A house with radiators and electrics stripped, water system drained down

river_kwai

GDB2222 wrote:

BTW, is this property a repossession, or has it been vandalised?

I think the property is a repossession, but the EA hasn't got a clue.

GDB2222 wrote:

I assume that you will not be living there until the work is finished, which could take a few weeks?

Is that how long it would take to replace the radiators? I was expecting it to be done within a day, at most 2 days. If it takes that long, I would be looking at a very large bill. I was hoping to get the radiators supplied and fitted for £1000.

GDB2222

river_kwai wrote:

I think the property is a repossession, but the EA hasn't got a clue.


Is that how long it would take to replace the radiators? I was expecting it to be done within a day, at most 2 days. If it takes that long, I would be looking at a very large bill. I was hoping to get the radiators supplied and fitted for £1000.

The EA must know who the vendors are.

I would have thought the radiators plus valves alone will cost around £1,000 for 12 of them. Obviously depends on size.

Allow at least 1 hour per rad to extend the pipework and refit. Plus at least 3 hours to refill system, pressure check it, and restart it, plus balancing. That's all assuming the boiler and pipework have not been sabotaged. Because you don't know if there is a problem under the floorboards, you need to allow extra time for refilling etc. Otherwise, you could have extensive flooding.

It is not unknown for people being reposessed to fill the pipework with all sorts of nasty things. In extremis, you might have to renew the boiler and all the pipework.

Ask the builders how long the job will take. Do not assume that they can start the day you complete the purchase. In any case, they will find it much easier to do the work if your stuff has not been moved in. You may be quoted two prices, one with your stuff moved in and one without.

Personally, I would listen to what the builders say and then add 50% to estimates to allow for hidden problems. The one thing you know for sure is that it will not take less time or cost less than the builders estimate.

Finally, I would look over the house *extremely* carefully because someone who takes the radiators and ceiling roses might also have taken the water tanks, sawn through the joists, super-glued the locks, etc. You would be wise to have a full survey done, too.

river_kwai

GDB2222 wrote:

The EA must know who the vendors are.

The vendor is an asset management company.

GDB2222 wrote:

I would look over the house *extremely* carefully because someone who takes the radiators and ceiling roses might also have taken the water tanks, sawn through the joists, super-glued the locks, etc. You would be wise to have a full survey done, too.

Never thought of that, I was initially planning to do a basic valuation as the house is only 5 years old. Is a Homebuyer's report suffice or should I go for a full-blown building survey.

The locks seem OK.

bobbywomble

hi
i read your post with interest and it echoes my own experience big time
i moved into my current house and the kitchen fell apart the bathroom was filthy and the whole place was in need of a complete rebuild from the inside out
im a train driver by trade without a clue how to do anything building wise
but the money situation dictated that i would have to learn or we would have no where to live
now i have completely gutted my kitchen ,bathroom ,living room and two bedrooms,i have put in brand new everything and feel quite confident to do it again i was quoted 1400 quid to install my kitchen plus i had to buy the kitchen it self...
i did it my self all in including the tools for £2000 saving about 1400 quid :j
my advice is to find out what work needs doing then get reading
join the library and read up about the revelant skill on the bus or train on the way to work
also those older staff that you get at b&q are gurus at building and love it if you ask how to do it
plus you get how to leaflets on the way in i found them very usefull
its not as difficult as it seems
even if you do the majority of the work yourself (eg demo ,clearing the ground ,fitting the shell where you want it)
and then get someone in to do the finishing off it will save you a fortune trust me!!

anyway
most people will remove a radiator by using a pipe cutter it leaves a clean cut through the pipe if they used a hack saw its not unheard of
they do it because most radiators valves (the bit that connects the rad to the pipe) become stuck fast and you can bust a pipe trying to undo it
the water system is drained down because if you left the water on it would flood the house when you cut the rads off
the way this was done is simple
in the loft there are two water tanks
one big one and one little one
the big one is the domestic water(bath toilet etc and the little one is for your central heating system
somewhere round by the tank you should see a red stop !!!!
simply turn the !!!! to stop the water then drain the water out via the drain plug on the end of the pipe of the lowest rad in the house...simple
and radiator replacement can be done by yourself
you dont need to be corgi reg because your not touching the gas supply

the electrics are fairly simple to replace celing roses would need to be replaced if you wanted certian light fittings anyway
general rule of thumb
be careful
read up on it
make sure its right
double check
NEVER TOUCH GAS!!!!

knock the price down then do it up and save a fortune

Mr_Proctalgia

I would recommend a bit of caution, is the "fusebox" still fitted, is the gas meter still fitted, where is the water turned off, is the boiler still fitted, is the cooker bayonet still there? Does it have a combi boiler or a traditional system, you really need to get up into the loft and see what is what up there, is there a cylinder and airing cupboard, have they taken the pump, motorised valves etc?

