lights and radiators

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plast010580

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hello,

I was just wondering what you guys do about customers that haven’t removed lights / switches and radiators???

I normally tell all customers to remove all of the above but sometimes when I turn up they haven’t done it or don’t know how??? Its a tough one because it makes my job a lot easier and quicker if they are removed but who’s responsibility is it if we remove them, to refit them??? Also what would happen if when refitted they didn’t work or leak??? Who would the duty of care be with???

I haven’t had a problem yet (touch wood) but I am not an electrician or plumber. I don’t want to end up getting into a big row with customer which could result in costing me money!

What do you guys do????


thanks
 
personally i take all the screws out of the switches/sockets, pull em out on the cables a few inches, skim up and refit them just not nuke em right up, tell the customer to nip the screws up in a day or two or after theyve painted..
if a cable comes loose as i pull the sockets out i put it back..
if possible ill flick the mcb in the consumer unit making sure i dont turn off the freezer or fridge.. then flick it back when im done... ill leave them in comfort though...
pays to check if theres an rcd if your leaving em live then your safe, if not you can get a belt..
radiators i charge 30 quid for a gravity and 20 quid for a combi boiler remove and refit per rad..
its easy enough and if it leaks, fix it..
if the valve is really old and scabby ill bring it to the customers attention prior that the valve may well be dodgy and could need replacing cos sometimes they dont close right off when you remove the rad..
trv's are notorious for it..
a good way round this problem is to have some flexi tap connectors on the van with a built in iso valve..
15mm fit 1/2" rad valves and 22mm fit 3/4 rad valves...
use the ones with the rubber (not fibre) washer and screw them on hand tight, thatll be sufficient to stop em dripping while you work..
on refit wrap a rag round the valve with the end in a washing up bowl to catch any leaks...
brackets get removed and the screws put back in the plugs to spot em off and skim round em.. remove the screws for final trowel... refit braqckets straight afterwards..
i reckon i left a few little tips last year in 'tips and tricks' for rads.... prolly still there somewhere..

https://www.plasterersforum.co.uk/plasterers-forum/index.php/topic,243.0.html
 
Chris W said:
personally i take all the screws out of the switches/sockets, pull em out on the cables a few inches, skim up and refit them just not nuke em right up, tell the customer to nip the screws up in a day or two or after theyve painted..
if a cable comes loose as i pull the sockets out i put it back..
if possible ill flick the mcb in the consumer unit making sure i dont turn off the freezer or fridge.. then flick it back when im done... ill leave them in comfort though...
pays to check if theres an rcd if your leaving em live then your safe, if not you can get a belt..
radiators i charge 30 quid for a gravity and 20 quid for a combi boiler remove and refit per rad..
its easy enough and if it leaks, fix it..
if the valve is really old and scabby ill bring it to the customers attention prior that the valve may well be dodgy and could need replacing cos sometimes they dont close right off when you remove the rad..
trv's are notorious for it..
a good way round this problem is to have some flexi tap connectors on the van with a built in iso valve..
15mm fit 1/2" rad valves and 22mm fit 3/4 rad valves...
use the ones with the rubber (not fibre) washer and screw them on hand tight, thatll be sufficient to stop em dripping while you work..
on refit wrap a rag round the valve with the end in a washing up bowl to catch any leaks...
brackets get removed and the screws put back in the plugs to spot em off and skim round em.. remove the screws for final trowel... refit braqckets straight afterwards..
i reckon i left a few little tips last year in 'tips and tricks' for rads.... prolly still there somewhere..

https://www.plasterersforum.co.uk/plasterers-forum/index.php/topic,243.0.html
Click to expand...
Alrite Chris, I know this is'nt the right forum for plumbing questions but, I know how to change a rad thats connected 2 a combi boiler. Whats the difference with a gravity fed system and how do you go about changin the rad.
 
There is no physical difference to take the rad off. I think he charges more same as i do becuse if you come to fill up and there a leaks or any problem after the rads back on things then start to get a little bit more tricky on Gfed systems.
Thing is £20-30 for 2 minutes work taking a rad off is easy money "agreed".
But what do ya do if the seals gone and water is spirting out everywhere and the customer wont pay till the rads back on?
No problem to me cus i do plumbing but that £30 for 2 minutes work would turn into 1-2 hours work on a Gfed system to repair.
I always warn in advance if the valve looks dodgy and explain the consequenses.
 
