Not to tar all plumbers with the one brush, but...

OU812

Are we back to the tiger days?

I have approval for the seai grant for boiler controls. I want to get a nest device and a couple of TRVs installed, called six guys on the approved list, two of them told me it wouldn't be worth their while, one said he wouldn't do it unless he could put in a boiler too (our boiler is only four years old), two didn't turn up to see & quote and the one guy who did, tutted a bit, told me I "might have a bit more to be done by the looks of things", then never contacted me again.

I appreciate it's not a huge job, but it's still work & money.

Sleeper12

You know the way toy shops, jewellery shops do 3/4 of their sales the last 2 weeks before Christmas? Well looking to get anything done with your heating in the winter or cold weather is a little like that. Most are booked up to Christmas at the earliest. May is a great time to get this type of work done.

jimf

the trouble is the guys you want wont be available

and the guys that are available you wont want

Sleeper12

Another thing to throw into the mix: the rgi guys will prioritise broken heating /no heating at this time of the year. They have to keep everyone warm.

jeffk

I had something similar happen, brand new boiler broke down around this time(just over a year installed). Original installer didn't want to know.

I think I rang every plumber in Dublin, got the I don't do oil, I'm busy I'll get back to you, you need specialist tools.

Eventually after 3 days we got one, took out a noozle, cleaned it and off the heating went as normal .

Turned out he knew the original installer. He told us he was bad mouthing us and telling people not to come out. All because I told people to avoid him on board's

Leaving a family with no heating for 3 days,lives around the corner, telling my 70 odd year old mother to put blankets on herself if she's cold. Even worse he knows someone up the road and we'd see his van, but wouldn't come down to us.

So you hit the nail on the head, the celtic tiger I don't want small jobs mentality is back

jimf

my mentality is if you do the small jobs for people they will hopefully remember you when the big ones come about

Rubberchikken

i've found a great plumber in my town. had gotten another guy couple of years ago to fix a few things and service boiler but trying to get him to call to fix overflow in attic plus two taps was impossible. when i saw him call to the house next door to mend something (he's a pal of the sons), i decided to go looking elsewhere.
the man i found answered the phone (big plus), gave me a time and actually showed up at that time.

he didn't seem bothered that it was just fixing a ballcock in the attic and two taps in the kitchen and he actually apologised for charging me the amt he did! i'll be getting him back, decent tradesmen are rarer than hens teeth imo.

Wearb

jimf wrote: »

my mentality is if you do the small jobs for people they will hopefully remember you when the big ones come about

My experience is that if you do a small job to help someone out, it comes back to haunt you. :eek:

"Well the sensor light worked ok before you serviced the boiler"

jeffk

jimf wrote: »

my mentality is if you do the small jobs for people they will hopefully remember you when the big ones come about

The plumber who came out we now use, he got paid for the emergency call out(very reasonable price) and a service and next month we will get him out again to service it

Plus anyone asked on here or in general ill recommend him

Wearb

jeffk wrote: »

Eventually after 3 days we got one, took out a noozle, cleaned it and off the heating went as normal

jeffk wrote: »

The plumber who came out we now use, he got paid for the emergency call out(very reasonable price) and a service and next month we will get him out again to service it
Plus anyone asked on here or in general ill recommend him

Another good nozzle cleaning should see you sorted for another year.

corkgsxr

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Another thing to throw into the mix: the rgi guys will prioritise broken heating /no heating at this time of the year. They have to keep everyone warm.

Yup mental time of year. Anything non essential is added to the list. If you have something that takes a few hours its hard to squeeze in.

Added to that seai for just boiler controls means you have to charge alot to make it worth while. The system is a balls.

jeffk

Wearb wrote: »

Another good nozzle cleaning should see you sorted for another year.

I think we`ll pay for service, once without heating for 3 days was enough

Like my car, ok saving money on service till the day it doesn't work

Rowley Birkin QC

Well that doesn't fill me with confidence! Bought a house last year, apparently there's a thermostatic valve (??) on the hot tank that isn't actually wired up to anything. Was told I should get it sorted to increase efficiency. Based in Dublin. Have I any hope of getting someone to do such a small job?!

Wearb

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Well that doesn't fill me with confidence! Bought a house last year, apparently there's a thermostatic valve (??) on the hot tank that isn't actually wired up to anything. Was told I should get it sorted to increase efficiency. Based in Dublin. Have I any hope of getting someone to do such a small job?!

Not wired up! Perhaps no valve for it to control. Fitting and wiring for the valve that the present wiring system might not be compatible with. Those are often the sorts of reasons that those sort of things are sometimes left undone.

Might not be "such a small job".

Rowley Birkin QC

Wearb wrote: »

Not wired up! Perhaps no valve for it to control. Fitting and wiring for the valve that the present wiring system might not be compatible with. Those are often the sorts of reasons that those sort of things are sometimes left undone.

Might not be "such a small job".

Thanks, I think.