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Help I need to talk to a plumber

OK, I'll chime in here I guess. A good plumber carries an assortment of those rubber washers, both hard & soft rubber, of various sizes. I believe you need a softer rubber, as the harder ones won't "form" properly to the sink's bottom. BTW, make sure there's no crud on the sink too, like old putty or such. In case that turns into a chore to find, just use the closest size you have, & run a big fat bead of silicone on the whole top side of the rubber washer, where it sits against the bottom of the sink, & snug it up good with a wrench, then make sure you let it cure overnight. Also, be sure to fully assemble the whole drainpipe, at the same time, so you know everything's sitting right where it wants to be. :yes: Good luck.
 
Mark: It might be worth your while to get a measuring tape out and make absolutely certain you're not running out of thread just a little too early. I have seen instances where the pop-up and the sink are not a good match.

In effect just as the pop-up runs out of thread and tightens to itself, it's just barely snugging to the bottom of the sink. Just "barely snug" is not tight enough and can make all the difference. The opposite can also be true: The pop-up can tighten too far, and expose those overflow holes when it's snug, creating another way for it to leak.

If the pop-up came with your faucet, it would be worth going back to the supply house and purchasing a pop-up that fits the sink. The units supplied with the faucets are often a "one size fits all" kind of piece, and that's just not close enough to work sometimes.
 
Have you been wearing the obligatory loose fitting jeans, so as to have them hang off your ass to expose the coin slot/plumber's butt? That might be your problem and if it isn't, I'd try puddy... a liberal amount...and if that doesn't work, time to go to your local hardware store and ask the "Old Guy"...he always know his ****!
 
Actually, I am the old guy from the plumbing store... So is Oz.


Plumbing store rules:

1 - It always takes 3 trips
2 - It always takes 3 trips
3 - If you did it in 2 trips or less, you did it wrong
 
Am I the only one just cringing at the thought of putting putty on the threads? There are places where you're supposed to use putty, like between the flange and the sink, (just recently put in a brand new In-Sinkerator, complete with rope of putty under the flange), and there are places where you NEVER use putty.

My current house is relatively new construction, with PVC under all the sinks. I bought it from the BUILDER!!. It was his display home, with all the fancy woodwork, etc. The clown that did the plumbing coated the PVC compression fittings with plumber's putty.

Get a rope.:smoke:
 
fotno said:
Actually, I am the old guy from the plumbing store... So is Oz.


Plumbing store rules:

1 - It always takes 3 trips
2 - It always takes 3 trips
3 - If you did it in 2 trips or less, you did it wrong
Click to expand...

Excellent. I would add it always costs twice as much as you budget. If it didn't, you did it wrong :) .

Pete
 
No. I wouldn't recommend using putty that way, it's nasty looking, and not the proper use for putty; but it's not fatal to the threads by any stretch of the imagination. It's just usually a waste of putty.

A word about pipe thread, and the type of threads connecting traps, drains and the like employ:

Actual pipe thread: The kind of threads you'll find on galvanized, black steel and PVC fittings is tapered, so that it tightens the further into the fitting it goes. It's in applications of these materials that teflon tape, and pipe dope (liquid teflon paste - not putty) should be used. The tape/dope squeezes into the ever tightening threads, and used properly, makes a water or gas tight seal.

On pop-ups, the threads are straight-cut similar to the threads on machine screws and bolts. Not tapered at all. So the use of tape or dope is redundant as the device uses another system entirely to seal itself against leaks.


Hope this helps.
 
fotno said:
... it's nasty looking, and not the proper use for putty; but it's not fatal to the threads by any stretch of the imagination. It's just usually a waste of putty...
Click to expand...

Agreed. Nothing a wire brush and lots of swearing can't fix.:yes:
 
Definitely no putty on the threads. Putty goes between the flange and the sink as mentioned many times above. The large rubber washer on the bottom has nothing to do with sealing the drain. If you did manage to seal it that way you would end up with a bunch of skanky water trapped in that space that would mingle with any water you put in the sink, say, to wash your face with. Yuck..
 
Putty and dope are not the same thing. Plumbers dope or pipe dope as some like to call it is a product designed to be used on pipe threads. You can buy this at any home improvement/hardware store. It comes in a small tube, whitish in color, consistency similar to toothpaste and can be easily applied with a finger or a flux brush. It may not solve the issue but if the leak is originating from the threads it can cure the problem. However, many leaks can occur from a different source and be deceiving as to identifying the actual source a little tougher.
 
Well since not one of you have come up with a way to make the tapered rubber washer that seals the bottom of the sink to drain pipe work like it should I ain't paying anything to any one.

As to the methodology of what I have and how it works that is in fact correct I am doing it exactly like it is designed to be done.

The problem is that for some reason the rubber washer is not sealing to the threads on the drain pipe like it should.

But thanks anyway guys I'll figure out how to fix it I manage to do everything else around this dump.
 
Okay, don't know why, but I'm gonna try this one more time.

There's a high likely-hood that the "One Size Fits All" pop-up that you have doesn't fit your sink as it should. If the pop-up's overflow holes extend below the bottom edge of the drain hole, then it is too long for the application. You need a shorter pop-up that won't allow the overflow holes to show beneath the sink.

In short when the pop-up is in place, even before it's tightened, you shouldn't be able to see the overflow holes in the pop-up when viewed from the bottom of the sink. If you can, it's too long.

Edit: And I don't recollect asking for a penny!
 
Mark W. said:
Well since not one of you have come up with a way to make the tapered rubber washer that seals the bottom of the sink to drain pipe work like it should I ain't paying anything to any one.

As to the methodology of what I have and how it works that is in fact correct I am doing it exactly like it is designed to be done.

The problem is that for some reason the rubber washer is not sealing to the threads on the drain pipe like it should.

But thanks anyway guys I'll figure out how to fix it I manage to do everything else around this dump.
Click to expand...

I hate to beat a dead horse :bash: but the tapered rubber washer isn't meant to seal the drain. It's meant to center the tail piece in the bottom of the sink. the putty that you are supposed to put under the flange is what does the sealing. :yes:
 
LDK180 said:
I hate to beat a dead horse :bash: but the tapered rubber washer isn't meant to seal the drain. It's meant to center the tail piece in the bottom of the sink. the putty that you are supposed to put under the flange is what does the sealing. :yes:
Click to expand...

Dead horse aside if the rubber washer was not meant to seal the bottom of the sink and seal the overflow which on this sink passes through the sides of the drain pipe just above the rubber washer WHAT IS? no other piece is doing that.


I don't think you are understanding how this sink works it is not a single layer on the bottom it is a double layer with the over flow drain passing through the inner passage. Then draining into the drain pipe through two holes cut into the side of the drain pipe.

It is because of this the sink needs the bottom sealed.
 
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