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My experience with a plumber today
Ramagamma
Posts: 25 Forumite
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
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
:A:A
0
Comments
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I would have thought B&Q would stock the valve. I've put in shut off valves before now and they were purchased from B&Q. Perhaps ask the plumber exactly what you need, you get it and then you don't have to pay him for two hours or whatever collecting the thing.
I'm sorry I don't have much sympathy with the water leaks to downstairs. Had exactly the same problem with an upstairs flat using the washing machine pipe rather than plumbing it in (not exactly a difficult job, lots of youtube videos if I can do it anyone can) but it caused a lot of damage. Air of irresponsibility, sorry.
But don't feel sorry for the plumber, shut off valves are something he should have in his van, and I'm afraid I'd be a bit doubting of the need for a two hour journey. There are also things a person can do to 'unstick' the valve. Obviously no idea what he tried to do this, if anything. He's probably just quadrupled the repair time by saying he didn't have anything suitable, needed to do a temporary repair and then come back and do a proper one.
Arm yourself, learn some basic plumbing skills. Youtube is good.
White vinegar soaked paper towel will help a lot with descaling sinks and taps as well. Google is good for tips on things like this. That sink looks like it needs a good clean or even replacing lol was that brown colour ever actually 'in' lol?
You will feel better if you have some limited plumbing skills and can do more yourself or spot when something needs professional help. I'm not trying to make you feel worse, you will get less unpleasant surprises if you have some knowledge.0 -
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Yeah sorry I posted in the DIY forum and they said since I'm not actually asking a question it'd be better placed in the "rant" forum (which I only found out existed yesterday)
:A:A0
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