A
Alec
as someone working in the building industry (albeit behind a desk) I have a very healthy respect for a good tradesman, and as a new home owner discovering the horror of cowboys
Yesterday I thought I'd come across handy website when I needed a simple job doing in my flat - mybuilder.com
having secured a quote of £60 to service two stop cocks and release a third I thought (having read the plumber's customer reviews) i had found a bargain
With limited access he soon concluded the stop cocks were not serviceable although he turned up with nothing apart from a pair of regular pliers which was strange. I explained the main reason i wanted to release one of the stopcocks was to be able to do some minor adjustments in the kitchen myself without fear of flooding. he said he could cut a pipe and quickly fit a valve with little water leakage of we ran all the other taps in the flat.
He borrowed a pipe cutter of me and some wire wool to clean the pipe. He concluded the pipe was chrome plated as my pipe cutter was struggling. It was his intention to fit a speedfit service valve onto this pipe! he eventually gave up on this and went down to his van for 15mins. He returned with a compression fit valve which he assured me would do the job.
So he quickly disconnected an existing compression joint producing the inevitable torrent of water. and he struggled for about 10 minutes to get the new valve in place (although still leaking). By this point my kitchen was underwater and the tenant from the flat below had come up to inform us that water was pouring through his ceiling.. my plumber was fairly aggressive towards him and to resolve the situation started smashing his way through some tiled boxing-in surrounding the stopcocks to get access. eventually the seized stopcock was closed and the water stopped.
the outcome - flooded kitchen in my flat, and the kitchen and bathroom below. I no longer have water in the kitchen or central heating (including shower)
and he still wanted his £60
I went down to speak to my neighbour below a bit later who turns out to be lovely old chap. He was even sympathetic! Later still the plumber started calling my mobile, I assumed to press me for payment..but maybe he'd felt some remorse
Sorry about the long rant but needed to vent. I do know a trustworthy builder who is talking to his plumber to try and get things sorted.
So what have I learnt
- don't trust mybuilder.com reviews, this guy's were clearly fabricated
- go with personal recommendations
- and don't look for a bargain with something like plumbing
Any other advice? & I know there were some pretty big hints that things were amiss in hindsight
Yesterday I thought I'd come across handy website when I needed a simple job doing in my flat - mybuilder.com
having secured a quote of £60 to service two stop cocks and release a third I thought (having read the plumber's customer reviews) i had found a bargain
With limited access he soon concluded the stop cocks were not serviceable although he turned up with nothing apart from a pair of regular pliers which was strange. I explained the main reason i wanted to release one of the stopcocks was to be able to do some minor adjustments in the kitchen myself without fear of flooding. he said he could cut a pipe and quickly fit a valve with little water leakage of we ran all the other taps in the flat.
He borrowed a pipe cutter of me and some wire wool to clean the pipe. He concluded the pipe was chrome plated as my pipe cutter was struggling. It was his intention to fit a speedfit service valve onto this pipe! he eventually gave up on this and went down to his van for 15mins. He returned with a compression fit valve which he assured me would do the job.
So he quickly disconnected an existing compression joint producing the inevitable torrent of water. and he struggled for about 10 minutes to get the new valve in place (although still leaking). By this point my kitchen was underwater and the tenant from the flat below had come up to inform us that water was pouring through his ceiling.. my plumber was fairly aggressive towards him and to resolve the situation started smashing his way through some tiled boxing-in surrounding the stopcocks to get access. eventually the seized stopcock was closed and the water stopped.
the outcome - flooded kitchen in my flat, and the kitchen and bathroom below. I no longer have water in the kitchen or central heating (including shower)
and he still wanted his £60
I went down to speak to my neighbour below a bit later who turns out to be lovely old chap. He was even sympathetic! Later still the plumber started calling my mobile, I assumed to press me for payment..but maybe he'd felt some remorse
Sorry about the long rant but needed to vent. I do know a trustworthy builder who is talking to his plumber to try and get things sorted.
So what have I learnt
- don't trust mybuilder.com reviews, this guy's were clearly fabricated
- go with personal recommendations
- and don't look for a bargain with something like plumbing
Any other advice? & I know there were some pretty big hints that things were amiss in hindsight
