Free Personal Plumbing Info.

raphaelsetton

Some 10 years ago I had a new plumbing system installed throughout the house from rising main to water tank and indirect hot water cylinder. At considerable extra cost the plumber installed separate piping to shower in upstairs bathroom so that when water was drawn in say , the kitchen it would not affect the water pressure to the shower. This worked fine until recently. What is most likely cause of this no longer working? air lock or corrosion or?
Raph Setton

sigh_2

Hi Ian,
I'm having real trouble with repairing a closed coupling toilet cistern. It just keep leaking through the 'doughnut'. I'll give it one more try if you could give me any tips for re-doing it please, before I call in the professionals!! How much should I expect to pay a plumber for this job?

adam31

Hi Ian,
Every morning when the central heating comes on the pipes under the floorboards make a loud tapping noise. I've always attributed this to the pipes 'warming up' - but it seems to be getting progressively louder - and is now waking up the whole house at 5am.
Is it anything to worry about? Is there a simple way to stop (or reduce) the noise?
Thanks.

wotasave

Hi Ian

I have a Potterton boiler which keeps cutting out because the water pressure is dropping within the sealed system. If I top up the pressure it is fine for a few days. I have noticed that there is a pipe outside which is dripping water probably from the boiler. What could be causing this and how can I fix it ?

vonnie5

Hi Ian,

My mother appears to have some sort of leak from the loft where the cold water tank is. The wet is coming through the ceiling and down the wall in one of the bedrooms and is worse after flushing either of the 2 toilets. Is there anything she can do herself about it or will she have to actually call out a plumber?

Many thanks.

macwise

Hi Ian

My toilet started dribbling about a year ago (water trickling constantly out of the cistern into the bowl) and my husband bravely said he would fix it but I know he hasn't got a clue where to start. Can you give me an idiot guide to how to stop this?

Also, my hot tap is very stiff and needs to be turned about 6 times before it starts running and again to switch it off (which means its often left on by mistake). Is there an easy way to fix this?

This is brilliant, thanks Martin.

Marz

macwise

"my hot tap is very stiff and needs to be turned about 6 times before it starts running and again to switch it off "

By the way, the taps I refer to have 70's style clear plastic tops on them like screw top lids and I can't see how to remove them...

cruyff73

Hi Ian,

I'm looking to change my toilet and have encountered a minor problem. I have been advised that the stack pipe is asbestos not cast iron as I thought (little dubious about that). If at all possible I want to avoid replacing this pipe so firstly, if it is asbestos can I get away with cutting the pipe (the toilet fittings have pretty much stuck fast over the 50 odd years since fitted). If so is there a fitting available to connect new toilet pans to asbestos pipe and is it a job a DIY'er can do (local plumbers seem to be avoiding me).

Cheers

macfarlane

Hello Ian

I have a problem when I run hot water into my bath.
Lots of small black (may be dirt) seems to appear.
This does not happen with the cold tap.
I haven't checked my water tank yet, but other than that is there anything else you could suggest?

Regards Steve

clairville

My central heating has will only heat the hot water in the tank when the heating system is on
If i only switch the hot water side on the heating control nothing happens ie no hot water