Find myself in a difficult position. My parents used the same plumber for 20-30 years, and since I moved back here 5 years ago I inherited him. He’s in his 60s, so been doing it a while. I like him because he always turns up when he says he will!
4 years ago, he replaced my crumbling boiler with a Firebird (oil, non-combi) one, and it does its job. He services it every year.
Tonight there’s a bit of a burning smell in the garage – doesn't smell like oil or anything, more just vague burning. Can’t see any smoke coming out or anything.
Thing is, before I call him, I’ve had vague concerns for some time about how he services it (and other things – he’s a bit of a bodger). He’s a family friend, so to change to somebody else would cause bad feeling. I know also there’s no point in discussing issues with him – he has a knack of dismissing them in a back-slapping don’t-you-worry-I’ve-been-doing-this-40-years kind of way.
When he’s serviced the boiler, I’ve raised my eyebrows at a couple of things – not that I know what I’m talking about. For example, he used to use a little instrument to check the fuel/air mixture (I think), but now just sets the burner on the floor and fires it up – he tells me he can tell by the colour of the flame whether the mixture’s right or not.
Is this just the mark of a seriously experienced plumber, or somebody who’s long lost interest in what he does, and just goes through the motions?
Thanks
4 years ago, he replaced my crumbling boiler with a Firebird (oil, non-combi) one, and it does its job. He services it every year.
Tonight there’s a bit of a burning smell in the garage – doesn't smell like oil or anything, more just vague burning. Can’t see any smoke coming out or anything.
Thing is, before I call him, I’ve had vague concerns for some time about how he services it (and other things – he’s a bit of a bodger). He’s a family friend, so to change to somebody else would cause bad feeling. I know also there’s no point in discussing issues with him – he has a knack of dismissing them in a back-slapping don’t-you-worry-I’ve-been-doing-this-40-years kind of way.
When he’s serviced the boiler, I’ve raised my eyebrows at a couple of things – not that I know what I’m talking about. For example, he used to use a little instrument to check the fuel/air mixture (I think), but now just sets the burner on the floor and fires it up – he tells me he can tell by the colour of the flame whether the mixture’s right or not.
Is this just the mark of a seriously experienced plumber, or somebody who’s long lost interest in what he does, and just goes through the motions?
Thanks