500 quid to move 2 radiators?!!!! help!

lifeonwater

Hi
I've searched other posts on this topic but none seem to quite answer my question.
I've just bought a new apartment, a tiny studio and I'm having it renovated. 2 weeks into the project and I'm questioning my builder and his team's competency and pricing.
I'm being charged close to 500 pounds for moving two radiators which apparently took two men the best part of two days because my radiators were "old and difficult" (but no older than the 70's by the way). apparently they couldn't find the right fitting for replacing the rads so after driving all over town they had to make it themselves but I'm still looking at a materials charge of 130 quid. I did not replace the rads themselves, they are the same rads. But surely the shops and suppliers would have most fittings because these kind of renovations are done all the time, esp from 70's houses being done up? I don't want to be unfair to them but this cost seems absurdly high and I want to look into it before paying bill.
My other concerns are posted in separate threads. Thanks for your time!

pimento

I live in a house built in 1978 and when I took my bedroom radiator off to decorate, I did look into changing it for a more modern one. It was a job I thought would be really easy, take off old rad, put new one in and turn on the water.

The problem is that my oold radiator was an imperial length and since it was installed, the sizes have been changed to metric, so although I could have the rad replaced, it was not going to be a job I could do without a plumber.

The old rad went back on.

The difference in size might have meant different fitting were needed, but I agree that £500 seems a lot of money. I expect you could have had a new boiler and rads in a studio flat for not much more than that.

Did you not ask for a price beforehand?

lifeonwater

Hi Pimento thanks for feedback. Stupidly I didn't ask for a breakdown for the part of quote which put several things in the main living space under one amount. I just assumed it would be like 200 absolute max because we decided not to replace them at 70 each because of tight budget. So now he's saying, yeah well, your house is really old and it was a nightmare for us so this is what is cost. I don't think he's lying just that his team are not proper plumbers perhaps as they're just working cash for him and incompetent at moving rads and he's trying to pass the cost on to me?

pimento

Well I suppose that as long as the quote for everything was OK and they don't go over that then you're OK.

If you have a quote for the whole job, then he can't really put the price up unless you agreed beforehand that he could charge you extra if something cropped up while the work was being done.

ormus

a 15mm compression fitting will do either metric or imperial, and connect both pipe sizes together.

gas4you

Other than the radiator brackets, I cannot think of anything that cannot be bought today and they would obviously have used the old brackets.

If the plumber was already on site, I would have thought around £100-£150 + pipes etc at the very most.

pimento

ormus wrote: »

a 15mm compression fitting will do either metric or imperial, and connect both pipe sizes together.

Yes but the pipes that come up through the floor at each end of the radiator were the wrong distance apart to fit a new radiator, if you see what I mean...

amcluesent

>if you see what I mean<

I had that when I installed a new chrome towel radiator in the bathroom, the plumber just formed two new tails and fitted with capillary joints for £60.

gas4you

pimento wrote: »

Yes but the pipes that come up through the floor at each end of the radiator were the wrong distance apart to fit a new radiator, if you see what I mean...

Thats what the chrome rad extensions are for.

Tucker

pimento wrote: »

Yes but the pipes that come up through the floor at each end of the radiator were the wrong distance apart to fit a new radiator, if you see what I mean...

According to the OP they were moving the rads, so the old pipework isn't the issue as they will have to have adapted it to move them.

I am not a plumber, but I moved 2 rads in my house, on my own in a day, having drained the system and it was refilled and back running by late evening, so the labour charged is excessive.

Ask him exactly what he could not buy which he had to make, because you can buy anything for the job in question and old rads are no more difficult to move than new ones.

Sounds like he's earning pocket money to me.

lifeonwater

Thanks everyone.

Yes they were moving the rads. Nightmare old system was what he said, hence 130 on parts and 350 on labour. Just seems wrong. Will request specific info as to what is was exactly that they couldn't find. Apparently it was the old piping size that was the problem. I think it was the adaptor from old pipe to radiator that was the peice and they had to make it with a new thread on the inside according to him. I think it was just an inexperienced "plumber" who was actually a builder's mate who said he could do some plumbing. Could this explain why my neighbours all lost their electricity several times whilst the rads were being moved? Could old piping size be a really difficult issue in moving rads?