Gardeloo Maintenance

The best solution is to remove all the old sealant completely and reseal the shower tray using a high-quality flexible sanitary silicone, not plumbers mait. plumbers mait isn’t designed for wet areas, doesn’t fully cure, and won’t withstand movement, so it will fail again and continue leaking.

To replace the lockshield valve safely, you either need to: fully drain the heating system at the lowest drain-off point, use a pipe-freezing kit to temporarily block water in the pipe, or close isolation valves (if fitted). without one of these methods you’ll get a continuous flow of water when undoing the pipework, which is why it looks like it’s still “filling up” even though the radiator is empty.

The best approach is to apply a light, even coat washing-up liquid to both the porcelain spigot and the inner rubber seal before pushing it on this helps the seal glide and seat correctly without folding. make sure the toilet pan and connector are perfectly aligned and pushed straight, not at an angle, and try gently twisting as you push in to help the seal settle evenly. or just replace the waste connector.

In situations like this, it depends on whether the original plumber properly tested the system before leaving and whether the new leak is genuinely unrelated or part of the same fault. he should always run taps under pressure to confirm there are no remaining leaks, so if the u-bend crack was present at the time, it should have been seen during the first visit. if that’s the case, then returning to complete the repair is generally considered part of the same job and should not be an extra charge. however, if the plumber can show that it was a separate issue or the crack was hidden and not visible during the initial repair, they may argue it is a new problem. your best approach is to calmly explain that the leak never stopped, meaning the original repair was incomplete, and request a goodwill return visit. if they refuse, you may be better off using a different tradesperson.

That foghorn sound is usually caused by a vibrating or worn diaphragm washer in the fill/ball valve inside the toilet cistern. when the cistern refills after flushing, the water flow makes the faulty washer vibrate, producing the loud humming or foghorn noise. turning on the cold tap reduces the pressure in the pipe temporarily, which is why the noise gets quieter. the fix is to replace the fill/ball valve or the diaphragm washer inside it, which is a quick and inexpensive repair. once replaced, the noise should stop completely.