The fun bit will be replacing the rads, which isn't in itself such a big job, but, I would suggest that the hardest part will be working out what make they were as the lenghts all vary by a few mm and it will cause you grief. If it were me I would joint in new tails under the floor if at all possible or use nice neat end feed slips to extend the tails if needed. Are there similar houses near by done by the same builder, could you be nice to some one and get a plumber to eyeball the rads, he would they have a good idea as to which make was fitted. Will you need to fit TRV's or will you just use normal valves? Re the electrics - You need to work out exactly what has been taken out, you could possibly get a lot of it done without notification as it is a like for like replacement but I would get a PIR done as a minimum, perhaps get things restored on a cct by cct basis. Lastly - Get some new keys for the place! Depending on what type of locks are fitted this might mean new cylinders only or new locks if mortice. Lot to go on - Sorry.

river_kwai

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

I would recommend a bit of caution, is the "fusebox" still fitted, is the gas meter still fitted, where is the water turned off, is the boiler still fitted, is the cooker bayonet still there? Does it have a combi boiler or a traditional system, you really need to get up into the loft and see what is what up there, is there a cylinder and airing cupboard, have they taken the pump, motorised valves etc?

The fusebox, boiler and storage tank in the airing cupboard, gas hobs seem OK, although hopefully the Homebuyer's report would reveal more. It is a traditional boiler, not COMBI boiler.

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

Will you need to fit TRV's or will you just use normal valves?

I am thinking of using TRV as I don'tthink they are that much more expensive than normal valve, am I right?

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

Re the electrics - You need to work out exactly what has been taken out, you could possibly get a lot of it done without notification as it is a like for like replacement but I would get a PIR done as a minimum, perhaps get things restored on a cct by cct basis. Lastly - Get some new keys for the place! Depending on what type of locks are fitted this might mean new cylinders only or new locks if mortice. Lot to go on.

What's a PIR (The only PIRs I know are infra-red sensors)? As for the locks, I had already planned on changing the locks! Thanks for reminding anyway.

Mr_Proctalgia

Periodic Inspection and Report - Sort of an MOT for the leccy!

river_kwai

I just thought of another question: with the radiators removed and water system drained down, how would the surveyor ascertain whether the boiler is operational? Also, with the ceiling roses all removed, how wold the surveyor ascertain the electric circuits?

Doozergirl

river_kwai wrote:

Is a Homebuyer's report suffice or should I go for a full-blown building survey.

river_kwai wrote:

I just thought of another question: with the radiators removed and water system drained down, how would the surveyor ascertain whether the boiler is operational? Also, with the ceiling roses all removed, how would the surveyor ascertain the electric circuits?

Surveyors reports, in my opinion, area waste of money. No surveyor is an expert is a qualified plumber, electrician or structural engineer so he won't check the electrics and boiler properly; he will, especially in the case of your house, recommend you get them looked at by the relevant professionals.

Save yourself some money, cut to the chase and call the plumber,the electrician and the structural engineer yourself. Don't panic about not having a survey as your mortgage valuer will highlight problem areas. They will not lend money on a problem house. Fact.

It's complicated for the agent to release keys to have these people out but anyone buying this house is going to have to do this, not just you.

Ultimately, when offering, you must factor in the price of a possible full overhaul of the heating and electrical systems, not just the price of replacing radiators and ceiling roses. You can't negotiate any more money off once you've bought it! If the house is new, then the boiler and electrics are probably fine, but who wants to take the risk? Offer accordingly and see where you get. The good thing with a company owning the property is that you can't insult their 'home' so you can offer as low as you like, haggle and see where you hit gold.

Sorry this was a bit longer than I intended, obviously feeling a bit chatty today!

Hunnymonster

river_kwai wrote:

Shouldn't radiators be fitted by CORGI registered engineer? Anyway, I will not tackle the DIY myself as I haven't got a clue of how to even drain the central heating system.

Would you get a CORGI registered installer to change the washer on a tap ? You're not touching the gas pipes, so no need to involve CORGI registered anything in moving, replacing, adding a radiator.

And you said it was already drained - it must be - there are no radiators.

I'd find out how to drain it anyway - it may just reduce the size of any future insurance claim in the event of a leak in your central heating.... not that it's ever happened to me, but my former boss did manage to find his heating pipes under a concrete floor with a drill (helpfully they had a sweeping curve in between the two ends he could 'see' rather than the straight line he expected).