Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

With the problem with the bidet waste resolved, and all hot water connections made, attention at the weekend turned firstly to the cold water. This is the final connection in the plumbing and was made with minimal fuss. None of the soldered joints in the plumbing have leaked, which has been a relief after the hassle I had with the airing cupboard.

The one slight problem occurred with the toilet cistern. Compared with the metal bar, plastic ball and solid brass valve that I am used too, the trumpery plastic device that came with the toilet has a distinctly down-market appeal to it. And so it proved. As the cistern filled, the valve shutoff as it should, but 5 minutes later it started to hiss and drip again. It was Dad that noticed that it was the drop valve that was not sealing and allowing the water level in the cistern to gradually leak out into the bowl. This is not a lever-actuated syphon flush, but a simple push button to open a hole from the cistern to the bowl.

Despite my attempts to seat the seal I was unable to resolve this flow-through, so today I called the manufacturer. They were very helpful and have put a new valve in the post to me, but also explained how the valve body locks into place on the base. On returning to the cistern I discovered that these two parts were not sufficiently locked together. They are now, and the problem is resolved.

The filling mechanism is actually quite clever. A traditional valve suffers from the problem that, as the cistern fills, the valve closes gradually and the filling flow rate reduces. This one uses a rubber diaphragm with a pin hole. The ball-cock closes the pinhole thus equalising the pressure on each side of the diaphragm, and switching off the water supply instantly. It is like a digital toilet compared with an analogue version. Welcome to 21c !

The two steps back reference in today's blog title actually refers to the tiling. I have found that those tiles we have attached to the ply surface of the bath deck and the top of the cupboard have not properly bonded. All of them were easily levered up with a flat bladed screwdriver. To cut a long story short, I called the supplier and was advised to seal the surfaces with diluted PVA before tiling. I knew that this was an option, but after researching on the www had decided against it. There is plenty of advice out there saying not to do this. However, the tiling supplier says to, the back of the tub of tile adhesive says to, and even my electrician (who came for two days this last week) advised that I use it. The PVA is done, the tiles cleaned up, and we are going to have another go tomorrow. The other piece of advice was to spread the adhesive on both surfaces, so we are going to do that too.

Other recent activities include pulling through the telephone, ethernet and TV aerial cables for the new lounge and today, starting on the under-floor insulation :

The picture is taken from underneath. We have used zig-zags of string staple-gunned in place, to hold the insulation up between the joists. Note also, the small strips of canvas that I have fixed under the joist straps that go around the steel beam. These straps have a habit of "pinging" as you walk across the floor above. These canvas strips stop this from happening.

As for the insulation - 1 bag done, 24 to go !