Plumbing, plumbing, plumbing
In the past, I have used compression fittings, but these are expensive, bulky and, if using the old-fashioned spanner tightened variety, can be difficult to fit when working in small spaces. I opted for pre-soldered copper fittings instead, which only require careful assembly with a smear of flux and heating gently and evenly.
Getting all the copper pipes to fit properly, without stressing any of the joints was surprisingly time consuming. Once in, however, the waste pipes could be added without fear of melting them with a misdirected blowtorch. The key consideration here was getting a steady downhill flow all the way to the soil pipe, to ensure proper drainage - not as easy as it seems when going round corners, through walls and trying to miss various obstacles on the way!
Connecting the pan to the soil pipe was child's play by comparison. A 90-degree pan connector was stuffed into the end of the pipe to allow the toilet to be connected at right angles to it. The flush pipe proved more problematic. I had to use pipes that could be joined and seemed to be using them the wrong way round. I ended up having to Araldite a thicker section of pipe over the end going into the cistern to bulk it out for a good seal. Plumbers mate (non setting putty) was applied liberally here and on the joint as an extra precaution.
A test of the coldwater pipework and waste pipes, showed everything to be leak free. The hot water pipe hasn't be tested yet, because there won't be a supply to it until we have the boiler changed to a combi. Fingers crossed then...
Washing machine pipework
Toilet connections from rear
