Unable to remove old washbasin taps? 8 December 2022 at 8:17PM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 4 replies 121 views

ahfat41

The person who was replacing my old washbasin bathroom, taps with new one could not remove them. He said they have seized them. He does central heating and boiler and is gas safe but does little jobs as well. Thinking may be he has not got the right tool and I should  ask a qualified plumber to have a look. My query is is it possible for old taps to be so stuck that they cannot be removed? I do not want to call a plumber and pay a call out charge then find out he cannot do the job. Thanks

Section62

ahfat41 said:

The person who was replacing my old washbasin bathroom, taps with new one could not remove them. He said they have seized them. He does central heating and boiler and is gas safe but does little jobs as well. Thinking may be he has not got the right tool and I should  ask a qualified plumber to have a look. My query is is it possible for old taps to be so stuck that they cannot be removed? I do not want to call a plumber and pay a call out charge then find out he cannot do the job. Thanks

Yes, it is.  At least it is without resorting to techniques such as angle grinding the backnuts off.

Did he suggest taking the washbasin out so he would work on it with better access?

The more common problem is washbasin tap backnuts being difficult to get access to and/or being able to apply enough force to undo them.  So it is also possible he thought the job was too difficult to bother with.

If he is gas safe then you wouldn't expect him to have any less skill for this type of job than a 'qualified plumber', but the latter might be more willing to give it a go though.

tacpot12

Access to the nuts tends to require a basin wrench, and if he's not got one of those, then he will have found it very hard to undo any seized nuts. I think the nuts can seize if the joint has been leaking; the metal that the taps are made from can start to corrode and this might cause the nuts to seize on. 

I think all you can do is call around a few plumbers and ask them if they can guarantee to be able to take the taps off. I think I would offer to pay them the same whether they destroy the sink and fit a new one or manage to save the one you have and can fit the new taps to it.   

ahfat41

Section62 said:

ahfat41 said:

The person who was replacing my old washbasin bathroom, taps with new one could not remove them. He said they have seized them. He does central heating and boiler and is gas safe but does little jobs as well. Thinking may be he has not got the right tool and I should  ask a qualified plumber to have a look. My query is is it possible for old taps to be so stuck that they cannot be removed? I do not want to call a plumber and pay a call out charge then find out he cannot do the job. Thanks

Yes, it is.  At least it is without resorting to techniques such as angle grinding the backnuts off.

Did he suggest taking the washbasin out so he would work on it with better access?

The more common problem is washbasin tap backnuts being difficult to get access to and/or being able to apply enough force to undo them.  So it is also possible he thought the job was too difficult to bother with.

If he is gas safe then you wouldn't expect him to have any less skill for this type of job than a 'qualified plumber', but the latter might be more willing to give it a go though.

Yes he did suggest removing the washbasin but he was not prepared to do it as he is very cheap compared to others. He did suggest contacting his plumbers mate who might be willing to do it. So it will cost quite a lot if washbasin has to be removed. A plumber quoted £95 but I did not tell him that the old taps have seized up.

plumb1_2

Yes taps will seize up, various reasons, could be bedded in with, putty, plaster etc.
what I do is disconnect the pipes and use a box spanner.
In the past I have had to hacksaw the off the tap close to the top of the whb, then use a hole saw to drill them out.
I would not give a fixed price for doing it( unless way over the top) as I could take 2 or 4 hrs and a couple of hole saws.
If your gonna ask a plumber to do, best to inform him of the situation.