Clients often need help fixing leaky taps and toilets. A helpful hint from Taskers with experience fixing or replacing plumbing parts, is that these tasks tend to be under-scoped. The most common reason? There are specific knobs/cartridges that go with specific brands of tap. If you don’t find this out in advance, you may have to turn off the whole water supply, remove the tap, bring it to a DIY shop to identify which parts will work, and ultimately cost yourself time and the client money.
As with most Home Improvements tasks, asking the client for more information—or even a photo—can help. Tasker Joe A. says that asking your client for a photo of the tap during scoping should help you identify what brand the tap is so you can anticipate which supplies to bring.
Scoping the task:
- Do you have photos of the part that needs to be fixed?
- Have you tried to reset the circuit breaker? (For parts like a waste disposer, the fix could be very simple!)
- Where is the tap that needs to be fixed?
- Tasker Greg S. says that typically, kitchen taps are easier, but in bathrooms you sometimes need to deal with the drain too, which can be harder to reach.
Special tools:
- Allan keys
- Screwdriver set
- Drain snake
- Sink spanner
- Headlamp and/or stationary handheld floodlight
- Adjustable spanner
- PTFE tape
- Extra towels and/or small bucket
Other task types can come your way if you’re handy with plumbing appliances. While many of these tasks invitations will come through the Plumbing category, keep an eye out for plumbing-related tasks in Home Improvements, too. James C. says sometimes the task is as simple as unscrewing an old toilet seat and screwing on a new one—a client who hires you to do this will be very grateful!
