Toilet Siphon repair - possiblity, cost & time advice - best options?

longtimelurker54

Hi,

We have a toilet which is letting water into the bowl from the cistern causing the cistern to keep re-filling itself and costing money as there is a water meter.

Had a plumber out to fix it but they went away saying they couldn't fit it at that time as it is an old toilet and the siphon parts they had did not fit.

They have now found a part they think may fit (3 part D siphon costing around £40 for the part) and have quoted between 1 and 2 hours' labour to fit this siphon.

Or they have asked if I'd prefer to have a whole new toilet fitted.

Both options are being quoted at between around £235 plus vat or £290 plus vat for the new toilet (including the toilet itself I presume).

Since I have no idea what is involved in fitting a siphon and whether it should take this long I'm wondering if this is a fair time estimate/cost. Wouldn't it be possible to repair the existing siphon to save these costs or is that not a long term feasible option - money is tight at the moment and we had no idea it would be this costly to be honest.

Or would we be best advised in the long term to go for a new toilet which presumably would offer better "fixability" and availablilty of parts in the future?

The two quotes I've been given are in a range which seems to have about a £100 difference between them and I've no idea why there is such a differential in the range so really just hoping for some advice here before I go back to the plumber to try and get some more info on the quotes he's emailed.

Sorry for so many questions, many thanks in advance for any advice on this.

Homersimpson

Sounds like a !!!!!! load of money to me!

If the part is only £40 and its going to take 2 hours to fit then they are charging you nearly £100/hr labour!

Depending upon how difficult it is to change (i.e whether the toilet is boxed or any tiling would be affected) I would probably replace the toilet. A new toilet from B&Q starts at around £60 and a new pan connector and flexible connector for the cold water feed would set you back less than £20 from toolstation.

Incidently have a look in toolstations catalouge and see if they do a syphon to fit your toilet. I did my parents one a couple of weeks back and the seem to range between £5 and £20.

Sounds like the plumber in this instance might be overcharging you, if your not able to DIY then I would get some more quotes in.

missindecisive

we have the same problem with one of our loos:p The new syphon costs around £14 from our local plumbers merchants. my husband will replace it himself and it will take him about 20 mins. I know this because he has done it before!
so now that you know roughly how much it costs for a new part, it boils down to how much you are willing to pay someone for their time and effort. I think £50 for labour is more than reasonable.

jackieb

I changed over to a whole new syphon in our toilet. Took me ages, but I looked up what I was supposed to do online and in my B&Q DIY book. I'd never done anything like it before. Ours was just a bog standard ('scuse the pun ) toilet - not boxed in or anything. Husband was working away and I didn't want to pay a plumber. It was a few years ago but the syphon cost me about £15.

longtimelurker54

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. A shi*load of money was certainly my initial reaction too!!!

It's not something I could or would be willing to undertake myself so am reliant on a plumber to do it. Just don't want to be ripped off. It it seems that non-plumbers on here can do it in 20 minutes then I'm wondering how an experienced professional plumber can be quoting such a time variance of 1-2 hours - just sounds suspicious to me.

Don't know if I made clear that they are including, it seems, in their quotes, their "initial visit" when it took them half an hour to investigate the problem and decide that the two types of siphon they had would not fit the toilet. They were supposed to be coming back to me with options but failed to do so until I chased 3 days later to receive an email with these quotes.

As I am certainly not technically minded or a plumber it just seems strange that there should be such a time variation of between 1-2 hours for the work and I'm wondering how this can be - if it is a more complicated job than I realise? The cistern is accessible, i.e. not boxed in and there is a stop tap to turn off the water.

In a quandary now as to what's best to do.

ankspon

1-2 hours for a syphon,dodgy

Clive_Woody

We got an odd job man to replace the syphon for us, he charges £20 and hour and took around an hour to sort it out. The parts were around £15.

The guy you have spoken to is seriously taking the mickey.

googler

While you're thinking about it, if the water usage is bothering you, you could turn off the isolation valve so that the cistern doesn't refill, and leave it off until you next use the toilet. Then turn it off again.

Since it's an 'old' toilet, find yourself an 'old' plumber who will likely have dealt with this type of syphon in the past, and will know what to do with it on sight, rather than having to deliberate about it, and go figure out what's required.

ormus

any decent plumbing shop will stock all the types of wc syphons available.
prices approx 5-20 quid.

i dont think ive ever spent more than an hour, fitting one.

Oldsoak

I agree with most of the previous comments, with the rider that a plumber will charge by the hour hence 1-2 hours (some will not be picky if it takes 1 hour and 5 minutes). Also on the older toilets they can tend to be a bit tricky to unbolt (rusty bolts) and might not reseal properly when rebuilt with a new syphon. The syphon costs any where from £4 (trade) which is probably the one you want. Unless you live in SE, then you should expect to pay £70-£90 for a fix like yours plus the part.

longtimelurker54

Hi

Many thanks for the replies. It is SE so probably higher than elsewhere. I am trying to get someone else to look and quote. Went back to the original plumber to query the quote and they said about it possibly being rusty etc., which could take longer. But I feel as they've been out to look and tried to fix it (1/2 hour) they should know it's condition and if it's rusty and be better able to give an accurate quote rather than one which has an almost £100 differential....

Anyway, will see how I get on with the second quotation. At least this plumber has said if he can refurbish the old siphon then he will but will have to see it first. Fingers crossed!