Just another small job on the endless to-do list was to fit an additional outdoor tap. We had one, I use it for my hose pipe, but after buying a washing machine which will live firmly outdoors round the back, I needed two.
With the advice of a well known, sage-like Hiver ringing in my ears; "Gather your tools, gather your materials and just do it", I popped down the DIY shop, got all my stuff in a big pile and went for it.
Now the thing about plumbing in Thailand is that it doesn't involve, brazing anything, compression joints or even push-fit, Gyppo attracting copper stuff. No, its glue, tape and PVC. Sounds easy? It is!
So, what we have here is a couple of pieces of pipe joiner, a new tap as well as the old one I just unscrewed, sandpaper, saw blade, pipe glue and the all important PTFE tape. All in all, less than £5 quid of bits!
As I was going for a fast finish, I started with the T-piece that was going to screw into the hole in the wall that the original tap was screwed into. Judicious wrapping of the threads with PTFE tape give you a solid, dry seal.
At this point, I was just about to lecture everyone on making sure they wind the PTFE tape on in a clockwise direction, the same direction as tightening the thread, but then I looked at this picture and realised....
OK, I got it the wrong way round. My excuse is that I was holding the piece in the wrong direction. The thread is going into the wall so if you turn the thing around, it seems as if I wound it on Anti-clockwise! Ill leave you all to work it out!
Next up, I cut two pieces of pipe to join the T-piece to 90 degree bends. Having got over my epic tape winding failure, I will now attempt to pontificate on the necessity to clean and scratch-up the pipe to be glued prior to gluing it. This should make sure there are no adhesion problems and thus, no leaks!
This is the glue we use and it just needs a light coating and is cured and ready to use in a matter of a few minutes.
OK, I didn't make the two pieces exactly the same size but the wife had come out and reminded me she had a massage appointment and we must leave IMMEDIATELY!
Simple outdoor tap, just a couple of quid. Taped up and ready to screw in. When screwing metal threads into plastic, try not to put too much tape on as the forcing the thread can easily break the plastic. Notice when it comes to plumbing here in Thailand, we're still firmly stuck with imperial measurements!
Which is why I had to wait until we returned, after dark, to simple screw in the two taps and screw the T-piece into the hole in the wall!
And this is how it looked. I checked for leaks using tissue paper of which there were none and so job's a good 'un. Not the neatest job but just 10 minutes work. (Except for the two and a half hour massage break!)
