Ron Dunn
24th July 2008, 05:58 PM
This afternoon I noticed that the hot water tap in the shower was dripping. Ah-ha! An opportunity to show the wife I can occasionally be useful.
The handle came off easily. So far so good.
There is a "cone" which screws over the shaft and against the tiles. That was jammed solid. A bit of work with some anti-slip rubber and a pair of multi-grips, and it was off with only a few small scratches. She'll never notice. (hah!)
Hmm. What's that underneath? The tiles have an incredibly small, square, hole which JUST fits around the nut. If I could see the nut. Everything in sight is slathered in silicone sealer. Spend the next 15 minutes scraping away sealer until I can see the nut. Swear a lot.
The nut is too deep into the hole to get a good grip with the shifter, and too tight for the multi-grips. Decide to chip away some of the surrounding tile. Surprisingly, this works without breaking or unseating the tiles. but unless I make the hole too big, I'm never going to get a shifter in there.
Drag out the spanners. The two largest I have are 21mm and 24mm. The nut is (of course) somewhere in between. And now it is close to time for the shops to close.
Race to the nearest tool store, and grab both a 22mm and 23mm spanner. Convince myself it will help the set look symmetrical. Get some more silicone sealer and a couple of washers while I'm there. Try not to look grumpy and/or shocked at the cash register, when the bill comes to just on $80. Reserve the grumpy look for the dithering old buggers behind the counter that made me wait for what seemed like 2 hours, but what was probably only 5 minutes stretched into 2 hours by my accompanying 4yo daughter.
Return home. Remove tap. Replace washer. Replace tap. Replace sealant. Turn on water. Everything works.
Tell wife that was cheaper than calling a plumber. Keep my fingers crossed behind my back.
The handle came off easily. So far so good.
There is a "cone" which screws over the shaft and against the tiles. That was jammed solid. A bit of work with some anti-slip rubber and a pair of multi-grips, and it was off with only a few small scratches. She'll never notice. (hah!)
Hmm. What's that underneath? The tiles have an incredibly small, square, hole which JUST fits around the nut. If I could see the nut. Everything in sight is slathered in silicone sealer. Spend the next 15 minutes scraping away sealer until I can see the nut. Swear a lot.
The nut is too deep into the hole to get a good grip with the shifter, and too tight for the multi-grips. Decide to chip away some of the surrounding tile. Surprisingly, this works without breaking or unseating the tiles. but unless I make the hole too big, I'm never going to get a shifter in there.
Drag out the spanners. The two largest I have are 21mm and 24mm. The nut is (of course) somewhere in between. And now it is close to time for the shops to close.
Race to the nearest tool store, and grab both a 22mm and 23mm spanner. Convince myself it will help the set look symmetrical. Get some more silicone sealer and a couple of washers while I'm there. Try not to look grumpy and/or shocked at the cash register, when the bill comes to just on $80. Reserve the grumpy look for the dithering old buggers behind the counter that made me wait for what seemed like 2 hours, but what was probably only 5 minutes stretched into 2 hours by my accompanying 4yo daughter.
Return home. Remove tap. Replace washer. Replace tap. Replace sealant. Turn on water. Everything works.
Tell wife that was cheaper than calling a plumber. Keep my fingers crossed behind my back.