Gas engineers won't fit fireplace they didn't supply

new666uk

Hi all,


Just looking to the team to see if this seems normal. We are looking to have a gas stove installed and I have already bought the stove we want which is now sat on a pallet in a spare room ready to install.


Of the engineers I've spoken to for an install quote, they all seem to be flaky and non-commital sort of making me feel like they'd rather I just disappeared. They will quote me manufactureres list price for the stove but all shy away from the rest of the job.


I'm coming to the idea that the industry is still in the dinosaur era and doesn't think the internet exists.



The exact same stove was ordered online for £500 less than list price so clearly attractive - I just need a qualified engineer to do some bricking, plastering, install a liner, back and side tiling, supply & fit the mantel and connect it up.


Anyone else had similar experience with the gas industry? BEtter yet, can anyone recommend a gas engineer in the Preston/Southport area?


thanks
Paul

chiny

Flaky and non-committal; something has scared them off. Perhaps they can’t see how to make a reasonable profit; you have removed one profit element (their supplier discount).

A workaround is to get a non-specialist but competent contractor to do the bricking, plastering etc and just use the Gas Safe contractor for any gas work including that all important certificate, rather than all the stuff he doesn’t really want to do.

Which contractor? Always a problem. I tend to ignore all these schemes where the traders pay to be recommended and preferably go for personal recommendation; if not, then perhaps starting with NextDoor.

Aylesbury_Duck

new666uk wrote: »

Hi all,


Just looking to the team to see if this seems normal. We are looking to have a gas stove installed and I have already bought the stove we want which is now sat on a pallet in a spare room ready to install.


Of the engineers I've spoken to for an install quote, they all seem to be flaky and non-commital sort of making me feel like they'd rather I just disappeared. They will quote me manufactureres list price for the stove but all shy away from the rest of the job.


I'm coming to the idea that the industry is still in the dinosaur era and doesn't think the internet exists.



The exact same stove was ordered online for £500 less than list price so clearly attractive - I just need a qualified engineer to do some bricking, plastering, install a liner, back and side tiling, supply & fit the mantel and connect it up.


Anyone else had similar experience with the gas industry? BEtter yet, can anyone recommend a gas engineer in the Preston/Southport area?


thanks
Paul

Is it perhaps that their business is gradually becoming unprofitable because people are doing exactly what you're doing: sourcing your own stove at a "bargain" price then expecting people to fit it? Under the "old" way of working, the fitter perhaps bought the stove for even less than you can buy it as a consumer and made some margin on the stove as well as the fitting.

As you're finding, perhaps that bargain you thought you have isn't, especially if you can't get anyone to fit it. You may end up paying the same aggregated price for buying and fitting than you would by asking someone to supply and fit. The benefit of the latter way of doing things is that if there's a problem with the stove during installation or testing, you're only dealing with one person. If you do them separately, you're into returning/exchanging with the retailer and paying the installer to attend twice.

Sometimes, the pre-internet, "dinosaur" era you call it, isn't so bad after all. After all, you have bought a gas stove....hardly something for the digital age you're so keen on, is it?

TELLIT01

A gas engineer will often only do the installation of the fire, not all the ancilliary building work. You will probably have to get a builder in to do all the preparatory and post installation work.

pramsay13

I don't blame them to be honest.

It they start to fit it and find there's a problem with the stove, wrong size, crack in it, missing part suddenly that becomes their problem and suddenly it's not a case of them nipping out to the supplier, they have to get you to get it uplifted, checked, sent out again.

I make picture frames and if someone brings me the wood I won't make them a frame from it because I haven't been involved in the process of sourcing the wood so I can't vouch for its suitability.

Robin9

Go to one of the Emergency 24/7 fitters - simple hourly rate plus materials.

iammumtoone

pramsay13 wrote: »

It they start to fit it and find there's a problem with the stove, wrong size, crack in it, missing part suddenly that becomes their problem and suddenly it's not a case of them nipping out to the supplier, they have to get you to get it uplifted, checked, sent out again.

Even if the fitting goes well if there is an issue afterwards you might find the manufacture blames the fitter, the fitter blames the manufacturer and you are left in the middle having to prove who is at fault before it will get resolved.

Jackmydad

And of course there's the thing where something bought by the client is fitted, and then when there's a problem with it in 3 months's time it suddenly becomes the fitter's problem.
Only of course it isn't, and the fitter is entitled to charge to sort out any problems which weren't their fault.
Which ends up in some cases with unhappy customers.

Jonesya

The work you describe - brickwork, chimney lining, plastering, tiling etc probably isn't of interest to many of the gas engineers as it won't be something they are doing everyday.

I'd look for a builder or even HETAS engineer for the chimney and fireplace work, use the gas engineer just to fit and test the stove.

I've bought gas appliances online and had them fitted separately without any issues, but the work was always purely gas work - disconnect hob, fit cooker bayonet and connect cooker, swap one gas fire with another etc.

JimmyChanga

Go to one of the Emergency 24/7 fitters - simple hourly rate plus materials.

I presume you're joking?

Call a few more installers. Someone will take on the work.

new666uk

Thanks all.



The search continues...


I get that this takes away one of their profit areas. I've been a procurement professional for 20years so stripping out or de-bundling to see the true cost of things is part of what we do. The internet just makes that easier and faster.



For example, we had a £10k bathroom refit earlier this year. I bought all the items - furniture, sanitary wear, tiles, roof and floor etc seperately and a local company installed no hassle. I ended up saving about £1k over the 'all in' pricing quoted like for like which gave us enough for a cheeky week in Spain. The world is built around the internet - embrace it or Darwenism will deselect you from the supply pool. I do splits and analysis like this daily at work - it's not unusual across a huge range of services.



They all seem happy as Larry doing ALL the work, just being protectionist !!!!!! when it comes to part of the work. I could do the bricking myself and plasterboad it but I'd still need a plasterer (can't plaster for toffee). I thought leaving the rest is better than piecemealing it even further.



As for warranty. My contract is with the stove supplier so if there is a fault with the stove itself I'd be dealing with them. Totally happy that there are two parties involved for different aspects.



The works I'm looking for- supply and install lintel, brick up, board & plaster chimney breast on all three sides then supply and install liner, oak mantel, split slate backing and fireboard to interior sides plus the connection itself is probably 2 days work and ~£1500 to £2k so it's not a !!!!y little job as such.


thanks