Water seeping through bath shower mixer tap to under the bath

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Adam78

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Hi,

Just had a new Bristan shower mixer tap fitted but I've noticed if water splashes on top of the plinth (the plinth is a separate piece with a a washer underneath it - see technical drawing) it seeps through the holes in the bath and trickles to the underside of the bath as it does not provide a water tight seal. Basically, it allows water to seep inside the inner ring of the washer. Why have they designed it this way - surely this is a design flaw? The plinth should be a solid piece, part of the body that way if water splashes on it, it has no where to go apart from into the bath. Any way how do I fix this. Someone suggested clear silicone but that's gonna look awful.

http://www.bristan.com/WebRoot/BristanNewDB/Shops/Bristan/Products/CS DRAWING-1055651-1-D2-1.PDF

http://www.bristan.com/WebRoot/BristanNewDB/Shops/Bristan/Products/INSTRUC. PDF-1060845-1-D4-1.PDF
 
It should have had clear silicone applied to the underside when it was installed and the excess wiped off before it dried. Tap needs to come off to do this.

This is why a simple tap swap can bite you on the bum. Any plumber with some experience knows what the instructions don't tell you.
 
Oh dear , what a PITA having to remove and refit these taps for a second time...:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
HootingOwl said:
It should have had clear silicone applied to the underside when it was installed and the excess wiped off before it dried. Tap needs to come off to do this.

This is why a simple tap swap can bite you on the bum. Any plumber with some experience knows what the instructions don't tell you.
Click to expand...

Theres nothing on the instructions about applying silicone? I's say is a flawed design. The plinth shouldn't be a separate removable part, its should be one single piece which is part of the main body of the tap. No water flows through around the side of the plinth, because the washer beneath it does the trick, its only when water falls on top of the plinth that it finds its way into the gap and down the middle of the washer and through the tap hole along the tail.
 
Here we go again. It isn't a flawed design but feel free to try and take Bristan to court. Ask your plumber to put it right.
And by the way, next time someone helps you, you may want to use the word 'thanks' as the next time you ask for help there will be a resounding silence. Some of the professionals on here have a very long memory.
My cat is intelligent enough to know about capillary action when two surfaces are mated together in the presence of water. Anything assembled together on a bath deck needs sealing. Your plumber should really have been aware of this - you are paying for his/her experience above and beyond the instructions.
Most old hands have their own tried and trusted ways to fit taps and stuff. Instructions are a general guide not an exact formula.
 
HootingOwl said:
Here we go again. It isn't a flawed design but feel free to try and take Bristan to court. Ask your plumber to put it right.
And by the way, next time someone helps you, you may want to use the word 'thanks' as the next time you ask for help there will be a resounding silence. Some of the professionals on here have a very long memory.
My cat is intelligent enough to know about capillary action when two surfaces are mated together in the presence of water. Anything assembled together on a bath deck needs sealing. Your plumber should really have been aware of this - you are paying for his/her experience above and beyond the instructions.
Most old hands have their own tried and trusted ways to fit taps and stuff. Instructions are a general guide not an exact formula.
Click to expand...

Ok mate. Thanks for the tip. When you say apply silicone to the underside, do you mean the underside of the plinth where it fits to the body becuase under the plinth there is a washer that sits inside a groove in the underside of the plinth?
 
I would put a smear of silicone on every surface. I often bin the rubber washer that is supposed to fit between plinth base and deck as they can be unsightly as they can splay out. If it is held in place by a groove then keep it in but smear with silicone to make it 100%. Yes you need a bead of silicone on top of item 11, the plinth,so that it seals against the tap body when it is put together.
be careful what you use to wipe the excess off with. I use a trade wipe but some of these can discolour the polished chrome so try it on the back first where it will not be seen.

That arrangement of tap on plinth is quite common and see lots of them that have leaked quietly for years behind a fixed bath panel.

The next thing that will leak is where the overflow outlet is fitted to the bath. These come loose and are often badly sealed. Clear styxall is your friend here as it will make a solid and watertight seal if used correctly.
 
It should have a rubber insert on the underside of the tap plinth. It's not a design flaw, if it isn't totally flush against a cleaned flat surface of the bath or if it isn't fitted square to the holes/holes too large then it can overlap the edge of the hole, it was always leak if that's the case.

Only a smear of silicone will correct it and as the chaps have said, the plumber should have spotted this and taken corrective action if he was experienced with these type of tap or taking half a care.
 
HootingOwl said:
I would put a smear of silicone on every surface. I often bin the rubber washer that is supposed to fit between plinth base and deck as they can be unsightly as they can splay out. If it is held in place by a groove then keep it in but smear with silicone to make it 100%. Yes you need a bead of silicone on top of item 11, the plinth,so that it seals against the tap body when it is put together.
be careful what you use to wipe the excess off with. I use a trade wipe but some of these can discolour the polished chrome so try it on the back first where it will not be seen.

That arrangement of tap on plinth is quite common and see lots of them that have leaked quietly for years behind a fixed bath panel.

The next thing that will leak is where the overflow outlet is fitted to the bath. These come loose and are often badly sealed. Clear styxall is your friend here as it will make a solid and watertight seal if used correctly.
Click to expand...

Thanks again mate. Is there any particular type of silicone I need to use. I've got some dow corning 785 sanitary silicone. Would this be suitable?
 
That would be absolutely fine. You dont need a huge amount, but some will ooze out when you assemble and tighten the backnut. Wipe it off right away before it starts to set.
make sure it is all clean and dry before applying the silicone.

The reason it is made that way is because the same tap body will be supplied witb different shapes of handles and plinths to create different tap styles on a common body.

I see lots of damage caused by such leakages, especially when there is a shower over the tap end of the bath.
 
I have had a similar problem with Bristan Quest bath fillers in shower-bath setup. The washer 8 at the bottom stops water entering from the side but is not tight to the tap thread so water falling on the top of the tap finds its way down between the two part design down the thread. To fix this I added a thin O-ring between the two sections. Also I added a makeshift silicone washer cast onto the top of a mastic container that is tight to the thread (I could not locate a 50mm washer that had a 1inch centre anywhere). I'm still monitoring for leaks but if it continues I'll just replace taps for a single piece design and warranty these ones.

Should add the guy in the merchants was very helpful re the o ring. Also said he had never seen a Bristan leak in this way so suspect it's as upthread the bit beyond the instructions. I did look at another brand who had two part pillar and collar bath taps and they did use an o-ring that fitted snug to the tap thread.

bristan2.jpg tap_teardown.JPG
 
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