Hah!

[bunn]

The kitchen tap began to drip, and I thought of the task that is 'Summon Plumber A Week Before Christmas' and quailed.

Instead, having done some online research I decreed that we would take the tap to pieces and attempt to identify the broken bit.

I turned off the water!  I drained out the water!  I looked carefully at the tap and worked out what tools to use!   I learned which bits are the ceramic tap glands and removed one of them (Pp, encouraged by my success removed the other one).  I sourced new ceramic tap glands of the correct size and model and ordered them, while Pp, still feeling encouraged, put the old tap parts back together temporarily!   I turned the water back on, and the kitchen did not impersonate a fountain and leap on high!

The tap no longer drips.  I can't decide if I am pleased or annoyed about this, but at least we have a non-dripping tap, a spare set of ceramic tap glands, and a feeling of having Achieved Something. 

Comments

[chainmailmaiden]

I think you should definitely be pleased about the no longer dripping tap. You achieved the end goal without having to pay a plumber to do it for you. Plus you now have the parts and knowledge to repair it in the future, also without paying a plumber, that's a lot of money saved! I always feel very smug when I manage to fix things like that round the house, as for me it has the extra bonus of not meaning a day out of my holiday allowance too, while I sit around and wait for a repairman :-)

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It's probably as well that we ordered the spare parts, but if I had realised the drip had stopped, I would not have paid 12 quid for next day delivery!

[r-blackcat.livejournal.com]

Nononono, it's actually your order of spare parts that makes it working! You should show these new parts to the tap and say: "See? I have it and can change it any time" and then keep them somewhere near so the tap would know it. I would keep it uninterested in dripping for quite some time, maybe years. We Russians strongly believe in this method.