Can anyone advise re my leaking Duravit Chrome Bottle Trap

[mrsbrown]

Hello

I've just had a new bathroom fitted and we have a problem with the bottle trap in the basin which is leaking from one of the joints, and also seemingly from the thread between the bottle trap and the click clack waste. The plumber has been back to look at it, the first thing he did was replace one of the washers on the waste, but there is still a drip after the sink empties, though it's not as bad as before.

He came back again to have a look, and now is saying that there's no leak - annoyingly when he was there we repeatedly ran the tap and it didn't leak - and he claims the dripping is condensation. It definitely is leaking as i've seen it happen a few times when the tap is running, and there is a small puddle on the floor nearly every time the sink is used - and either way it's not good for a brand new bathroom.

I'm losing patience with this, the job took a long time, and was frankly not great, I'm now so fed up with it i'm willing to get someone else in but will i have to get a new trap? I feel that it may not have been installed correctly, and thus if someone else does it will they need a new one? What would the cost for the work be if it did need replacing? It cost me nearly £100 and i just can't believe this is usual for a product of this quality and cost.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

where are you based maybe someone on the forum can come and help. does it leak when the click clack is closed or only when the tap is running?

 

[EPH]

Pics?

 

[tamz]

What cost you nearly £100? The trap or the plumber lol.

The problem may be with the waste fitting and not the trap. Saying that, a lot of stuff now comes from Eastern Europe and China and regardless of the price, some parts are of questionable quality.
Next time you run and it leaks, use a piece of toilet paper and check where it is leaking from. You will see it quite easily.

 

[mrsbrown]

Ha the trap, can't even bear to think about what the plumber cost as I fear it wasn't worth it. I live in London. I've tested it and literally you can see the drips coming up, they tend to come out of the back of the trap at the first seam (not sure what to call it but the first line down from the top of the trap, but also water gathers up on the thread too. When you run the tap for a minute, with the waste open, you then get 5 or six drops coming out of the seam and running down the trap, then dripping off the end. I think then more water seems to build up in the thread part and eventually run down. It's not a huge amount of water, but it's visible every time I go to the bathroom.

I've taken pics in the next post. The plumber assures me he fitted it right although it looks wonky to me, not sure if it would affect this, and when he first looked at it he said he hadn't seen one like it before so i'm a bit suspicious it's not right.

Could i possibly replace the waste and keep the trap?

 

[mrsbrown]

 

[tamz]

The waste itself (the bit with the threads) is leaking and running down the trap. Simple repair job that should take no more than 15mins tops. Remove the grating and refit using a bit sealant or one of these

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fi...GB:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&pq=fittinghttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260691784142


His skills as a plumber are questionable. (the thread tape on the outside of the flexi pipe compressions is a give away).
Get him back and get it fixed. Maybe show him this if you feel cheeky enough (he deserves it) lol

‪toms top tips how to fit a basin waste‬‏ - YouTube

Get him to line the trap up properly too :wink:

 

[tamz]

Here is where it is leaking from

 

[mrsbrown]

Thank you Tamz - He said that it was the waste the first time he "fixed" it, and that it was now fixed, but i'll get him back and try again. What do you mean by thread tape? I am worried about his plumbing skills esp the bits we can't see.

Also I asked him should the tap connectors not be hidden somehow and he said it would be no good if we wanted to get to the taps in future, what's your opinion? I thought the whole point of having a wall mounted sink and chrome waste was for a clean look. Tbh it took so long and was such a pain that by the end when they were finishing up I just let it slide, though obviously a drip is unacceptable.

 

[tamz]

Wait till i pour a coffee then i'll edit your photo to show you

 

[tamz]

As photo



I wouldn't worry too much about the bits you can't see. If it was leaking you would know by now.

The pipes could have been tidier with a bit forward planning but it is a bit of a job to alter it now.

Put it down to experience. There are lots of guys doing X amount of week courses and thinking they are plumbers and it can be hard for people to know who to get in to do a job, moreso when you live in a city.
Blame the government and the media for this too lol.

Next time you need any kind of tradesman try to go on personal recommendation from friends and neighbours.

Good luck.

 

[WaterTight]

Well, it's easy to criticise but if you were after a bathroom where looks were meant to be perfect - and this was discussed and paid for (something I myself wouldn't take on as I wouldn't be confident enough in my skills as a "finisher") - than yes it's not good enough. And judging by the fact you spent £100 on a trap I imagine this job prob cost a small fortune.

Depending on what's behind the tiled wall he probably could have made the piping exit the wall higher, the decorative plates indicate they're intended to be at least somewhat visible. I'd more worried about the fact the don't appear to line at all - infact isn't one actually overlapping the decorative plate for the trap pipe?

The trap is very slightly wonky - something where he was a bit unlucky as we all could be - where things line up when put together after tiling and wall being slightly out and whatnot. There might be an easy'ish fix by taking trap off and persuading pipe to exit wall at higher angle. But it's not very noticable and if trap isn't leaking I wouldn't worry myself. But then again I don't live in a house where things even begin to look smart so...

As Tamz says using PTFE tape between a rubber-sealing flexi and a 1/2" threaded connector is pointless. It probably won't make any difference if he's lucky and he can probably go on doing it for years without a problem but it doesn't need to be done - it won't help him make a water-tight seal and there is a chance it could work against him. That particular connection is one of the most reliable in plumbing. Big fat rubber washer, hand-tight will do - no PTFE necessary.

As with the basin waste call a plumber to a leak on a basin waste that's accessible, no pedestal and where it's been identified already as the waste and not the trap and you won't struggle to find one. Should be nice easy job.

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

That is quite bad standard of work in my eyes

those inlet wall plates and far from inline and tthe PTFE... ha!

Did he fit a shower as well? I'd be worried about the quality of what else he fitted

you shuld get him back again and have it rectified for free

 

[mrsbrown]

He fittted a whole bathroom and separate shower room. I'm gutted. I don't really want to get him back any more he's been back twice already and seems unwilling to believe that the sink is leaking, even that it's wonky when it's really clear. I don't have any legal recompense do I, or do I ?

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

yes you do if it is not fitted to a good standard

But I fear you may have to take it down the small claims court if he become uncontactable

But with the standard of work that is visible I hate to worry you but you do have to question the standard that is not visible