My experience with a plumber today ...

Ramagamma

Well I've had a crap day.
I finally called out a plumber to get the hot water fixed, its been off for months since corona began and I've just not had the chance to get someone round. Essentially the hot water tap started leaking and I had to seal it off with the red tap like valve. 

Plumber came round and said no problem it would be a quick job, he quickly fixed the loose hot water pipe behind the sink, when it came to turning on the supply again, the valve unfortunately was unresponsive, he explained that the valves would often stay shut if they weren't used frequently. He rummaged in his van for a while but couldn't procure a valve that would replace it and offered me the choice of waiting till he took a 2 hour trip to the nearest supply shop for the valve or offering me a temporary replacement with a copper pipe and also the knowledge I have a secondary valve with a screw for a "switch". To be fair it looks like he did a good job with the copper piping but I'm a little uncomfortable with it being a temporary fix. Heres a picture of his work and the valve I never knew I had


Anyway, in draining the tank to get access to that piece of pipework the magic really started to happen, we discovered that the water was not all coming out of the outflow pipe which leads outside but was also exiting somewhere in the vicinity of my downstairs neighbour which happens to be a carpet shop *forgot to mention that. The sales assistant had to run up to my house screaming that water was pouring through the ceiling. When me and the plumber went to inspect the damage it seemed she was somewhat exaggerating and although there was visible leakage it did seem that the water had largely spewed out onto my garden outside. Thankfully the fuschias did need a bit of watering.

 I spoke to the owner later and he seemed somewhat nonplussed in a way that reminded me of the scene in Peep Show where Mark scratches Johnson's car and his only response is to devilishly exclaim he's "insured out the !!!!!!", Fortunately he's had a few floods from the flats above his over the years, I had a leaking toilet cistern, my next door neighbour had his pipes burst, I've had my washing machine cable come loose and spew water all over his toilet ceiling. !!!!!! happens.

The plumber explained that although I could use the hot water for the time being, this outflow pipe would need replaced so any leaks that develop would all funnel outside rather than over my neighbours lovely lovely floor coverings. I explained that I'd be happy to wait till my next pay-day to have him fix the outflow pipe and paid him £50 for his trouble and sent him on his way,

I feel awful, I feel awful that the carpet shop owner has had another water intrusion, I feel awful for this plumber who came out to fix an initially simple job which has cascaded into a nightmare, I feel awful that its distracted me from my entire day, I feel awful for anyone who has had to read this. If you've got this far its worth mentioning that in reality it's probably been a few years since the tap first went. I've just put it off and put it off and I was feeling so good about finally getting round to fixing it and now this.

To make matters worse the outflow pipe has developed the tiniest tiniest leak, the most inconsequential problem in this whole scenario, I put a pan under it and it seemed to drip once every 80 seconds or so. I should probably phone the plumber back and get him to fix that too but I feel exhausted and drained from the day and its not really him thats caused this so I've used a small piece of modelling putty to attempt to seal the leak, it seems to have worked so far and its been 5 hours, no drips. 


I am absolutely exhausted, it feels so petty when there people which much worse right now but I just want to break down and cry myself to sleep and start tomorrow fresh. But hey, at least I have hot water!
(did i mention the boilers on the blink)
Someone shoot me

ceredigion

................

SeaVixen

Eek, sounds like you've had a right day of it! Hope you get it all fixed eventually, and that tomorrow is a better day! 

I suspect this post would be better in the Praise, Vents and Warnings board than in here, as you're not actively asking a question. 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/praise-vent-warnings

Ramagamma

Ah I see, thanks, I didn't even realise that was a a sub-forum, that sounds like a good place to vent these frustrations

FreeBear

Sounds like one of my ceilings.... Stripping off the artex, noticed a crack above the bay window. One side was slightly lower than the other. Gave it the gentlest of prods and promptly had a four foot chunk of paster & cement hitting the floor. Ended up taking the whole ceiling down and replastering.

On the bright side, got rid of that nasty artex (now hardcore under the shed)

Niv

Sounds like most jobs I start around here. Start one job and it turns into three!

daivid

Ramagamma said:

 and paid him £50 for his trouble and sent him on his way,

You got a plumber out to investigate and stop a leak, and add in an isolation valve all for £50, I would say you are winning!

Incidentally the isolation valve is fine permanently - just know where your screwdriver is kept.

As to the drip under the basin  this would be a perfect DIY task (if you are able and wanting to), watch some videos on youtube then decide if you feel up to it. It does seem like there is no trap (or maybe it is further along the line) if that is the case I recommend adding one in. Plastic pipe is cheap (compared to getting someone out) and needs minimal tools. I would recommend you buy McAlpine fittings if you do DIY this, the cheaper ones can be a bit hit and miss on the quality of seal, as for Wirquin; my opinion (and of the local plumber's merchants) is that they are a complete PITA.

Ramagamma

daivid said:

Ramagamma said:

 and paid him £50 for his trouble and sent him on his way,

You got a plumber out to investigate and stop a leak, and add in an isolation valve all for £50, I would say you are winning!

Incidentally the isolation valve is fine permanently - just know where your screwdriver is kept.

Well that's reassuring to hear, I honestly thought I'd underpaid him given the hassle of the situation although he might have got some extra business from downstairs - I heard he left his business card.

I am a bit worried about the valve he took away and replaced with the copper pipe. It seemed he was giving me the option of paying for him to go and procure one or taking the cheap and dirty option of slamming a bit of pipe on and hoping the screwdriver valve does the business.

Such a downer that the overflow pipe is a problem, it would have otherwise been the one great experience I'd had with a short notice tradesman but as Niv said - something always goes wrong.