How To Change Shower Taps

Shower Tap Repair

If you are looking to hone your DIY skills, you've probably considered foregoing calling a professional for small tasks such as changing your old shower taps if you are experiencing a leaky shower. Moreover, by replacing your old shower tap, you can transform the style and quality of your shower, bathtub, or kitchen sink.

In this article, we'll provide a step-by-step guide on how to replace taps on leaky showers and how this knowledge can be helpful in replacing other fixtures in your household, such as your washing machine tap. You simply have to follow the steps outlined below to accomplish this.

Replacement Of Shower Taps

A brand-new shower tap can help establish a theme for your bathroom and leave it looking fresh and clean. For instance, a contemporary waterfall shower tap can give your bathroom a stylish, city-living appeal. If you are lucky, this job will be simple and require only the necessary equipment and a basic understanding of how shower taps fit into your bathroom and connect to your home's plumbing.

Learning how to change your shower tap is beneficial as you can apply what you learn to other fixtures around the house. Most taps have similar features, so changing one is simply a matter of using your knowledge to the different shapes. For instance, if you have a leaky washer, you can apply this knowledge to change it.

Choosing A Shower Tap For Your Bathroom

We all know how unpleasant a shower can be if the water flow isn't correct. The same may be said for the water's temperature and flow configuration. Choosing the right tap is critical whether you are working in an indoor or outdoor shower setting, as it controls the water pressure.

To ensure that showers are environmentally friendly, the law requires that showerheads consume no more than a particular amount of water per minute at a standard pounds per square inch pressure. Therefore, consider using water saving showerheads.

When choosing the perfect tap for your showerhead, there are several characteristics to consider. Knowing what types of showerheads, shower columns, installations, and materials are available is beneficial because you'll want to select the one that best fits the shower in question. Make sure the features that pique your interest are compatible with your shower.

Know The Different Materials Of Shower Taps

The majority of shower taps are composed of metal, although they can also be found in ceramic, plastic, glass, composite, and concrete. Brass, steel, and zinc are the three principal metals used. Because brass is a durable material, brass taps can survive for many years. It's resistant to both soft and hard water corrosion and calcification.

• PRO: Long-lasting
• PRO: Does not leak or corrode easily
• CON: A little pricey

Stainless steel taps are comparable to brass taps, with the exception that an excellent stainless steel tap costs more than a brass tap.

• PRO: Long-lasting
• PRO: Doesn't leak or corrode easily (if on the higher end)
• CON: Good quality stainless steel taps cost more than brass traps

Zinc and zinc alloys are inexpensive, but they are also not very long-lasting.

• PRO: It is not costly
• CON: It is not long-lasting

Considerations When Changing Shower Taps

• To remove and install the new shower taps, you'll need to remove the panel. You can also check for screws or push-on/off magnetic catches to keep the panel in place. You just may have to remove some of the supporting frameworks to get under the bath.
• Check that the tools you have are capable of firmly bearing on the tap back-nuts. A universal tap tool or an adjustable tap wrench are the two alternatives.
• If the supply pipes can be moved out of the way, an ordinary box spanner may be the best option because it allows you to apply greater torque.
• If the tap tails are rusted or dirty, use steel wool or a wire brush to clean them. After that, apply penetrating oil to the back-nuts and tail threads and let it sit for a few hours to work its way down the threads.
• As you loosen the back-nuts, you'll need to keep the taps from spinning. A block of wood against the nearest wall will be helpful. From above, the tap will turn in the same direction as the nuts: clockwise.
• Finally, to soften the old sealant, pour hot water over the base of the taps.

Here are some concepts to keep in mind when doing the change:

• Tap washer: These are tiny disks that are placed inside a tap. Taps washers decrease friction and spread load like other washers. In addition, when the tap is turned off, they also form a valve seal, which guarantees tightness and prevents leaking taps.
• Flexible tap connectors: Flexible tap connections are the flexible tubing that links the tap to your internal plumbing.
• Compression fittings: These are little pieces of plumbing with metal 'olives' that join two pieces of tubing. You can also utilise compression fittings to isolate your water supply.
• Finally, there's your internal plumbing, which refers to your home's solid pipes, which are connected to your faucet via a compression fitting and bendy tap connectors.

