How much to change 8 rad stats

[roguetrader]

hes not exactly ripping him off at that money, id even offer him a good drink on top.

Yes but you are a rogue trader

maybe! just out of interest, what would you expect to pay for this paritcular job?

 

[electrospark]

what would you expect to pay for this paritcular job?

About £400 by someone that knows what they're doing!!

I just wanted to understand that all the valves are worth replacing and that the price was about right.
I'm a spark after all so I know as well as you guys jobs arn't always straight forward...

 

[nickso]

Some of the old Danfoss models used to stick all the time, free them off this year they will be stuck again next year after summer, change them.

i find they all stick.

at least the danfoss ones can be stripped down and cleaned. too many people don't bother and just tap the pin until it pops out. that's not really solving anything. if they are stripped, cleaned and greased they last a lot longer.

 

[ajrobb]

I think I saw somewhere that it is not a good idea to keep TRVs turned down in the summer - leave them open so they keep moving.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

What has travelling and parking got to do with the customer ,fek all they only want to pay you for what you do in there house.
Seized tails oh yeah there is a whole minutes work even for the hardest ones.
And as i said UNLESS SLIGHT PIPEWORK ALTERATION IS REQUIRED .

So according to you, you would travel 3 hours to a job, pay £3.00 car park, walk 15 minutes with tools to a 3rd floor flat to change a ballvalve, and still charge the same as a job 15 minutes away with free parking at a bungalow, well from what you say you must do, well your a mug.

 

[namsag]

And your name must be that bad around your way that you would have to travel 3 hours to do a standard every day job such as fit trvs.

And who in there right mind would travel that far to fit a ball valve. Unless they where really really sh#te

If you are going to argue at least make it constructive

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Your obviously deliberately missing the point so not going to waste any more time with it, other than to repeat myself "again" this isn't a price comparison forum, it'a a "diy" forum, and nobody unless they have a crystal ball, (and as far as I was aware Halfords don't sell them anymore), can price
a job without seeing it.

 

[gas112]

No need to fall out boys

 

[D_Hailsham]

none of the rads were getting hot so a plumber went over today and said that the stats were all stuck on the rads

Pins often get stuck during the summer. This is because they stay in the same position all the time. It's best to leave the valve on Max during the summer. Provided the pin goes down when pressed and pops up when released, the body is OK. Reluctant pins can be lubricated with a small amount of WD40 or silicon lubricant.

If the room does not maintain a constant temperature, the head is faulty. You can usually get replacement heads from plumbers' merchants.

 

[namsag]

No i am not trying to deliberately miss the point which is why i said £400 would depend on type of valve used whether 4 quid contract valve or 1 quid drayton. I also said unless slight pipework alteration req.
Which in most cases would not be req but if it was it would be the matter of a socket or even just make a socket form.

It is not a big job to change trvs

I wont even go into the bit of if they are straight changes then no need to drain.

But as said earlier what has distance and parking got to do with customer do you charge for extra shoe leather if more than ten paces from the van or for a couple of slices of bread and a bag of chips if you stop for lunch

 

[Alfredo]

All depends what make of valve is being used as a replacement whether 400 is rip off or not 8 trvs should not take more than 2 hours max from start to finish.
Unless the ones being replaced are that different a slight pipework alteration is required on each valve

Is that 2 hours from experience or just a guess. I recently did 12 TRVs on microbore in a very clean house with the whitest newest carpets you ever did see. It was a 2 day job (downstairs day 1 upstairs day 2), but leaving them with system working at end of day one. Just sheeting up the carpets to prevent spills getting to the carpets took up 10 minutes per radiator, so with 7 rads downstairs thats over an hour gone for a kick off. Two hours is looking optimistic. Do you change the old pipe nuts or use the old ones on the pipes. If you use the new ones as you should then you have to get the old ones off inc olives. That can take time as well.

Customer was happy, they have since given me their boiler replacement and a new bathroom to do at his mum's, not to mention putting TRVs on her system as well.

Oh and don't forget refilling the system with inhibitor.

I find a job done properly makes you more friends than a job done quickly. You may have to pay a bit more for a job done properly....shock horror

Alfredo

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

All depends what make of valve is being used as a replacement whether 400 is rip off or not 8 trvs should not take more than 2 hours max from start to finish.
Unless the ones being replaced are that different a slight pipework alteration is required on each valve

Is that 2 hours from experience or just a guess. I recently did 12 TRVs on microbore in a very clean house with the whitest newest carpets you ever did see. It was a 2 day job (downstairs day 1 upstairs day 2), but leaving them with system working at end of day one. Just sheeting up the carpets to prevent spills getting to the carpets took up 10 minutes per radiator, so with 7 rads downstairs thats over an hour gone for a kick off. Two hours is looking optimistic. Do you change the old pipe nuts or use the old ones on the pipes. If you use the new ones as you should then you have to get the old ones off inc olives. That can take time as well.

Customer was happy, they have since given me their boiler replacement and a new bathroom to do at his mum's, not to mention putting TRVs on her system as well.

Oh and don't forget refilling the system with inhibitor.

I find a job done properly makes you more friends than a job done quickly. You may have to pay a bit more for a job done properly....shock horror

Alfredo

At last, a tradesman who knows what he is doing and talking about, well done, and yes gasrag "was guessing" as he hasn't seen the job.

 

[namsag]

Oh it gets better we have Alfredo who only recently had to ask how to cap off a washing machine supply and pedantic says at last a tradesman who knows what he is talking about.

Is it a guess no it called experience you may get it one day, at a rough estimate probably done 600 so far this year and in all in all prob up at 5 figures .
I am so glad you told me the nuts and olives have to come off .
I have a specialist tool that does that in less than 30 seconds its called a junior hacksaw and a leccy screw driver



2 days to do 12 trvs says it all, i take it that was single entry valves as well

 

[Alfredo]

Oh it gets better we have Alfredo who only recently had to ask how to cap off a washing machine supply and pedantic says at last a tradesman who knows what he is talking about.

Is it a guess no it called experience you may get it one day, at a rough estimate probably done 600 so far this year and in all in all prob up at 5 figures .
I am so glad you told me the nuts and olives have to come off .
I have a specialist tool that does that in less than 30 seconds its called a junior hacksaw and a leccy screw driver



2 days to do 12 trvs says it all, i take it that was single entry valves as well

I forgot the size of the washing machine cap off. It was stupid, but for you to say I had to ask how to cap off a washing machine is simply a lie.

As to the time it took to do the TRVs. Thats my business and the proof of the pudding is the business I have gained from taking great care over the job. I don't claim to be a fast plumber now I'm on my own, but as part of a workforce for nine years we were required to do ten gas services in a working day, and do them properly, includign running repairs. I don't want to work at that level of pressure any more, so I don't.

Just stop behaving like a turd

Alfredo

 

[gas4you]

Not including drain down time and re-fill time. I would say that 10-15 mins per rad would be well in, assuming no pipework changes other than perhaps cutting 2 or 3mm off the top of the pipe if needed to fit the new valve.