Repairing leak in central heating system

[Alison556]

My mum's upstair's neighbour has had a leak in her central heating system. She had a guy up today to supposedly fix it. He's replaced approx 10 inches of pipe under the floor but he didn't turn the water off or drain the system and now my mum's kitchen (which we've just decorated) is flooded.

Is what he did correct? I'm no plumber but I'd have thought if you're going to cut into pipe that has water in it, you'd have to remove the water first?

 

[Burnerman]

Certainly there will be spillage to some degree, depending on the system....he should have packed the area with towels or whatever and took precautions against damage.
He should be asked to return to inspect the damage caused - he should have public liability insurance.
John

 

[Alison556]

Thank you. Apparently he said that he didn't need to turn the water off or drain the system as the combi boiler's pressure was at zero. Above the door and down either side of it in my mum's kitchen is wrecked and the laminate flooring in the hallway is soaking. She's in tears as I've just decorated the hallway and kitchen.

 

[Burnerman]

To be fair, the losses from a combi system could be minimal compared with other systems, but for that amount of water to leak he must be either dead thick or particularly uncaring not to assume there would be damage somewhere......
He needs to be contacted pronto to see what he's done, and to determine how its going to be repaired - at his expense.
John

 

[dilalio]

Take photos of the damage and it will need a few days for the water to fully permeate and dry out before further damage is revealed and any redec can be attempted - take daily photos over a week period - bear in mind that a lot of the obvious damp can dry out and leave no trace - hence the drying period must be allowed!

 

[Alison556]

He was a sub contractor for British Gas. He was supposed to come back out but basically said that he'd fixed the neighbour's leak and that's all he was there for - if we had a problem, we were to phone British Gas - which I've done. Got to phone their Customer Relations department on Monday. I'll make sure mother takes photos though

 

[JohnD]

take plenty of photos and call your own insurers at once. They might supply drying-out equipment, the sooner the better, and may be able to argue responsibility with the other insurers. They should also advise what you should say to the neighbour or BG - they may want to handle all correspondence.

 

[Agile]

From what I have seen most insurers don't want to bother about reclaiming costs off other parties in normal small ( < £6000 ) claims.

Remember your insurance may have an excess and if this is over £300 it may not be worth bothering about making any claim.

Tony

 

[Alison556]

Thanks all. My mum is a council tenant so I'm going to phone them as well.

 

[bernardgreen]

he said that he didn't need to turn the water off or drain the system as the combi boiler's pressure was at zero

Absolute rubbish, any water in radiators and pipe work above the height of the pipe he cut would have some pressure and thus would run out of the cut pipe. The weight of water creates pressure. 1 bar = 30 feet of vertical water.

 

[kittedup]

Absolute rubbish, any water in radiators and pipe work above the height of the pipe he cut would have some pressure and thus would run out of the cut pipe. The weight of water creates pressure. 1 bar = 30 feet of vertical water.

No idea how I've been bunging systems and cutting pipes for the last 15 years then?

Last week I changed a trv on the ground floor of a three storey town house and the water didn't come rushing out.

Maybe I'm a Jedi? Maybe it's physics.

Get a straw, put it in a pint of water, put your thumb over the end, lift the straw out the water......it'll blow your mind.

 

[bernardgreen]

Get a straw, put it in a pint of water, put your thumb over the end, lift the straw out the water......it'll blow your mind.

That depends on the seal at the top of the straw being airtight so as to create a vacuum. A perfect vacuum will hold up about 30 feet of water. A radiator that had air in it would not have had a perfect vacuum so the water would be able to drain out of the radiator by expanding the air in the radiator.

It is physics. But what the "plumber" did was sheer negligence.

 

[kittedup]

A perfect seal holds more than 30 feet of water, but then again I'm basing that on experience and not theory/google.

 

[bernardgreen]

A perfect seal holds more than 30 feet of water

Google ? No

Data from A level GCE in physics ( 1964 ), 32 feet of water gauge is approx = atmospheric pressure at sea level. Varies with altitude and temperature

 

[DaveHerns]

If it's a council property , won't they/their insurers deal with repairs to the buildings?