Plumbing Cost For Buckingham Palace

[Softus]

2nd guy seemed very competent during visit but never gave me a quote
3rd guy quoted £17K
.
.
.

You should have stopped there, since those were the two people who were recommended to you.

so still one quote so far ....

Actually you've had two - here's the other one:
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=876485#876485

 

[stevebamford]

The job would cost one million pounds, including all materials and VAT.

Actually - i seem to have had 3 quotes !

 

[Agile]

You have said that BG did not turn up to quote.

That seems very unusual as thats the one time they usually do turn up!

Did you not call them up and get them to attend?

The BG quote is a very useful yardstick ( which most of us can easily undercut by about £1000 even on smaller jobs ).

Tony

 

[doitall]

Don't BG have a customer policy, if they fail to keep an appointment they give you £10 or whatever it is.

 

[stevebamford]

yeah had an appointment booked so i waited around in the house for an hour. The guy phoned up 2 hours later to apologise

Need to phone them back at some point

 

[stevebamford]

OOOOh we have some progress

.....
8th guy - didn't produce a quote (despite chasing)
9th guy - quoted £11K inc VAT - seemed very competant - copper pipes plus Megaflo, Baxi boiler
10th guy - quoted £9K in VAT - plastic pipes under floor - copper above - WB boiler, Santon cylinder
11th guy - (British Gas) quoted £10K (BG boiler and thermal store)

So the quoting process is now over - just need to decide between the slight variations of system ... ho hum - and see who is actually available

As an aside - out of the 7 people who have been round - guess how many did a pressure and flow test ?

 

[Agile]

As an aside - out of the 7 people who have been round - guess how many did a pressure and flow test ?

I expect that I would have been the only one!
Oh yes, I would never use plastic unless there was a VERY good reason !

Its always amazing to me how many people in this industry muddle along without really understanding how systems work!

Tony

 

[Softus]

I expect that I would have been the only one!

You're wrong, and in a spectacularly prattish fashion.

Oh yes, I would never use plastic unless there was a VERY good reason !

Oh yes, like just like you used to say before you'd even tried it.

I wonder what kind of engineer makes a decision based on no first-hand knowledge whatsoever.

Its always amazing to me how many people in this industry muddle along without really understanding how systems work!

I can't help wondering when you'll stop being amazed by it and start realising how little you understand about plastic and push-fit.

 

[stevebamford]

only one person did a proper pressure/flow test, and he was the plastic pipe chap

Is plastic that bad? I can see big big advantages with it. No joints under the floor (except for rad connection), much quicker to fit, copper is pretty expensive now plus it comes with a 25 year warranty which I guess means the manufacturers expect it to last much longer than that....

 

[Softus]

only one person did a proper pressure/flow test, and he was the plastic pipe chap

Is plastic that bad? I can see big big advantages with it. No joints under the floor (except for rad connection), much quicker to fit, copper is pretty expensive now plus it comes with a 25 year warranty which I guess means the manufacturers expect it to last much longer than that....

You should receive a prize for thinking independently about this, stevebamford.

Plastic isn't inherently bad, but it gets a lot of bad press (including on this forum) from people who know very little about it. The "fact" of it "regularly failing" are cited, but few people manage to cite an example of a product fault (rather than installation fault).

I can give you chapter and verse on the advantages and disadvantages of copper and plastic, soldered and push-fit, but not here 'cos I'm tired of reading the same old narrow-minded responses, so you can IM me if you want more information.

For now, if you use any push-fit fittings, just remember Rule Number One - you cannot be too careful in looking after the pipe.

 

[Agile]

One inherent disadvantage of plastic tube is that it can be eaten by rats and squirrels!

Tony

 

[Softus]

...I'm tired of reading the same old narrow-minded responses...

One inherent disadvantage of plastic tube is that it can be eaten by rats and squirrels!

 

[lagunaglen]

One inherent disadvantage of plastic tube is that it can be eaten by rats and squirrels!

Sorry but i must disagree, what is wrong with plastic, its quiet, it requires much less hassle to fit under floors, its as cheap if not cheaper than copper, it aint gonna get nicked by ***** gits, and i use it ALWAYS where it is not visible to the customer .
How many squirrels do you have running round your house !! or rats for that matter.
The only damage ive seen from rats so far has been on electrical cables, both in lofts and cellars and i go in a lot of rat infested cellars in Leeds areas i work in.

I think its a rather old fashioned attitude to have to plastic pipe, sorry for the rant but i can use copper as well as anyone i know and take great pride in my pipework but plastic can be a godsend.



No offence Agile.

 

[Softus]

No offence Agile.

You won't get through to that one. He thinks that using copper is a condition of his membership of the IPHE, despite this:

http://www.iphe.org.uk/associates/industrial_assc_inf.asp?ref=177

 

[Agile]

How many squirrels do you have running round your house !! or rats for that matter.
No offence Agile.

No rats, but at least two squirrels in the loft and they have eaten some of my plastic pipe!!!

Luckily the plastic pipe was only stored there!

I have fitted a new bath using plastic bot thats on a vented system.

How can I get rid of the squirrels?

Tony