Cost/time re-connect radiators, etc.

catt_2

We had gas central heating installed and the fitter took all the radiators off so we could decorate behind them. He also switched the boiler off.

He is due a return visit to put the rads back on, to put an inhibitor in the system, to switch the boiler on and commission the system and issue the gas certificate. We have paid him in instalments as he required and are all up to date.

We have decorated and phoned him to return and he has missed 3 appointments with us now because his van broke down and so we have been kept waiting 4 weeks without hot water! He knows this and now says he'll be there sometime next week.

This is all a bit vague for us and we are losing patience and are thinking of getting someone else in. Would that be a reasonable thing to do both for us, for the plumber and would a new plumber be willing to finish it?

How long is the job likely to take and what should it cost? We'd like a washing machine plumbed in too.

Clive_Woody

I would ditch him.

Sadly today too many tradesmen think they are doing you a huge favour by coming out to do work for you, despite charging exhorbitant fees. It looks like you have got yourself one of the many cowboy plumbers that infest this country.

Hopefully one of the more trustworthy plumbers on here will be along shortly to tell you how much they would take off you to do this job.

Probably best you sit down and have a stiff drink at the ready.

Good luck.

EliteHeat

Was the gas work notified? if not then you may have problems getting someone else to finish the job off.

Also, it's not as if you need a van full of gear to put the radiators back on the walls so something sounds a little odd here.

catt_2

Thanks CW and EH for your replies. CW, you made me nod and smile. EH, you caused me to worry.

I don't know what you mean by "notified" EH. He simply told us that we would get the required safety certificate at the end.

Maybe he is a cowboy...We paid in cash instalments because he needed to buy materials he said. We noticed from the serial nos. on the boiler he fitted that got us a 24W combi boiler instead of the 28W he recommended and we agreed to. He got a different brand of rads than the agreed Ultraheat (He got Heatline). We got an itemised invoice but he took it away again to type it up (at his own insistence) and no, we never got it back...Finally he said his Corgi registered son would commission the boiler and issue the certificate as he was lapsed Corgi and semi-retired. We never met the son...

We are not dissatisfied with the quality of the work. Time will tell whether the boiler is powerful enough. We just want it finished & the proper certificate.

As to the van, we have our suspicions about his excuses but he does live some distance away...

EH, could you please let me know what paperwork is required? We are worried now that other plumbers may refuse to complete the job...

catt_2

I meant to ask EH, where should the work be notified to? Is it the local council building control or Corgi or GasSafe?

Canucklehead

Good morning: More on requirements here .Report the cowboy here.

HTH

Canucklehead