I'm working on a leaky bathroom sink p-trap which was installed in the 1950's. The trap is chrome-plated brass and the leak was found to have been caused by a cracked slip nut connecting the trap outlet to the trap arm.

What would normally be an easy fix has been greatly complicated by the fact that the trap arm has been leaded in to the drain inside the wall which is tiled and which lacks easy access from the other side of the wall due to a closet.

With the exception of the cracked slip nut, the trap arm pipe seems to be in very good shape. I'm considering cutting off the threaded end of the trap arm pipe and using a Fernco connector to connect to the new p-trap.

Would this be acceptable or is there a better way to solve this?

Carefully cut the arm coming out of the wall, remove any burrs on remaining pipe, use a trap coupling to install the new trap to it.

Both ideas will work. Take note of the pipe diameter before going to buy anything. Likely it is 1 1/4" diameter, but it could be 1 1/2".

ahhh the joys of having an older home...

I've been going thru plumbing problems with my kid's house...

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
ahhh the joys of having an older home...

I've been going thru plumbing problems with my kid's house...

Actually, being built in the 50's makes this a newfangled home compared to the one I'm currently living in. It was built in the 1890's.

Thanks, wreckdiver and Chris42. It's nice to have options. This leaky drain is on the same BR sink which I was trying to find a new faucet set for without success. Rather than being set into the horizontal surface at the rear of the sink, this sink has the faucets and spigot coming out of the vertical surface at the rear of the sink bowl. Plumbing supply guys would actually look at pictures and laugh before wishing me good luck.

Ahh, the dreaded "cracked trap nut". And the trap itself is solid as can be, with thick chrome plating over solid yellow brass.

It is not unusual to develop a leak at the pop-up assembly when trying to get the trap off the tailpiece.

Yep, I've seen people use a tubing cutter to cut the trap arm a couple inches from the wall. Then use the grey rubber trap connector with hose clamps.

Not too many among us can still wipe a lead joint. I keep a roll of 50/50 just for the purpose.

Look at ebay item # 291119371047. I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you have. Is it sort of like a vertical faucet mounted on the side of an old claw foot tub? All is well. My late 70's tub faucet decided to leak, destroyed 10X14' flooring. I'm still in the process of finishing the new floor, then mount da' pisser pot. I'm searching for a large genuine sheep skin to complete my insanity.

(I also have a mess of iron pipe, flared copper & some old brittle quest. None of which matches sizes in modern hardware/MIC, store.)

Go-Duck_go

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
Ahh, the dreaded "cracked trap nut". And the trap itself is solid as can be, with thick chrome plating over solid yellow brass.

It is not unusual to develop a leak at the pop-up assembly when trying to get the trap off the tailpiece.

Yep, I've seen people use a tubing cutter to cut the trap arm a couple inches from the wall. Then use the grey rubber trap connector with hose clamps.

Not too many among us can still wipe a lead joint. I keep a roll of 50/50 just for the purpose.

Woodman, you are exactly right. The rest of the trap is solid as can be, much more so than many of the replacements I've looked at. Most are barely thicker than the walls of a can of beans. I did find a thicker one at a supply house but it was over four times more expensive than the thinner ones at over $50.

That lead joint is a thing of beauty. For a non-plumber, I can usually do reasonably well wiping solder joints on copper but I can't imagine the skill and dexterity involved to wipe a vertical joint like this under a sink and near the floor. True craftsmanship.



optimon, thanks for the lead. I'll have to take some measurements and see if I can work around that diverter valve. The only other vertical mounted faucet sets I've seen ranged from $200-$700 dollars.

Yeah, those old traps were made to last forever. I have brass trap nuts from Jomar bar sink strainers that are made in that heavy old tradition - but never need them any more.

I use McGuire cast traps with a honed connection point between the J and the arm. 8089C is a usual. They can take ten long years of use under a urinal and never give the tiniest bit of an issue. Until they are clogged solid with uric acid salts. Then you replace them

Lead joints are easy. Time and temperature, just like cooking.

