Damage to ceiling while installing boiler

pippa80

Hi there,

We have just had a new boiler installed - a combi and the old tanks etc from the conventional boiler removed.

The pipe that used to feed the old hot water tank leaked the day after the installation and has made a hole in the bathroom ceiling. The installers have fixed the leak but say they are not responsible for fixing the ceiling. Does that seem right?

967stuart

So their poor workman ship led to the leak ? , I would get their boss on the phone and tell him you want a plasterer sent round to fix the damage !

evoke

LOL.

Jeez.

The heating engineers ARE responsible to pay for the damage that their cr*p work caused.

pippa80

Yep - apparently they used the old pipework for the hot water and this leaked. They came a couple of days later and put in new hot water pipework and the leak stopped.

It is the boss who has said he's not responsible for making good the ceiling.

keystone

No it doesn't not only should thay have properly drained down the redundant pipework/system they should not have left any dead ends and should have removed the lot. If that is what has happened then thats very poor indeed.

Yes as you have described it they are responsible. Tell them they should fix it or you will have it fixed on your insurance which will mean your insurer will be after them for recompense. They may be able to fob you off. They won't be able to fob off an insurance rotweiler.

Cheers

pippa80

Thanks all, seemed off to me. Just spoke to the OH and the guy has offered £50 off, which I don't think would cover the damage (Does anyone know how much a replacement plasterboard section of ceiling would cost?).

Our insurance excess for water damage is £250, so may or may not be worth actually going down that route, but probably worth the threat!

967stuart

Great advice ^

Give them the chance to put it right, politely tell them it a direct result of their workmanship that caused the leak so its their duty to fix it (I would also put this in writing them) , if they refuse then as said, get your insurance people onto and they will hound them out .

evoke

It'll cost a LOT more than £50 to repair a water-damaged ceiling.

You'll first need to have industrial heaters on for a few days to thoroughly dry any water (if it's hasn't already dried up). Then a plasterer will have to make good the ceiling, skim a section or the whole lot again and then a decorator will have to paint it. Coving may also need replacing.

I'd guess that it'll cost anything from £300 to £600 to do the job properly. If it's a very small hole then it could probably be patched up with a cut section of plasterboard and filled and painted over. I'd guess that this would cost around £100-£200 if you had to pay a decorator.

Best to get an estimate from 2-3 proper refurbishment companies. Get the estimates in writing and show the heating installer the estimates. Don't let him fob you off with an offer of £50 and do a runner.

Presumably the water ingressed via the loft? If so, then I would also check the loft insulation that may have become water-logged and also any joists and electrical cables (particularly those powering the bathroom lights).

You simply cannot be too careful with water leaks.

pippa80

I suppose the hole is about 6 inches by 4 inches. The only section of the ceiling that shows any damage is in the cupboard that housed the tank, but all of that is stained and I think that whole section will need replacing.

We're in a ground floor flat (purpose built, victorian), so the leak happened under the floor of upstairs. (The cold water tank was in their loft, but that has been removed)

So annoying that he is trying to fob us off. He came with very good references from Which? Local!

MX5huggy

pippa80 wrote: »

Yep - apparently they used the old pipework for the hot water and this leaked. They came a couple of days later and put in new hot water pipework and the leak stopped.

It is the boss who has said he's not responsible for making good the ceiling.

I am going to play Devils Advocate.

You have swapped from a regular boiler to a combi. This means that the pressure in all your original pipe work is much higher now, and if the job did not include replacing all pipes then its not his fault.

I would be checking all the central heating joints particularly at the rads for weeping valves.

evoke

MX5huggy wrote: »

I am going to play Devils Advocate.

You have swapped from a regular boiler to a combi. This means that the pressure in all your original pipe work is much higher now, and if the job did not include replacing all pipes then its not his fault.

I would be checking all the central heating joints particularly at the rads for weeping valves.

He should have pressure-tested the DHW and CH system before deciding to re-use the old pipes.

I understand that the HW pipes are now at mains pressure which may be far greater than before, but it's not the customers problem as the customer did not specify how the pipeworl should be implemented.