Showering in the rainforest

the_skiing_bear

Help - desperate girl in need of a good showering....We've got a 25mm water main rising to the stopcock in the utility room. After the stopcock the pipe work has been reduced to 15mm which is creating an issue with the flow rate e.g. when we turn on a tap when the shower is running the shower starts to run at a trickle, not good, like taking a wash off a leaf in the Amazon. Apparently we need to align the pipework so its all the same size e.g. replace the stopcock with a 22mm outlet and a new 22mm water main rising to the airing cupboard to the controls of the unvented water controls. The piping runs from the utlility room directly above into a megaflow, so not a major re-enginner or anything. Been quoted £390 for this work, including materials which i expect will amount to copper piping and poss new stop !!!!, thats it. Sounds alot, max 5 hours work, anyone help on this?? Much appreciated from a girl who likes fast flow.......:rotfl:

justjohn

Measure the footage of pipework and one of the guys will sort you out properly....

Sounds expensive if just a straight run up, couple of joins and a stop !!!! all 22mm

the_skiing_bear

Thanks John, I've just measured the piping from the stop !!!! in our utility room up to the Mega flow on the first floor and I reckon its a max of 20ft, really rough.

justjohn

materials are
3m 22m copper is 12.50 per 3m (you will need aprox 5)
10 pk of 22mm couplings 14.50 for 10
gatevalve/stopcock 4 pound

You may need reducers etc but only about 10 quid or so..

This is assuming its a straight run as you said. Hunt about , find a good price for the job. I assume you do not need in a hurry.

I would not pay to have it done. If this is as simple as you have said then anyone thats put a radiator/taps etc on can do the job. its only couplings etc

You may have to bend a few pipes at start or end of the run.

the_skiing_bear

John, the problem is the plumber started today. I thought it would be a big job, given the cost of the work but the plumbing crowd I'm using (they are supposed to be doing some other work for us eg refitting main bathroom and ensuite) sent a guy of theirs over today and he sais he thought he could do the job in 4 -5 hours. That got me thinking why is it £390 then? We havent paid anything yet and at this rate we'll be arguing about the invoice. I'm now also thinking we are being ripped on the other quotes (i did post these for comment a month ago).....The plumber is coming back tomorrow at 9am, so my opportunity to say something then wouldnt you think? Help!! Much appreciated!

justjohn

Most these guys are on 50 quid ish and hour. They get it so they can charge it.

Simple rule of supply and demand.

I would not pay 50 pound an hour for building trade labour. But that just me. There will be more expensive.

I have a roofer that is charging me arround about 35 pound per hour and it is reasonable but its not cheap i have used him a few times. I have also warned him i will do it myself as his hourly rate is not as cheap as i would like it.

If you cannot cancel you cannot cancel. You just live with it.

Many people do not relise the hourly rate some of these guys are on...or the cost of materials.

aprox 100 pound in materials and 5hrs at 50 pound per hour plus vat(assuming job is as you say)

prob not far away from your plumbers pricing of the job.

the_skiing_bear

I feel properly robbed

justjohn

lol its only money lol

Your job is to get a quote as cheap as poss

There job is to charge you much as poss lol

Maybe job is more complex. I always tell the anyone that i get to do any work for me(on a repeat basis) to remember my discount even before they open there mouth lol

They always get the empression am tight.

you prob were not robbed just releaved of more readies than you need have been.
Always keep the pressure on the person you are getting the quote from to keep the price keen. Tell them your skint,your tight and you expect a discount. Tell them you need to sit down as you have a bad heart after they tell you the price.(even if the price is good). Tell them that quotes scary. Anything that puts pressure on them.

Some Trades are not interested in giving a good price as they have full books at silly money per hour. And if they are doing a job for you cheap then its one less job they can do at silly money.

the_skiing_bear

I'm going to clock the hours tomorrow though John and I'm still going to have a go at his price, espeically considering we havent started the major bathroom works yet which they are lined up to do. He's a neighbour as well by the way.....everybody needs good neighbours...thats why good neighbours become good friends tra la la la....!

justjohn

Is your man no good at diy????

Sometimes if you scrutinize a tradesmans billing methods you sometime see some dodgy stuff/money saving areas

i had a sparky itemise every part used in a full rewire. After further investigation he was paying double for the parts from what they cost at screwfix.(when i first seen the quote i thought thats a realy good way of doing a quote,untill i seen the costs)

Another favourite is they order 10 pack of something and only use 4. Eg the copper pipe you need is aprox £125 for a 10 pack from screw fix...They often do not leave the surplus.

another Example tradesman goes to B&Q for a bathroom suite £399 inc vat...you get billed for £399+vat (some tradesman do inform you of this and tell you to get it yourself)

Its buisness maxamise profit.

Canucklehead

Good morning: Hmmm...you're on to something here....psychic quoting..throw in a bit of telekinesis and the trades are on to a winner.:D

Canucklehead