The biggest thing? The lead has to be very clean. Clean and shiny.

You heat up the trap slowly, remove it from the flared lead end of the pipe, flux the lead. Maybe peen it a tiny bit but probably leave it alone. Clean it up with scratch cloth.

The 17 gauge P-trap, you have to remove ALL of the chrome where it attaches. And make sure the trap nut is in place before soldering it to the lead. And in the right direction. It is best to have everything assembled, and I cannot imagine why one would not.

So you carefully and slowly heat up the trap and keep fluxing. Tap the end of the 50/50 solder against the trap until it sticks, then a tiny bit more heat, moving the torch a little closer to the lead. Tap tap tap the solder against the lead and the trap, and a little will melt each time. As the lead runs around the joint, you can use your flux brush to push the molten lead into place, around the joint.

Don't set your house on fire. A wall fire is a nasty way to burn down a house. Can't blame it on the cow.

An easier way? Knock a hole in the closet wall, cut the lead, use a furnco to a piece of copper or plastic, prefab'd up with an elle on it and a short piece to stub out the bathroom wall. It is probably not necessary, but a quick scratch of cloth and a little blue pipe dope on the lead cannot hurt.

Cut the old nut off and use this:

https://www.amazon.com/Danco-8...KR7552PFH6MRGPS6F46D

Woodman, thanks for the McQuire recommendation. It looks like that model with the sweat-on elle on the trap outlet might do the trick if I can measure and cut the trap arm accurately enough.

sunburn, that's an interesting product which I have never seen before. That looks like it will let me reuse all the parts which are still good. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by sunburn:
Cut the old nut off and use this:

https://www.amazon.com/Danco-8...KR7552PFH6MRGPS6F46D

This looks interesting.

That McQuire is 1 ½" female outlet by 1 ½" tubular; not for your lav. I use those going from a 1 ½" threaded nipple at the wall to the 1 ½" chrome tailpiece under a urinal drain.

sunburn, I decided to pick up a Danco and give it a try. It's definitely one of those things you wish you had thought of.

I spent some time cleaning up the parts I would be reusing, especially the threads, but I still had some issues. At first, I thought that the washer may have been be too thick because I had difficulty getting the threads to engage without causing the two halves of the Danco to shift resulting in one edge being misaligned.

I was really worried about buggering the threads so I just went very slowly and was finally able to exert enough downward pressure evenly on the Danco while keeping the trap properly aligned to where it allowed me to get it hand tight as directed.

So far, no leaks. That inspired me to tackle another issue with the stopper assembly so it turned out to be a pretty productive project. Thanks again.

quote:

Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan:

So far, no leaks.

Congrats!

There is no shame in leaving a strategically placed bucket under the sink. Just in case.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:

There is no shame in leaving a strategically placed bucket under the sink. Just in case.

I agree completely. I had one under it while awaiting the part and saw no need to remove it hastily.

quote:

Originally posted by FiveFiveSixFan:
sunburn, I decided to pick up a Danco and give it a try. It's definitely one of those things you wish you had thought of.

I spent some time cleaning up the parts I would be reusing, especially the threads, but I still had some issues. At first, I thought that the washer may have been be too thick because I had difficulty getting the threads to engage without causing the two halves of the Danco to shift resulting in one edge being misaligned.

I was really worried about buggering the threads so I just went very slowly and was finally able to exert enough downward pressure evenly on the Danco while keeping the trap properly aligned to where it allowed me to get it hand tight as directed.

So far, no leaks. That inspired me to tackle another issue with the stopper assembly so it turned out to be a pretty productive project. Thanks again.

Two things make the nut difficult to use, one is the short radius bend to the threads. The other is the different thread depth of plastic and metal that causes enough friction to think it is cross threaded. Glad it worked out, your planning and persistence were key.