Why are sanitary fittings so badly designed?

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flanagaj

Being a competent DIYer who has installed a fair few bathrooms in his time, it always amazes me just how poor the fittings are to connect the hardware to the sanitary ware.

1. Having to install a rubber gasket over the nut between the cistern and the pan. Surely, there is a better design than this?

2. Nice to see Bristan now have taps which you can part install, fit the sink and then connect the tap body. Ideal, as it means you can get a silicone gun in to seal the sink. Fitting taps from underneath is such a ball ache.

Now don't get me started on how hit and miss it is to not having a leaking sink waste!
 
flanagaj said:
Being a competent DIYer who has installed a fair few bathrooms in his time, it always amazes me just how poor the fittings are to connect the hardware to the sanitary ware.

1. Having to install a rubber gasket over the nut between the cistern and the pan. Surely, there is a better design than this?

2. Nice to see Bristan now have taps which you can part install, fit the sink and then connect the tap body. Ideal, as it means you can get a silicone gun in to seal the sink. Fitting taps from underneath is such a ball ache.

Now don't get me started on how hit and miss it is to not having a leaking sink waste!
Click to expand...

Yes, know what you mean!

One of the biggest design disasters of all time must be shower door rollers!!!

How difficult can it be to design a shower track that doesn't get bunged up with scale and gunge, and a roller that doesn't fall apart after a few years?

There must be hundreds of different shower tracks and rollers around the world, surely one day someone will invent a simple but efficient track and roller that does the job at a reasonable price that becomes a standard fit by the majority of shower cubicle manufacturers?

Thomas Crapper did his bit for developing sanitary ware, and ironically these days his surname is often adapted to describe the work of those that have failed abysmally to emulate his flair for simple and effective functionality.

The goal of many modern manufacturer's seems to be to design something that is as cheap as possible to produce, with the minimum amount of life expectancy built in. One of the safest investments around the world must be the recycling industry. Their only worry is whether they can keep up with the millions of tons of junk that is produced every day across the globe.
 
And why when we had 1 proven syphon flush design do we now have multi million, (with non interchangeable parts) different varieties.

It used to be, carry a piece of 1000 gauge polythene and you could cut any syphon washer to fit.

Now it's a 48hr wait to get spares for the "Hi tec" water saving valves
 
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Totally agree the amount of different syphons and float valves around now is ridiculous . Having to goto merchants to merchants trying to find a bottom entry valve thats long enoughshank to match existing just so you dont have to smash tiled boxing off .

Problem after god knows how much time wasted you may may not find one and then with all the time wasted you have to try to explain to cust that its now £120 labour to change float/trap/waste or whatever .

these type of jobs usually turn out to be more hassle than its worth
 
hammers4spanner said:
Totally agree the amount of different syphons and float valves around now is ridiculous . Having to goto merchants to merchants trying to find a bottom entry valve thats long enoughshank to match existing just so you dont have to smash tiled boxing off .

Problem after god knows how much time wasted you may may not find one and then with all the time wasted you have to try to explain to cust that its now £120 labour to change float/trap/waste or whatever .

these type of jobs usually turn out to be more hassle than its worth
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just suck through your teeth when you see it and smile when you hand over the invoice, nothing is to much hassle!
 
nothing wrong with designs.
its those who dont know what there doing.
and if you do have a bit of a problem. good plumbers get round it.
 
Bit of a mixed bag for those who install every day as it means a revenue stream in the future. We are in a hard water area and so all of the plastic bits in a toilet suffer as well as other fittings. The hard water and poor fittings have been paying my mortgage for the last 2 decades.
 
sam51 said:
nothing wrong with designs.
its those who dont know what there doing.
and if you do have a bit of a problem. good plumbers get round it.
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Lol. There will be a great many who don't share your sentiment
 
i'm leak free as well. talk us through how you put things together and we'll see if there is anything you are doing wrong.
 
The market do produce non maintenance fittings but most companies don't promote them exactly because of that- no maintenance no return business. Things like flapper valves are sold because they need replacement. And that's ok by me.
 
flanagaj said:
Being a competent DIYer who has installed a fair few bathrooms in his time, it always amazes me just how poor the fittings are to connect the hardware to the sanitary ware.

1. Having to install a rubber gasket over the nut between the cistern and the pan. Surely, there is a better design than this?

2. Nice to see Bristan now have taps which you can part install, fit the sink and then connect the tap body. Ideal, as it means you can get a silicone gun in to seal the sink. Fitting taps from underneath is such a ball ache.

Now don't get me started on how hit and miss it is to not having a leaking sink waste!
Click to expand...
do you work ? did you get paid for these bathrooms ?
 
flanagaj said:
Need I say more. It's the ability of the water to work it's way down the outer threaded face of the waste fitting. So you buy a sink waste, but the standard fittings that come with the waste are thrown away and you either use silicon or plumbers gold ....