On the off chance your home does not have compression fittings, we recommend adding them to make future jobs much more manageable. Many taps also include modern, flexible tap connectors, which always fit better than an old re-sealed connection.

Note: Keep an eye out for pipes that are made of lead. These can be dangerous. If you find any in your home, call a plumber right away.‍

A Step-By-Step Guide To Changing Shower Taps

Replacing your shower taps is a simple yet efficient way to modernise your bathroom. Below is a step-by-step guide to show you how to replace shower taps. You'll learn how to remove the old, leaking tap or taps and install new ones.

Step One: Gather All the Tools You'll Need

The tools that you will require to replace your old shower taps are as follows:

• A tube spanner
• A basin wrench
• An adjustable spanner
• An old towel

Step Two: Shut Off the Water Supply

Firstly, shut down your water supply. With a flathead screwdriver, turn off the hot and cold taps at the compression fittings. In the absence of compression fittings, you can shut off your water supply from the mains. Once you have done this, open the taps and wait until there is no more water coming out of them, then close them.

Step Three: Disconnect the Old Tap

Once the water supply is off, you need to get rid of your old faucet. You'll see two flexible tap connectors going from your internal plumbing in the wall up into your tap. Using an adjustable wrench, detach these flexible connectors to remove your tap.

If you're replacing them, you can remove the flexible connectors from both the wall/compression fitting and the tap body. There may be some water trapped when you separate the connector from the bottom of the tap, so keep an old towel handy for this duty.

You must undo the nut from below to remove the tap. You can acquire special extended tools if you can't reach something with a regular adjustable wrench. The old tap will easily lift out of the tap holes once the nuts and washers have been removed. Usually, some debris and crud will surround the hole where your old tap sat. It is typical, and a damp cloth should suffice to clean the surface.

Step Four: Install the New Tap and Connectors

Your new tap will next fit into your clean tap holes, and the washer and nut will secure it in place, keeping the tap body firmly in place and helping to establish a watertight seal to safeguard the floor. Now, tighten the tap's fixing nuts tightly with a wrench. To protect the chrome of the nuts, place a piece of fabric or cloth over them.

Never unscrew a Teflon joint because it can leak. Then, check for leaks by opening the main water supply valve. If you discover a leak, remove the adapter, seal it with Teflon, and reinstall it. If not, use a brush and a screwdriver to clean the wall outlets as much as possible, then spray the rusted areas with WD40 or a corrosion stopper.

You can also install a body washer to deal with leaks. Body washers are used to repair leaks from under the flange and tap's body or spindle. If you're replacing flexible connectors, connect one end to a compression fitting, connecting to your internal plumbing. If you're not changing your flexible tap connectors, you may attach them to the tap body once you've completed this.‍‍

Tip: If the surface of your tiles is damaged, use super glue to reattach the most significant parts. On the remaining surface, add liquid porcelain chip repair later.‍

Installing A Two-Pipe Mixing Tap

Shower faucets are commonly mounted on the wall between two water lines. The distance between the hot and cold pipes is 16 cm. You can use S-shaped pipe fittings to adjust this distance if necessary.  Push the decorative rosettes over the threaded ends of the water supply pipes and screw the S-shaped pipe fittings into them.

Then, using the connection nuts and sealing washers, attach the shower tap to the S-shaped pipe fittings. Remember to wrap Teflon tape around the screw threads in the same direction as the nut while tightening it.

Bath Taps

If you have a bathtub, you need to know that bath taps typically come with a second connection to which you can attach a hand shower. These taps have a control knob that allows you to choose whether the water flows through the bath or shower. You can use a riser rail to change the shower head's position.

Thermostatic Taps

These mixer taps may be programmed to keep a constant temperature, making them suitable for use in both the shower and bath. They typically feature a safety stop that prevents them from selecting a water temperature of much more than 38°C. Some additional models have an economy mode that cuts the water flow rate by half, which is environment-friendly.

Call An Expert Plumber To Change Your Shower Taps

That's all there is to changing shower taps. Therefore, hopefully, this article has provided you with the knowledge and confidence to proceed with changing your shower taps and even apply that knowledge to change fixtures in a washing machine. However, as previously stated, if you are not confident in your DIY skills, it is always better and safer to call a professional plumber in your locality. DIY is a terrific way to save time and money, but we recommend hiring a skilled professional to avoid disappointment, invalidating your warranty, and severe harm.