New boiler install problems

alexb123

Hi all,

I had a new boiler installed and on finishing the work I was informed that our shower won't work, but it was very simple to resolve just get someone to swap it with an electric shower, will be easy to do. So I said no problem we will get that sorted.

However, the truth of the matter is, 3 plumbers have given 3 different far more costly and complex solutions. So in the end we went with the only who we'd had experience with, he came to do the work and then found there was no cold water running to the shower. And as he didn't know what they'd done previously and he didn't allocate the time to take everything apart to work it out, he couldn't do the job. I also contracted Eon as a matter of urgency to get this information while the plumber was here but they didn't help.

So my question is, on feeding back to me when the job was finished, does the plumber, have a duty to give accurate information on the state of the heating system when handing back to the customer? And if this information is wrong, does he have a liability for the consequences? Many Thanks

Manxman_in_exile

Why did you contact Eon?  did they install the boiler?

Basically depends what the agreement was between you and the installer as to what work he was going to do.

If your shower previously operated on hot water that is heated by the boiler (as our is) then I'd expect it still to work once the boiler was replaced - unless you were informed beforehand that it wouldn't work, or that the work would only cover the heating system and not the provision of hot water.

And I don't think that putting a new electric shower in would be a suitable resolution to you.  Our gas boiler was on its last legs earlier this year and I was concerned that if it suddenly failed we'd have no hot water.  I enquired about putting in an electric shower and was told it would new wiring putting in and be relatively expensive.  (But maybe that's because we live in an old house.

Did your plumber who put in the boiler explain why it wasn't working?  The other plumber has said it's not plumbed in?

I'd be complaining to whoever installed the new boiler.

Alderbank

alexb123 said:

However, the truth of the matter is, 3 plumbers have given 3 different far more costly and complex solutions. So in the end we went with the only who we'd had experience with, he came to do the work and then found there was no cold water running to the shower. And as he didn't know what they'd done previously and he didn't allocate the time to take everything apart to work it out, he couldn't do the job. I also contracted Eon as a matter of urgency to get this information while the plumber was here but they didn't help.

So my question is, on feeding back to me when the job was finished, does the plumber, have a duty to give accurate information on the state of the heating system when handing back to the customer? And if this information is wrong, does he have a liability for the consequences? Many Thanks

That can't be true.
Electric showers have mains pressure cold feed.
Showers using domestic hot water have either hand mixer or thermostatic valve but all have both hot and cold feed.
Do you mean no mains pressure cold feed (e.g. from a header tank in the loft)? 

It sounds like you have had 4 different opinions from 4 different plumbers, not 3. Without us knowing exactly what each proposed we can't say whether any of them would work at all or whether they would be unnecessarily complex and expensive.

Do you have a written quote and explanation from 'the plumber'? Have you paid anything out (e.g. for materials) as a result?

Any claim would be limited to actual costs you have incurred as a result of the incorrect information and without anything in writing you will be hard pressed to prove your case even if there is liability.

macman

I suspect that the original boiler had a tank feed (both hot and cold supply). The new boiler is a combi, and so the feed for both was lost when the old tanks were removed or decommissioned. OP, please confirm.
The original shower should still work as long as the feeds are restored, the cold direct from the rising main, and the hot from the boiler DHW circuit. 
If for some reason that shower is not suitable for the combi, then you would need to plumb in an electric shower with a cold feed only from the rising main, plus a dedicated circuit,  with an RCD,from the CU. This is obviously a lot more work, with the extra expense for the electrical work required
The original boiler installer (Eon contractor?) should have made you aware of all this when they did the original site survey and quote. 

born_again

Combi boiler can supply a shower. Ours does & is better than the electric shower it replaced.

alexb123

Thanks for the replies. I will try to respond as best I can, with my limited knowledge.

There was a old water tank in the loft that fed to a cylinder that had hot water which was in one of the bedrooms. They have removed all of this and now the shower doesn't work. The new boiler is a combi. So it looks like the cold water was never reconnected to the shower (the shower is on the ground floor), and Eon are saying thats not their problem. 

They have never made us aware of anything. They didn't even tell us the shower wouldn't work, we only found that out when we went to use it. Then when we told them, they just said swap it over, its simple. Its not simple at all and everyone seems to have a different opinion. I have an operation on the 8th and I need this shower for wound care. I've made them aware of this and someone came out today. He said its not their problem, and the contract will say if things don't work that's our problem. I've asked many times for a copy of this contract as I can't find mine and they just ignore the request  

Alderbank

Does the ground floor shower room also contain a toilet and wash basin? Do they work?

If so, it sounds like cold feed from the rising main has been supplied to the shower room replacing the former tank feed which has been removed.
Is the plumber saying that mains pressure cold feed has not, for some reason, been connected to the shower mixer valve? I have some experience of feeding showers from combi boilers and agree that they are excellent but the combi will not supply the mixer valve if there is not also a reasonably pressure balanced cold feed.
Absolutely depends on exactly what was specified in the contract.

mcplumb

What type of existing shower do you have?

daveyjp

Eon boiler install site terms and conditions under "what they will not do":

• Guarantee that an existing shower will be compatible with the new system.

Which is a damn shoddy get out.  Looks like they want to operate like a fast fit garage, not a professional gas engineer set up.

mcplumb

daveyjp said:

Eon boiler install site terms and conditions under "what they will not do":

• Guarantee that an existing shower will be compatible with the new system.

Which is a damn shoddy get out.  Looks like they want to operate like a fast fit garage, not a professional gas engineer set up.

Boxt used to do the same

alexb123

Thanks all. The shower was a Triton Aqua Sensation 

@alderbank yes it has a working sink and toilet in the shower room. And yes the cold water upstairs has not been connected to something, not sure what. And the contract (which Im still waiting for a copy) I'm sure will have problems as there was never a in person survey, it was done by video call. Which caused a lot of other problems as well.