Its a 2 minute job to unscrew/refit switches,sockets and light fittings and makes your job easier/quicker.
If the customer is unable to remove the radiator i will remove/refit for them but as already mentioned above you need to be wary of old valves and explain potential problems to the customer.
 
You wouldnt believe the amount of customers that are to tight to pay ££s to remove them so they get me to skim around them.Unbelivable but true.
tight bas**rds.
 
heafy said:
Chris W said:
personally i take all the screws out of the switches/sockets, pull em out on the cables a few inches, skim up and refit them just not nuke em right up, tell the customer to nip the screws up in a day or two or after theyve painted..
if a cable comes loose as i pull the sockets out i put it back..
if possible ill flick the mcb in the consumer unit making sure i dont turn off the freezer or fridge.. then flick it back when im done... ill leave them in comfort though...
pays to check if theres an rcd if your leaving em live then your safe, if not you can get a belt..
radiators i charge 30 quid for a gravity and 20 quid for a combi boiler remove and refit per rad..
its easy enough and if it leaks, fix it..
if the valve is really old and scabby ill bring it to the customers attention prior that the valve may well be dodgy and could need replacing cos sometimes they dont close right off when you remove the rad..
trv's are notorious for it..
a good way round this problem is to have some flexi tap connectors on the van with a built in iso valve..
15mm fit 1/2" rad valves and 22mm fit 3/4 rad valves...
use the ones with the rubber (not fibre) washer and screw them on hand tight, thatll be sufficient to stop em dripping while you work..
on refit wrap a rag round the valve with the end in a washing up bowl to catch any leaks...
brackets get removed and the screws put back in the plugs to spot em off and skim round em.. remove the screws for final trowel... refit braqckets straight afterwards..
i reckon i left a few little tips last year in 'tips and tricks' for rads.... prolly still there somewhere..

https://www.plasterersforum.co.uk/plasterers-forum/index.php/topic,243.0.html
Click to expand...
Alrite Chris, I know this is'nt the right forum for plumbing questions but, I know how to change a rad thats connected 2 a combi boiler. Whats the difference with a gravity fed system and how do you go about changin the rad.
Click to expand...
what skimmin said..
if the seal on the valves gone then the old 1/2" or 3/4" tap connectors fit the end of the valve nicely, use the ones with the rubber washer... on refit use the rag round the valve to catch anything into a bowl.. its called "snatching".. well that realy applies to changing valves without draining but same thing..
incidentaly, if youneed to change a valve on a gravity system you can get these little rubber things.. one goes in the feed pipe in the bottom of the header and one goes over he expansion pipe over the header, air pressure holds most of the water in the system when you remove the valve, you lose about a bucketful but nothing too drastic, and if youve got your new valve ready to go, just ptfe the old olive and use the existing nut, you can pretty much snatch em if the rads off first..
 
another good tip with gravity systems...
(well actually thats a bit misleading cos theyre technically fully pumped vented systems, gravity systems rely on hot water circulation and i havent ever actually come across one)..
but the point is... they are an absolute f'''ker for airlocking cos theyre not pressurised like a combi system....
and the tip is..
tell em to get the plumber in.. you can be theyre half a day and still not get it out, then you leave it for 12 hours and it magically dissapears all on its own and you just go back and bleed the rad up...
another thing...
gravity systems can sometimes 'ignore' a rad... youll get the one before and the one after hot but not the one youre on! god knows why but your better off leaving it alone for a day and see what it does then!
hence the extra tenner.. it doesnt really cover it if things go a bit tits up but it averages out eventually cos if youve only whipped the rad off and not lost much they usually go back ok..
 
I know where ya coming from chris..... But a lot out there dont !!!
Dont they teach these boys on the 5 day courses how to take of rads bleed refill systems? or any plastering course for that matter? i dont think they do.They should.
"WARNING" Waving steel plastering trowels around live sockets with water can seriously damage ur polishing trowel!!!!
if customer doesnt make safe via sparky i scim round.Ya shouldnt but i do.Ive got it off to an art now.
 
