Ask a Trade: Plumbers

Hi all Today I had a blockage in my sink’s drain pipe – I decided to unblock it using some drain unblocker liquid, thinking the block may just be some leftovers that had gotten stuck somehow. Unfortunately, this hasn’t helped and now I have a blocked drain pipe with unblocking liquid in there too. Is there any way I could try and fix this myself or would I be best to ask a plumber to take a look?

Hi all, We’ve had some pipes replaced recently by a professional plumber to resolve some problems. Although, the issues have been resolved, I’ve since noticed the pipes themselves are plastic – I have some concern about this as these are pipes connected directly and indirectly to the radiators and the boiler. Given the heat that could be involved, this is a concern to me – is this normal to have plastic piping used like this nowadays?

What is the average hourly rate for a plumber and time scale to fit a kitchen sink unit and cabinet change?

Has anyone knowledge or experience of a Mains Low pH water supply in Moray Scotland. I appear to have corrosion on my mainly hot water ( not heating ) copper pipes. The house has only been supplied by mains. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, I have a problem with my shower valve. The thermostat is stiff, thus is difficult to adjust the hot/cold water. From producer website the product is described as: "twin outlet triple control concealed thermostatic valve with ABS coverplate" (http://www.purabathrooms.co.uk/catalog/showers/showers-concealed-shower-valves/SQTCV). I need an expert opinion, but I assume the work needed is: - either check if there is any lime scale and try to clean it - either change the showervalve is the limescale cannot be removed. Anybody able to help me with this? Thank you, George

Hi all I have a bath fitted to a corner with tiles to the joining walls, where the sealant material which joins the bath edge and the tiles seems to be peeling away. I don’t want to leave this issue too long for the risks of leaking as it wears away further. What would be the best sealant product I could use to replace this current material that’s peeling away? If there are any other products or ideas anyone recommends, please let me know.

Hello, I have a log burner fire installed in my home with a plate fitted above it also. When the fire is burning, the chimney breast does get very hot and there are some occasional crackling noises. Due to this I am considering a chimney liner to try help resolve this. Does my log burning fire need a chimney flue liner and will it make much difference to the heat on the chimney breast? Is my fire still safe to use in the meantime?

For the past week, I’ve had a small drip leaking from the u-bend pipe underneath my kitchen sink. It seems to be from the joins of the pipe sections. So far, I’ve had to put bowls underneath to collect the drips, but I can’t leave it like this for too long. Is there anything I could do that might fix this drip in the meantime? I could probably take it apart, but haven’t just in case I can’t put it back together. Alternatively, should I just hire a local plumber to take a look?

Can anyone tell me what difference there is between having flue and flueless gas fires? I have recently removed an old gas fire from my house and now have a gap. I want to install a modern gas fire in the space, but I don’t know what difference it would be if it is flue or flueless. Is it related to the chimney pipe up to the chimney from the fire? Can anyone advise me on here, please?

Hi All, Can anybody tell me, how many turns of PTFE tape is required on radiator joints? I have been told that it should be 10 to 12 turns, but I usually use 3 to 5 turns of PTFE on CH joints which hasn’t been much of a problem to me so far. (Apart from an occasional leak on the first test anyway!) Thanks, Harry