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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Help me oh mumsnet geniuses!!!

19 replies

MrsMar · 07/08/2007 16:33

I live in a flat with a roof garden I've been nurturing for 10 years. It's lovely up there, an oasis in the urban jungle ( cheesy eh?) I do love my garden, but here's the problem...

I used to do the watering (hosepipe ban notwithstanding) with a hose fed up from the bathroom (roof garden is directly above the bathroom) and it was simple... easy peasy... great.

Now I've gone and done a silly thing and had a new bathroom fitted and now my new taps are too large for any garden hosepipe tap adaptors I can find. I've tried getting the largest ones (up to 24mm dia) and using a scalpel to shave off a tiny bit to make it fit, but as the taps are swan neck ones http://www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/taps/quatra-taps/index.html like the ones at the top of the page here if I can get it to fit, the pressure of the water just forces it to slide off, splattering water everywhere.

I did try and use the kitchen tap but it's the same problem, too big for tap adaptors and if I do manage to squeeze it on, the water pressure forces it off.

Can anyone think of a good long term solution for watering. In the meantime I'm using buckets, but it's back breaking and at 34 weeks pg I'm getting increasingly fed up! I'm not sure a water butt would be right as I'm concerned about the weight. Is there another solution? Is there a company somewhere that makes hosepipe tap adaptors that fit on unusually large taps and would fit my taps?

Sorry this is so rambling and long, I'm desperate to find a more permanent solution!!!

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MrsMar · 07/08/2007 16:34

oops sorry here's that link again

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flipflopper · 07/08/2007 16:53

Oh dear!

The only thing I can think of is to get new taps in the bathroom, or would it be possible to get an outside tap fitted?

flipflopper · 07/08/2007 16:59

Ive just had a look in website called NexTag and they sell a hosepipe connector for larger mixer taps, it has a thing onthe side of it to tighten it on.

Sorry cant do links

MrsMar · 07/08/2007 17:22

Hi flipflopper... I've just spent £5000 on the bathroom so I can't really replace the taps... it would break my heart to undo it all. And we've just had the whole flat redecorated so installing an outside tap would involve pulling down walls (to run from the existing water supply) which I can't do either. The website you referred to is in the US I think and I'm in the UK, so I'm not sure it'll help... but thanks so much for replying

Anyone else?

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flipflopper · 07/08/2007 17:26

Oh right! Can understand you not wanting to rip it all out then!

Have you tried different kinds of tap connectors?

Hope someone else will have an idea

PrincessGoodLife · 07/08/2007 17:28

or different taps in the kitchen?

snowwonder · 07/08/2007 17:31

have you room for a water butt?

MrsMar · 07/08/2007 18:20

Princessgoodlife - the kitchen's all new too!! argh! Me and my poncey taps!!

Snowwonder - I'm a bit worried about the weight of a water butt... the garden's on the roof. Not that it's precarious, I've had 15 people up there at one time and it's still there. I could investigate a water butt, but I was wondering if that was my only option. Being in London we're not really awash with water here, we've been on a hosepipe ban for 2 years until this summers deluge.

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PrincessGoodLife · 07/08/2007 18:36

ok, now this may sound complex but bear with me

We often have water shortage problems and live at the top of a steep hill, so we have come up with a solution for filling up our household water tank whenever our water disappears. We have a small electric water pump (about the size of a 2 litre bottle) which we use to move water through a hosepipe from one large container in the back of a trailer and in to the tank. In theory you could use the same system to move water from your water-filled bath tub for example, via the hosepipe going out your window and up, in to containers on your roof or maybe even straight out the other end of the hose pipe and on to your garden.

I will do a quick search for the type of pump we have - just a mo...

MrsMar · 07/08/2007 18:43

oooh that sounds brilliant.... hanging on for link

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PrincessGoodLife · 07/08/2007 18:45

huh! to my surprise I found a similar product on e-bay! here
Can't vouch for this brand obviously but it'll give you an idea of what type of product I mean, if you do want to research which pumps are worth buying and what voltage you need.

Also while I was searching I found that caravanners use litle transportable water pumps, which you may also want to look in to.

Anyway, hope that all helps. I know it sounds complex but they are easy to use.

Good luck

MrsMar · 07/08/2007 19:02

oh that's fantastic! Thanks so much for that, I'll do some research into the pumps.

xx

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PrincessGoodLife · 07/08/2007 19:05

Glad to help. Will check the brand name of our pump next time I'm in the garage and will post it on here for you, in case it is of any use to you. We have been very pleased with it.

So does this officially make me a MN genius?

eyesfront · 07/08/2007 22:27

of course you are a mumsnet genius - we all are

and for an added stroke of genius (if not modesty)...
If your roof can take a water butt and has a handy downpipe then get one, and when it is empty use the fab pump idea to fill it up. You can also get a pump that pumps water OUT of the waterbutt into your garden on a timer. Is this your first baby?

Don't you have a cold water pipe anywhere near an outside wall so you could install an outside tap - it's a really simple job and will transform your life

MrsMar · 08/08/2007 13:13

you are all officially geniuses!!

I'll have a chat with the nice guy at the garden centre about water butts eyesfront. I'm concerned about the weight issue on a roof terrace, but perhaps I can get a smallish one.... I do have taps near an outside wall, my bathroom taps are right by the outside wall, but it's going to mean scaffolding as it's three storeys up and directly below is the skylight and glass roof of the shop below. It's a logistical nightmare!!

Thanks in advance for posting the pump name princessgoodlife!

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PrincessGoodLife · 08/08/2007 17:22

Here you go...

Brand: Einhell
Model: TMP255/1S
230 volts

Btw, hope you don't mind me saying but had a look at your photo (I'm nosey, you see!) and you look very familiar but I can't think why . Anyway, not being creepy, honest!

MrsMar · 08/08/2007 21:54

Thanks for that Princessgoodlife... I'll get hunting!

I don't mind you looking at my photo, do you live in London? Perhaps our paths have crossed. Mind you, I always get told I look like someone, I have one of those faces that don't have very striking features so I resemble lots of people!

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PrincessGoodLife · 10/08/2007 06:32

Have never lived in London but used to travel there a lot with jobs in the past (charity fundraising then training software development) and have many friends I used to visit there too.

One to be 'sent for analysis' in the back of my brain, I think, and it may come to me!

MrsMar · 10/08/2007 15:03

Ok let me know!!

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