make sure all the rad valves are fully open in the house!!!
Then turn off boiler and wait 5-10 minutes to allow air in the rads to rise to the top of the radiator.
Starting with the radiator nearest to the boiler then the next one and so on. When you open the bleed valve, do not shut it off as soon as you get a splutter of water, because you can get air bubbles behind water. let the water from the bleed valve run for about 10 or 15 seconds closing the valve slowly as u go until fully closed.
You will also find two bleed points in the airing cupboard. One is for the central heating, and the other is for hot water.You will see 2 pipes sticking up in the air about 4/6 inches high from the tankl. There are 2 air vents there, one on each pipe bleed these also.
Switch boiler back on and put heating on low within 24 hrs all should be good and allair removed and heating working fine.Fingers crossed.
 
ive had the hosepipe connected from the cold mains to the draincock trying to blow airlocks back up into the header before today!! i hate anything unpressurised if its old.. which they usually are!! good advice tho skimin
 
I hate plumbing !!!!!! Gotta skim floor tile and fit out a ensuite in next week or so though and fit a fancy chrome rad on tank fed system shi**er hey.
 
I quoted a job last week for the following:

Remove 2 Rads for plastering, Chase wall to hide exposed pipework for rads, box in soil/vent pipe, skim lounge/dining room walls, skim stairs wall, and refit rads.

Lab/Mats £530

Is this too much because somebody else got the job.

I never normaly question my prices because i work alone and can keep my prices low.

Also, you should invest in some of these chris
Link Removed
 
some chancer will come along and flood the place mate.. thats a good price i reckon.. specially if you got the refit pipework with some formed bends to send it into the wall (something which i hate doing cos some nob will always bang a nail through em, i prefer to box pipes in, that way its obvious but not as ugly)..

like the caps but 269 for ONE! p'sstake... cheaper in wickes, and wickes are astromnomical for singles of anything plumbing related..
best place i find is grahams, theyre a dedicated plumbers merchant..
roll of ptfe is litterally pennies.. 5 or 6 rolls for a quid normally...
theyre just compression stop ends with the nut and olive removed btw.. but your right, they will work with some ptfe.. ill bet the bloke had some in his box and just kept nicking the nuts and olives for other little jobs.. i always did!!
i just tend to use the flexi tap connectors cos when i was into general i always had a few on the van cos i used to buy em in bulk, or packs of 10 from screwfix, much cheaper than 9 quid singles from wickes or the build centre..
 
It does sound a bit cheap to me mate,but atleast ur working.I find im going in cheaper at the minute becuse i know if i dont i probably wont get it.
Im just working longer days so im getting the same really..2-3 years all wil be fine again and work plentyfull.
 
Yeh the caps are cheaper in an independant merchants. The ebay ones were just as an example.
I dont like the flexis with iso valvels. I have been to sort a split flexi before which had an iso on it. The iso didnt come in any use as it is fixed to the flexi. I much prefer to fit a seperate iso valve.
I also use jointing compound on my olives rather than ptf, its a lot easier!!
 
just realised theyre the female irons but still..
i like the old jointing compound too, i use it on the threads though and just use ptfe on the olives... boss green is fantastic stuff for it... boss white i just cant seem to get on with for some reason... most plumbers i know use it on the china but nowadays they should all be conical rubbers and i prefer em to compounds.. till you end up with a cheap suite and half the washers are missing.. let alone the rubbers...
even the water tanks i did last time were plastic with plastic washers.. no rubbers and that was it! how are you supposed to get the thing to seal without compound?
glad im not a plumber sometimes.. i really should leave them jobs to em ;D
 
Your right mate whod would be a plumber?? now a gas engenineer is a diffenrent story !!!Just come off a job today had to remove fire brick up and scim out a dining room.
Gas engineer turns up ontime at 8.30 looks at it gets his kit does the job and is packed up in the van onto the next job in 15 mins flat £40 for that privaellage cus hes a mate.
Tells me hes got 4 more jobs to do this morning...not today...this morning.
If the others pay him £50+ hes onto A WINNER HEY !!

im like you mate i do a bit of everything,only work i dont touch is electric / gas and complex joinery and pvc window installation guttering soffits etc.

Rubber washers are the least of your worries,you ever come acros 20 thread copper pipe???
The price for fittings for this stuff will blow you away?Brass solder not to bad but are useless and the compression fittings if you can get them are astronomicaly priced.
Avoid 20thread like the plague.Cheaper to re route and remove cold water supply to the mains than purchase the fittings i needed for a job i did 2 month ago o n 1930's bathroom.
 
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