How to install a basin waste - YouTube
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The first thing to do with a basin waste is to remove and washers that come with it and throw them as far as you can! Then buy yourself a tub of Plumbers Mait. Leaks usually occur when water runs through the overflow slot in the waste and down the thread. Where the waste exits the underside of the basin, pack it with Plumbers Mait (and the top side obviously), moisten your finger so it doesn't stick to it and really push it in the gap.

Try not to use silicone, it doesn't last forever and will eventually leak.
 
Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. The comment about having to align the overflow hole just proved how little the guy knew. let's have more of these videos and those of us that know how to do it properly will never be out of work.
 
Mike Jackson said:
Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill. The comment about having to align the overflow hole just proved how little the guy knew. let's have more of these videos and those of us that know how to do it properly will never be out of work.
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Agreed. Aligning the overflow hole is a little OTT, but do share the other points he makes that you feel are rubbish, as I could not agree more with what he said. If you use the fittings that come with the waste and nothing else, then all I can is that you either have the magic touch, or you have left a trail of leaking sink wastes during your time as a plumber?
 
dancinplumba said:
do you work ? did you get paid for these bathrooms ?
Click to expand...
No, but what the *&%^ does that have to do with the point I am making. This forum is sh!it and just seems to be ruled by a load of "qualified plumbers" who think they are better than the rest of us. Every "qualified" plumber I have used in my house has been totally friggin useless.

Just because you have a piece of paper does not make you a master of your craft.
 
You'll find a lot of the old boys (sorry lads) don't hold pieces of paper too highly. It's experience that they offer to the rest of us and that's why this forum is awesome and I'm sure you will be banned and probably will be before I finish typing this!!!
 
flanagaj said:
Agreed. Aligning the overflow hole is a little OTT, but do share the other points he makes that you feel are rubbish, as I could not agree more with what he said. If you use the fittings that come with the waste and nothing else, then all I can is that you either have the magic touch, or you have left a trail of leaking sink wastes during your time as a plumber?
Click to expand...

Who said that I just use the fittings that come with a waste? What I said was the chap in the video is making a mountain out of a molehill. He is completely wasting his time by using silicone and a basin mate. The silicone will just make it more difficult to do up underneath and end up covering anything. The reason most basin wastes leak is because the water tracks down the thread on the waste. If the original fittings are used a few turns of PTFE on the thread (As we were taught in college) will stop this happening.
 
leave him be this just got interesting i was going to go watch the telly but think i may stay now.
 
flanagaj said:
No, but what the *&%^ does that have to do with the point I am making. This forum is sh!it and just seems to be ruled by a load of "qualified plumbers" who think they are better than the rest of us. Every "qualified" plumber I have used in my house has been totally friggin useless.

Just because you have a piece of paper does not make you a master of your craft.
Click to expand...

What a chump. We've basically just disputed his claim about being a "competent" DIYer and he's thrown the teddies out.

Well here's a new flash pal, us "qualified plumbers" have been using these fittings for years with no problems, as proven by this very thread, evidence which clearly points to the fact that, contradictory to your opinion, YOU are "****".
 
flanagaj said:
No, but what the *&%^ does that have to do with the point I am making. This forum is sh!it and just seems to be ruled by a load of "qualified plumbers" who think they are better than the rest of us. Every "qualified" plumber I have used in my house has been totally friggin useless.

Just because you have a piece of paper does not make you a master of your craft.
Click to expand...


Dont or the door hit you on way out
 
Whats the point of coming on a plumbing forum as a DIY'ER then carry on like that??
 
I think his footprints didn't touch the ground, though he probably uses pliers.
 
flanagaj said:
No, but what the *&%^ does that have to do with the point I am making. This forum is sh!it and just seems to be ruled by a load of "qualified plumbers" who think they are better than the rest of us. Every "qualified" plumber I have used in my house has been totally friggin useless.

Just because you have a piece of paper does not make you a master of your craft.
Click to expand...
did i upset them ? ? ;)
 
I'm more curious about this hardware connection to sanitary ware. No wonder he thought the plumbers he used weren't any good, they didn't connect his printer to the toilet.
 
Kimou said:
I'm more curious about this hardware connection to sanitary ware. No wonder he thought the plumbers he used weren't any good, they didn't connect his printer to the toilet.
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Probably couldn't connect the printer as his gob was already in place!
 
I love it when people cant take criticism, makes these posts o so interesting dont you agree?
 
He sounds abit like that RICH in that other thread about his CH project lol he cant take any advice lol
Your own post saying your a good DIY but get leaks all the time lol, I know wot I'll blame everythink but me lol same old story lol
 
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