Fixing cisterns to walls?
The Medway Handyman
the top to fix them to the wall. All from different sources. My local
plumbing shop tell me more & more are like that lately.
Who decided that it isn't necessary to fix the cistern to the wall?
15 litres of water wobbling about on the strength of two bolts going through
holes in the base? I don't think so.
Fortunately easy enough to drill with a masonry bit & DIY.
--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
John
"The Medway Handyman" <davi...@nospamblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Ep6El.11998$OO7...@text.news.virginmedia.com...
cause fracture lines. Why not use silicone mastic stuff to fix it - at
least to prevent it hitting the wall if your customer leans back whilst
performing.
The base area where the fixings are is probably stronger than the back where
you would drill. The biggest risk is if the floor settles and the bog
settles then the whole weight is taken by your wall fixings!
John
"John" <Who90...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:7z6El.23297$dr7....@newsfe16.ams2...
Just reading your note again - why would it be "wobbling about" - surely the
weight of the water would be helping to hold it down. I really think that
rigidly fixing to the wall and the floor (via the WC) is asking for
problems.
The Medway Handyman
> "John" <Who90...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:7z6El.23297$dr7....@newsfe16.ams2...
>>
>> "The Medway Handyman" <davi...@nospamblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in
>> message news:Ep6El.11998$OO7...@text.news.virginmedia.com...
>>> I've had three close coupled toilet cisterns recently without the
>>> holes at the top to fix them to the wall. All from different
>>> sources. My local plumbing shop tell me more & more are like that
>>> lately. Who decided that it isn't necessary to fix the cistern to the
>>> wall?
>>>
>>> 15 litres of water wobbling about on the strength of two bolts going
>>> through holes in the base? I don't think so.
>>>
>>> Fortunately easy enough to drill with a masonry bit & DIY.
>>>
>> I wouldn't drill the cistern. Normally holes are moulded in. Drilling
>> could cause fracture lines.
Drilling holes stops fracture lines, not causes them.
>>
>> The base area where the fixings are is probably stronger than the
>> back where you would drill. The biggest risk is if the floor settles
>> and the bog settles then the whole weight is taken by your wall
>> fixings!
Cisterns have been fixed to the wall for the last 25 years to my knowledge,
for good reason IMO.
>
> Just reading your note again - why would it be "wobbling about" -
> surely the weight of the water would be helping to hold it down. I
> really think that rigidly fixing to the wall and the floor (via the
> WC) is asking for problems.
If you don't fix a cistern to the wall & a WC to the floor, surely you are
asking for problems? A combined close coupled toilet + water weighs a fair
amount, then a fat bastard sits on it.
I'm for bolting the bugger down :-)
John
likely to break something if the cistern is also fastened hard to the wall.
Perhaps not too much risk on a solid floor - but on an upper floor I can see
an potential problem. - also - modern cisterns aren't as wide as they used
to be.
I still think drilling it is very risky.
When I fitted one - which did have fixing holes, I used rubber tap washers
either side of the cistern screws and didn't tighten the screws much.
Dave Osborne
> I've had three close coupled toilet cisterns recently without the holes at
> the top to fix them to the wall. All from different sources. My local
> plumbing shop tell me more & more are like that lately.
>
> Who decided that it isn't necessary to fix the cistern to the wall?
Well, the manufacturer...
>
> 15 litres of water wobbling about on the strength of two bolts going through
> holes in the base? I don't think so.
But the manufacturer obviously does think so.
>
> Fortunately easy enough to drill with a masonry bit & DIY.
>
>
But this potentially introduces stresses that the manufacturer has
deemed bad, which is why they left out the screw holes in the first
place - it clearly wasn't a manufacturing fault that there were no holes.
I've installed two close-coupled toilets in the last twelve months. As
it happens, the first (Armitage Shanks) had wall-holes and the second
(Duravit) did not have wall holes.
The Duravit was installed in my sisters house, where the whole bathroom
was gutted. As there is only one toilet we had to keep the old toilet
going as long as poss and then commission the new one straight away. In
the end, because of how the tiling went, the Duravit was assembled and
temporarily connected to water and waste and ended up sitting (and being
used) a good 12" away from the wall, with no support at the back and not
even screwed to the floor. It was absolutely fine.
Just my two penneth, but if the manufacturer deems that the assembled
toilet unit is free-standing (apart from being fixed to the floor), then
adding wall-fixings to the cistern may actually be a bad thing.
Harry Stottle
"Dave Osborne" <rum...@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:74duhhF...@mid.individual.net...
>
> The Duravit was installed in my sisters house, where the whole bathroom
> was gutted.
>
ARWadsworth
"Harry Stottle" <thiswo...@nowhere.uk.co> wrote in message
news:gTjEl.8553$Va3....@newsfe27.ams2...
LOL. This is only a bog standard response though.
Adam
Steve Walker
> When I fitted one - which did have fixing holes, I used rubber
> tap washers either side of the cistern screws and didn't
> tighten the screws much.
Ditto, but if it hadn't had holes I would've improvised something. I'm
with Dave on this, it's not sensible to have all that wet weight unsecured.
Stuart Noble
I know of one that's just fine without fixings. The syphon was replaced
and the new donut washer was thicker than the old one. Rather than take
the whole thing apart again to drill new holes, it was left "for later"
(later probably being never)
John Rumm
> I've had three close coupled toilet cisterns recently without the holes at
> the top to fix them to the wall. All from different sources. My local
> plumbing shop tell me more & more are like that lately.
Yup, I have seen quite a few like that.
> Who decided that it isn't necessary to fix the cistern to the wall?
Don't know. On a solid floor is probably ok, but when I tried one on a
timber / chipboard floor there was enough wafting about of the cistern
to be irritating.
> Fortunately easy enough to drill with a masonry bit & DIY.
I solved mine with a bead of silicone on the back, that then glued it to
the wall. Still leaving a little movement to allow for movement of the pan.
--
Cheers,
John.
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Tony Bryer
> Ditto, but if it hadn't had holes I would've improvised something.
> I'm with Dave on this, it's not sensible to have all that wet weight
> unsecured.
I just put a couple of dabs of silicone on the tiled wall before
putting the cistern in place.
--
Tony Bryer, 'Software to build on' from Greentram
www.superbeam.co.uk www.superbeam.com www.greentram.com
Grimly Curmudgeon
drugs began to take hold. I remember "John" <Who90...@ntlworld.com>
saying something like:
>When I fitted one - which did have fixing holes, I used rubber tap washers
>either side of the cistern screws and didn't tighten the screws much.
Which is what you're supposed to do - I always use conical plastic
roofing washers under the screw head to allow a bit of movement.
I've lost count of the number of cisterns I've seen which have been very
simply affixed with fairly tight brass screws and you know what? Not one
of them has ever been cracked by aforementioned fat bastards. It's
likely that the number of fat bastards in the population is now higher
than it was, so I don't take the chance.
Grimly Curmudgeon
<see.my.s...@nowhere.null> saying something like:
>I solved mine with a bead of silicone on the back, that then glued it to
>the wall. Still leaving a little movement to allow for movement of the pan.
Yep. Where there are no holes at all I spadge a big blob of silicone or
expanding foam 'twixt cistern and wall.