Hi,

I am planning to replace a sink and toilet in my basement bathroom and the first step (aside from shutting off the water at the mains!) is to remove and replace the water isolation valves as they are corroded and not in great shape. I have found a replacement at Bauhaus online that is very similar to what is on there already but I can't seem to find any information on whether the pipe is likely to be threaded or soldered etc.

Does anybody know what the standard is in Norway for water pipes to sinks and toilets so I can have a heads-up before taking on the job? My house is from 1986 so not that old comparatively speaking.

Here is the parts I am replacing: https://www.bauhaus.no/stopventil-arcofix-lang-krom-1-2-1-2

I have done a similar job before when I lived in the UK so I know what I'm doing but I just can't seem to find anything Norway specific but there are countless videos showing similar things from the US and UK etc., but if anyone knows from experience if they are usually threaded here or soldered etc., that would really help before I start the job.

Tusen takk!

by Mister_Jack_Torrence

2 comments

  1. Ymmv depending on age and what the original plumber felt for that day.

    Edit: note that some insurance companies or borettslag demands that all plumbing work should be done by a certified plumber.

  2. Could be anything, either soldered or a compression fitting. Probably a compression fitting. Can you perhaps see what’s going on if you unscrew the chrome cover a bit?

    Words of warning though, from someone that has DIY’d a couple of bathroom repairs and refurbs where the plumbing dated from the 80’s:

    You may be looking at something much worse than just a bad valve. Is this hidden plumbing inside the wall, but not the modern pipe-in-pipe system? Copper pipes with a white plastic covering moulded onto the pipe, sort of resembling the insulation on electric wiring?

    Unfortunately, some batches of such copper pipe from the late 70’s to well into the 80’s have turned out to be poor quality and have a tendency to spring leaks. Especially if the pipe is partially encased in concrete, as they failed to account for the difference in thermal expansion between copper and concrete. Those leaks follow the outer plastic covering sort of similar to a modern pipe-in-pipe, but without proper end connections this merely moves the dripping leak to the end of the plastic. Hidden slow leaks inside walls are all too common with 80’s plumbing. And the copper may have turned brittle enough that trying to change a fitting could break things. Oh, and there’s a couple different wall thicknesses around so you may have to shop around for the correct size inner reinforcement piece to use with a compression fitting. Good news is, the outer diameter is almost certainly to spec for some modern standard you can find fittings for.

    Before ordering any parts, you need to know what size the pipe is.

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