Basic plumbing.pdf

BASIC PLUMBING

The simple skills required for basic plumbing are explained in

this project.

It helps to have some metalworking experience.

Take care when working with a blowtorch in loft spaces. Be

aware that pipes take time to cool after exposure to the

blowtorch flame.

If you can undertake the basic work yourself, you save

money and the inconvenience of waiting for a plumber.

Basic plumbing repair needn't be a daunting task, all you

need to get started are a few essential tools, a working

knowledge of your system and an ability to identify

problems.

2 - Preparation

Step 1: Familiarise yourself with the layout of your

plumbing - this will enable you to identify the cause of a

problem and shut off the water for servicing.

Step 2: Locate the stopcock

on the rising main - the pipe

that brings fresh water into

your home. The stopcock

controls the flow of water a

is used to shut off the entire

supply in an emergency

stopcock may be found und

Step 3: Check if there are isolating valves on the low

pressure pipes to taps, toilet cisterns and household

appliances - these valves enable servicing to be carried out

without turning off the mains. They are usually located next

to the storage cistern in the loft.

Make up a kit of basic plumbing tools and a set of spare

washers to fit the taps and valves around the house.

Keep your plumber's phone number handy in case you are

. The

the kitchen sink, beneath th

stairs or in the cellar or

basement.

faced with a serious problem.

3 - Draining the system

In order to repair a leak, run new pipes or service a toilet

cistern, it is necessary to be able to drain various parts of

the system.

Water is supplied to a house under relatively high mains

pressure. In most houses it is directed via the rising main

pipe to a cold water storage cistern in the loft. A pipe

connected to the rising main feeds drinking water directly to

the kitchen sink. All other taps and fittings, including the hot

water storage cylinder, are supplied indirectly by a low

pressure gravity-fed system from the storage cistern.

To drain the cold water kitchen tap and pipe:

1. Close the stopcock on the rising main

2. Open the tap to empty the short length of pipe.

To drain cold water taps in the bathroom/to drain the

cistern:

1. Shut off the cold feed valve from the storage cistern

in the loft.

2. Run the bathroom taps.

or:

1. If there is no

isolating valve, shut

off the supply of

water to the cistern

by tying the arm of

the float valve to a

batten placed across

the top.

2. Run the taps to d

the cistern. Use this

method if you ever

need to work on th

cistern itself.

rain

o drain a toilet cistern:

1. Tie up the float-valve arm.

2. Flush the toilet.

If yo

u need to work on the

supply pipe to the cistern, shut

er supply from the storage cistern in the loft (see

off the wat

above).

drain hot water taps:

1. Turn off the immersion heater and the central

heating boiler.

2. Shut off the supply of water from the storage

cistern in the loft

3. Run off the water from the hot taps.

to the hot water cylinder.

To d

rain the hot water cylinder:

Attach a

this can only be emptied through the boiler draincock.

To save time and water when drai

epairs and servicing, install extr

system into sections or to isolate individual fittings and

appliances.

ning pipes for minor

a valves to divide the

Step 1: Fit gate valves on

the cold feed pipes from the

storage cistern. This will save

you having to drain the

stored water when servicin

the low pressure side of the

system. If you fit a second

stopcock on the in-feed pipe,

you can drain the cistern

without turning off the rising

main.

Fit isolator valves in

the supply pipes to taps and

appliances. This will enable

you to isolate the individual

fitting for servicing.

5 - Filling the system

tep 1: First close all taps and drainage points, then open

the float valves operate

hose to the draincock at the base of the cylinder. If

e cylinder contains a heat exchanger fed from the boiler,

4 - Fitting extra valves

Step 2:

the main stopcock. Check that

properly as the water levels rise in the storage cisterns. If

water pours from a cistern overflow, the valve may have

stuck open. Work the float arm up and down a few times to

free the valve.

lik

tep 2: When the system is full, open the taps. Water is

ely to splutter out at first as trapped air is released.

pressure kitchen tap at one end and the airlocked tap at the

other.

tep 3: If water fails to flow or only trickles out, there may

e an airlock. Connect a length of garden hose to the high

Opening both taps allows the

high pressure water to push

trapped air out of the pipe.

Turn off the taps, disconnect

the hose and test the

airlocked tap again. Repeat if

necessary allowing mor

for the air to clear. Should

the air lock not clear, try

again by entering the syst

e time

em.

If no success, call a plumber.

Most homes are plumbed with 15mm, 22

mm and sometimes

28mm diameter copper pipe. Joining pipework is basic to all

plumbing installations and many repairs.

opper pipes can be joined with brass compress n fittings

r soldered capillary joints. You can cut copper pipe with a

fine toothed hacksaw, but it is easier and more accurate if

you use a tube cutter.

hatever type of fitting you use, the pipe must first be cut

erfectly square.

To cut a pipe, lightly clamp

the cutter on the pipe, with

the cutting wheel on the cut

line. Rotate the cutter around

the pipe, tightening it a little

after each revolution, u

the pipe is severed.

ntil

6 - Cutting & joining pipes

Remove burrs from inside the cut end, using the pointed

move burrs from inside the cut end, using the pointed

reamer on the cutting tool or use a small half-round file.

o join copper pipes with a compression fitting:

tep 1: First remove the cap nut and slide it over the end of

the pipe.

pipe.

tep 2: Slip the brass ring, known as an olive, onto the

olive up to the fitting and tighten the nut by hand.

tep 3: Push the pipe into the body of the fitting, slide the

hold the body of the fitting, and the other the nut. Assemble

the other half of the fitting in the same way.

tep 4: Tighten the nut fully with a pair of spanners, one to

are easier to work with:

or soldered joints, use pre-soldered fittings as these

fitting to a bright finish, using wire wool.

tep 1: Clean the cut ends of the pipes and the inside of the

push the parts together.

tep 2: Apply a paste flux to the fitting and pipes, then

Step 3: Using a heatproof

mat as a shield behind the

fitting, evenly heat the joint

with the flame of a gas

blowtorch until a rim of shiny

solder appears around the

ends of the fitting.

tep 4: Remove the heat and leave the metal to cool.

7 If you accidentally drive a nail through a

the floor, you may not even notice for a while. The only

indication is a faint hissing until, eventually, a damp patch

appears on the ceiling in the room below.

- Mending damaged pipes

copper pipe under

o join copper pipes with a compression fitting:

tep 1: First remove the cap nut and slide it over the end of

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