Plumbing problem - place your bets

[Markerat]

My mum has had a new bathroom fitted by a 'professional' plumber (OK stop laughing now).

He's put in a new sink, bath and shower.

When you pull the plug on the sink a fountain of water 30cm/1 foot comes out of the bath plug hole. It does happen the other way round too but not as severe.

If the plug is in there is no water obviously but it gurgles and churns like a concrete mixer.

He's took the bath apart and dropped the inclination of the pipe around 2cm/1 inch but to no affect.

His next suggestion is to fit an 'antivac' trap to both sink and bath to correct the problem.

Would anyone care to place a bet what the monkey has cocked up and how to fix it without resorting to exotic 'antivac' U traps.

 

[tek-monkey]

Exit pipe too small to cope with the water leaving?

Whatever it is, he's not done the job as promised so its his problem isn't it? Unless his quote was vague.

 

[Markerat]

He's still here putting in a new kitchen and 'promises' to sort it out after he's finished with what he's doing.

I've got a feeling something like the Tee connection for the sink/bath was not lowered to the same height as the new lowered bath outlet.

He's hopefully going to sort it out or Mr Plumber is getting a cuffy in the appropriate section of this forum.

 

[Glam]

Sounds like sumat outta Carry on film!

 

[My Name is URL]

Maybe Mr Rikki can assist you with this... afraid I know very little about plumbing..

 

[John Marwood]

If he works for Dolphin bathrooms and showers here is an explanation



Thevgawnbustbab

 

[Rikki]

I'd be checking for a blockage first. The bath waste is lower than basin so any blockage downstream of them both would cause the bath to fill up. The fact it does it the other way is very odd though and makes me think there could be something else going on. Would need to see the bathroom layout and waste pipe routes to say for sure.

 

[Rikki]

I've got a feeling something like the Tee connection for the sink/bath was not lowered to the same height as the new lowered bath outlet.

That would actually explain it, I should read the whole post before commenting next time.

 

[Markerat]

Trouble is Rikki Tweedle dum and tweedle dumber have tiled the floors, walls and made the bath panel side fixed so its now impossible to check the routes of pipes without causing some major damage.

They didn't include any way to allow for maintenance to the system in the work they did so if it does need to be replaced in any section its going to be messy and invasive.

I'll keep people posted, thanks for your comments and help.

 

[tek-monkey]

My downstairs toilet is like that, the hot tap for the washing machine wont shut off and I can't get to it without ripping out the whole sink unit!

 

[1JKz]

you going to put their work name on the forum, so we don't make the same mistake of getting these guys to do work on our pipes?

...check and check again, measure twice cut once springs to mind

 

[Markerat]

OK I bear wrestled the bath side panel off and had a good look and a measure with spirit levels and visually examined the situation after convincing Mum it wasn't going to make the world explode.
A few things were noted:

(a) The main waste pipe runs up hill so the water runs towards the plug not towards the sewer. This wasn't like this before on the old bath.
(b) Instead of a bottle trap arrester it has a very long lazy P trap with virtually no back pressure resistance.
(c) Two of the new junctions made are crooked and leaking slightly.

I'm off to Wickes in the morning for a few supplies and fix it properly.

Edit: Had to remove Name of guilty plumber at Mum's request. She's shitting bricks he'll see the cuffy and walk off the current job fixing the kitchen. Grumble grumble huff huff etc.

 

[Rikki]

The trap shouldn't be a problem and sounds like the right one, bath traps are like that. You won't have space between the floor and bath for anything else unless you cut a hole in the boards.

Wickes stuff can be a bit cheap and nasty, try a proper builders or plumbers merchant.
I'd also recommend using solvent weld pipe/fittings and not push fit, if you already have push fit installed just join onto it with a universal compression coupler (flexis can help is things don't quite line up).

 

[Markerat]

There is already a hole big enough for a football to pass though in the boards under the bath so that's not an issue.

The plan is to replace the bath waste pipe, this gets rid of the combined overflow fitting so that the trap can sit higher giving better gravity effect for the water to run off for a start. I want as much height available as is humanly possible due to the situation presented ideally.

Next off fit a trap with a combined connection for the overflow to join it like they use under kitchen sink for dishwashers and washing machines. This should take care of where the hell is the overflow going to go.

Hopefully then fit a 90 degree elbow from the new trap to make it turn the corner and head for home.

Finally fit an anti vac half way down the sewer waste pipe to make sure return flow doesn't happen again under extreme circumstances such as blockages in the future.

That should I hope do it, fingers crossed.

 

[Rikki]

Finally fit an anti vac half way down the sewer waste pipe to make sure return flow doesn't happen again under extreme circumstances such as blockages in the future

An anti vac valve won't stop water flowing the wrong way. They just allow air in if flow down stream of a trap is creating suction and drawing air in through the trap. Which results in the trap losing it's seal.

I really wouldn't bother replacing the bath waste or trap. They're designed to give as high an outlet as possible and increasing the trap depth seal isn't going to make any difference IMO.

 

[Markerat]

Yes I hadn't seen an anti vac before to be honest. The plumber said it would 'do the trick', after I inspected one in wickes I though he was wrong and didn't buy it. As you say its just to let air in and not an aerator or non return valve as he described it to me.

I put the new bottle trap on and it did raise the level of the pipe sufficiently to make water run down hill correctly towards the outside world, rather than make system water fill the bath violently.

Problem now totally disappeared and everything working exactly as it should. I'm having a long hot bath in a bit to celebrate now I know there isn't going to be any unpleasant surprises.

Thanks for all the help and advice all, nice to know someone gives a rats arse occasionally.