Discuss Newly installed combi losing pressure in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

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hedylaura

We just spent £3k+ upgrading our old open-vented system boiler system to a new combi condenser boiler (Viessmann 30kw) system which worked less than a week before the pressure dropped to 0 resulting in no hot water or heating. The plumber came and topped up the system saying it was "just one of those things" that happens occasionally for no discernable reason. So I duly paid him for his work. Then a few days later it happened again.

Now the plumber is saying ("in his opinion") that we have a leak in the pipework on the ground floor. He reasoned this because one of the radiators on the top (first) floor had completey drained, and had it been a leak on the top floor there would be signs of it on the ceiling. He topped it up again as a temporary measure so we were able to have hot showers on our return from a trip to Oz, but by the time we got back (less that 24hrs later) it had dropped to zero again.

He is suggesting re-piping the entire ground floor, which will ruin our flooring.

I can't see any evidence of a leak, and we had the place checked for damp not so long ago and this did not flag up any problems in the areas where we have pipework.

So my questions are - is he right? And are there any other ways to determine if/where there is a leak without going to the extreme lengths of ripping up flooring? Is it possible that the plumber caused the leak by over-pressurising the system?

And more importantly - am I liable for the additional costs that this will incur? In my view he hasn't finished the job he set out to do - we did not just buy a boiler off him, we bought hot water and heating. Both of which have been supplied for no more that a week in total since the installation 1 month ago.

Thanks for your help!

Hedy
 
"To be fair to him though, NONE of the other plumbers we got quotes from ever highlighted a potential problem with switching to a sealed system with old pipework. Wishing we just got a new cylinder now because the old boiler was fine..."
 
He should have pointed the risk out to you but you sound like you're out to get him now. Would you prefer that he left all the scrap/rubbish for you to deal with? His quote would have taken into account the scrap value of the cylinder, if you were keeping it then it would have been added onto the price for the job.
 
Ah the joys of scrap. Did he take all the packaging and cardboard and polystyrene away? People never mention that!:!blank:

Not all of it! He left loads of bits of pipe and packaging around the place. He also left the remnants of his lunch - a kebab. Which festered in our house for a while before we realised where the smell of fermenting onions was coming from...
 
Not all of it! He left loads of bits of pipe and packaging around the place. He also left the remnants of his lunch - a kebab. Which festered in our house for a while before we realised where the smell of fermenting onions was coming from...

Messy pup! That is not good.
 
Not all of it! He left loads of bits of pipe and packaging around the place. He also left the remnants of his lunch - a kebab. Which festered in our house for a while before we realised where the smell of fermenting onions was coming from...

Haha that did make me chuckle. Sorry. I think the bottom line is if you were to take this matter further I'm 99% sure he wouldn't be held responsible. You obviously need to sort the problem but if you have no faith in the installer then it may be better to get the work done through a third party. It's unfortunate but as said by others these things happen from time to time.
 
"To be fair to him though, NONE of the other plumbers we got quotes from ever highlighted a potential problem with switching to a sealed system with old pipework. Wishing we just got a new cylinder now because the old boiler was fine..."

I meant none of the other plumbers INCLUDING HIM ever highlighted a potential problem.
 
ok well the way I read it was different, strange none of them advised on the problems as its pretty bog standard stuff and is a possibility of future problems which the customer will then blame installer
 
thats 10x laura, not 100, and if the leak was already there then he can almost certainly not be held responsible. I'm afraid these things happen and its a shame, but he should have been clear about the problems and if you were willing to take the risk.

Ah yes. Maths not my strong point. I am gradually coming to terms with the fact that we'll have to pay a few hundred pounds to resolve this matter. But I am getting a different plumber to do the work. In my view the original guy neglected to tell me the full story, so he has now missed out on servicing our boiler for the next 5 years. Let's hope he's learned his lesson for next time.
 
post on here in "i'm looking for a plumber/gas engineer" and your location, someone from the forums may be able to help

a thermal imaging camera would probably be the way to go to try and find the leak though to minimise damage to your house but could be costly!
 
He should have pointed the risk out to you but you sound like you're out to get him now. Would you prefer that he left all the scrap/rubbish for you to deal with? His quote would have taken into account the scrap value of the cylinder, if you were keeping it then it would have been added onto the price for the job.

It didn't mention anywhere in the breakdown of the quote that the value of scrap would be subtracted. And OK so I am venting! I need to so you lovely people can then put me in my place so I can start to feel more zen about the situation...
 
Have a large drink and sit in a darkened room. It could've been worse. Could've been a leak upstairs and the ceiling could've been down. Every cloud.....
 
lol couple of hundreded for an old boiler??your havin a laugh arent you ?

8 years old ? what make and model?

The 8 years was a guess by one plumber, and now I can't remember if that was the age or how many years it potentially had left. Can't remember the make either but probably still have the instruction leaflet knocking around. Considering how much brand new boilers cost and knowing the condition of the boiler myself I'd be prepared to pay a couple hundred for it, especially if I had a cylinder of a similar age. I don't know! Please enlighten me.
 
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