Starting out! -

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Join Date: Mar 2009

Posts: 962

Being a wrinkly myself, I thought I would like to pass on a tip or two to our younger members when they start in the game.

First and foremost concentrate on measuring and marking out. You'll always get a recommendation if your work looks neat, even if its Plumbed in wrong.

Also don't expect everything to be level. Level a basin on a wall, if the tiles aren't plumb and it will look horrible.

So check and tell people, the choice is, level and looks horrible or eye it in so it looks level.

And don't forget many sanitary ware pieces can be made from moulds years old, so they are not necessary level anyway. Same goes for cast iron soil pipe.

Always make sure you allow proper expansion control points and silicon greased expansion gaps on pvc gutters and soil stacks. They may not leak, but the click, click as they expand and contract will sometimes drive people cuckoo.

Don't let solder run all down your pipes when end feeding, wipe off flux and clip all pipes properly.

They are just a few things. In other words its partly about good house keeping not only Plumbing theory.

Just remember you are making a product and would you buy it or have it in your house?

In my early days we had loads and loads of specialist clerk of works who knew the game inside out and would condemn anything they did not like and your company would pay.

My boss as an apprentice made you go back and repair things or clean things on jobs, in your own time, if you should have done it while on the job.

You soon learnt what was acceptable or not.

So concentrate on neat and tidy as well as getting it right theory wise.

 

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Join Date: Jun 2009

Posts: 54

hey thanks for the tips Bernie. I am one of those young 1's who is just trying to start out in the trade.

Can you tell me how to put a nogging in a wall to fix a wall hung basin to? Or can you hang it onto plasterboard without having to put a nogging in?

Would be grateful for your advice

Lee

 

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Join Date: Apr 2008

Location: South Shropshire

Posts: 515

I think the most secure way of attaching a noggin is to screw it into the battens/uprights either side of it followed by one or two secure screws through the noggin horizontally into the wall behind. Then the battens will be taking much of the vertical weight.

I would never hang a basin on to plasterboard only as I'd expect a call out a few days or weeks later complete with new basin, some pipes and fittings and polyfilla, etc. (Imagine a short child pulling him/herself up to lean into the basin when washing teeth or washing their hands or an elderly person stumbling and grabbing the basin for support.)

 

rather than a single noggin, i prefer to use 3/4 ply and cover a larger area.
just makes it harder to miss !

shaun

 

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Join Date: May 2009

Location: London/Lincolnshire

Posts: 1,391

I agree
last week I had to fit a bathroom basin to one of those egg box plaster board walls,lucky for me,it backed onto the bedroom,so I grip fillered a 8' bt 4' sheet of 3/4 ply to the bedroom wall and fixed the basin through the wall to it,nice and secure
Then all I had to do was marble effect the ply wood sheet,fit a roman column to each side,fit bed in middle and paint a ceiling of clouds,jobs a good an
Had three referals already......sweet

 

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Join Date: Apr 2008

Location: South Shropshire

Posts: 515

My brain's stopped hurting now. I was trying to remember what I did back in January when I put in a large, wall hung basin for a disabled person. Luckily (and not just reading these threads) I did have the piece of mind to smack a sheet of marine ply on to the wall first.

I've used noggins mainly for pedestal basins though.

 

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Join Date: Nov 2008

Posts: 1,527

when fixxing to plater board walls use a lot of silicone