flexis, it might come with none at all. A tap suitable for a two hole sink won't have any and a different, although similar, fixing method to that which you have described.

Just a point for other readers when connecting to those horrid copper tails which are ever so thin walled witha compression fitting you have to be careful doing up the or it will leak either due to being not tight enough or due to being crushed.

The plumbers tool required to do up the "long nut" is called a box spanner

Cheers

ferry

Cheers guys
Was taking a look at this earlier and the tap is supplied with 2 rigid copper pipes-not flexis.
looks like the ends of the pipes screw in to the base of the tap but the underneath doesn't look like it accomodates a screw type fixing?
Should the base of the tap unscrew to reveal these?

Appreciate the ongoing help...See told you I'd be trouble!
F

keystone

As you haven't said are we to assume that it is a monoblock?

Make / model of tap?

Any chance of a pic or two? Otherwise its all guesswork.

Cheers

martinthebandit

This should help
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/monoblock.htm

(Hopefully)

cyclonebri1

Agree with Keystone and all above, and to be honest I'd ditch the supplied copper pipes and go with flexes.

The answer in 1 sentence is that you fit the fittings (pipes) to the tap, bolt it down, and then do the plumbing under the sink, ;)

ferry

keystone wrote: »

As you haven't said are we to assume that it is a monoblock?

Make / model of tap?

Any chance of a pic or two? Otherwise its all guesswork.

Cheers

Really sorry-yes its a monoblock-one of the fancy IKEA ones but not sure which range.
I'll some pics up later and perhaps you could confirm that all is quite standard.

Thanks again to all for the ongoing help
F

keystone

Should be something like this (except this one has two fixing studs):



You'll have two threaded holes to fit the tails to and either one or two holes to take the stud. Probably a single stud used with yours though. It should not be necessaery to dismantle the tap body to fit the stud.

Cheers

ferry

Many thanks for this.
I have now taken a picture so as you can see I dont seem to have the threads for screwing the tail pipes to or do I need to remove the circle thing at the bottom to fit them further into the body?....hope not as the darn circle thing at the bottom wont budge..