Plumber issues

talk2tod91

Hi All,

In October 2019 we had a shower pump fitted, we've had consistent air blocks, we had the plumber back pretty shortly after to fix it, who suggested when there is an air block, just suck on the tap - this is okay if it was once every six months but its been happening every few days.

We asked again in December as i have got fed up with the tap sucking and in early Jan he promised to come over, twice. However due to a family issue he did not come and has not been in contact since. we paid a fair amount of money for the shower Pump as we have poor water pressure. I had another plumber round to look at the issue and he suggested we need a new flange fitted which may involve changing our hot water tank at a large cost. I do not know if i want the original plumber back knowing the installation was done incorrectly and i have tried multiple times via text, phone and messenger to get him back to resolve it. Finally to make it a bit awkward, the plumber is very local (within a few streets) and has a very good reputation locally

Do i have any recourse or should i just accept it as tough luck and pay the new plumber?

Thanks in advance! by the way I am England

JJ_Egan

LBA   letter before action ( google for templates )

Suggest ask to fix the problem or you will use another plumber and bill him .

talk2tod91

JJ_Egan said:

LBA   letter before action ( google for templates )

Suggest ask to fix the problem or you will use another plumber and bill him .

Other than being a bit awkward, i presume i have to give him a last opportunity to come and fix the issue? 

Undervalued

My limited experience of shower pumps is that they can be very prone to air locks if the installation is not ideal. Certainly more powerful ones recommend very smooth pipe runs without sharp elbows etc. So trying to fit one into an existing installation with the minimum of work and disruption can be problematic. 

I had one that would sometimes, but not always, airlock and I found a work around was to have a pull string switch fitted so I could get the shower running before the pump powered up. Generally they have a flow sensor so that the pump starts as soon it detects any flow in either the hot or the cold. If you can isolate its electric supply you can try getting the shower running then turning the pump on. If it seems reliable like that then getting a pull string operated switch fitted in the bathroom may be the cheapest solution. It will cost nothing to experiment!