Weird problem/situation

[PeterOHara]

Hi, I am a keen DIY'ER and have done quite a lot of plumbing jobs in the houses I have lived over the years, and for my family such as, chainging rad valves, cylinder stat, programmer, leaks, ball-vales, fixed oilets, installed a towel rad, electric shower, new bathroom suite, etc.

My question may sound stupid but I wonder if anyone has experienced this before or has a good way to deal with it?! ( I have been asked to hang a new radiator for a friend of a work colleague, just a normal panel/convetor radiator.

I have done this before but for some reason feel a bit concerned/un-confident about doing the job. It may be because it's for a friend's friend and the pressure etc that somes with doing a good job. Also I feel very negative at times like the worst will always happen!!

Is it me being silly? Or is there anyway to feel more confident, has anyone else had this issue before? Or am I just a pessimist!??!
Thanks for reading my first post.

 

[Agile]

Doing your own installations is totally up to you.

If you flood your house or drop a radiator on your child and kill them then thats down to you.

When you start to do jobs for others a totally different set of rules applies. First you need public liability insurance and secondly you are expected to have a good competancy to undertake the task and particularly to know what to do if anything goes wrong such as with the boiler in that case.

All my advice would be to stick to DIY solely in your house and not to do anything which you are not qualified or insured to do.

Tony

 

[PeterOHara]

I have done work in other houses before.

I do know how to deal with situations too, ie leaks, etc...

I am not going to touch the boiler though at all.....

 

[Agile]

Thats the problem, people with insufficient experience doing jobs for people they know.

I am often called to repair problems caused by DIYers doing jobs for others!

When changing rads the boiler is often stopped from working and a professional is needed to sort it out.

You can read about some on this forum!

If you must earn extra money why not do gardening as there is little risk of causing damage or injury.

Tony

 

[PeterOHara]

How will the boiler stop working when changing a rad? Do you mean with airlocks if system is drained? Even if the boiler (older type with pilot) does go out, I would re-light it, etc, but I wouldn't be touching the pilot light anyway, just turning the system off at the programmer/spur.

 

[sparkiedave]

up to you mate but a lot depends on your relationship with your friend, I'm pretty handy at a lot of things but I wouldn't go round fixing stuff for friends just because I can, I'll sometimes help mates who are having a go themselves, but that's different as it's their decision to start messin with it

 

[robin7]

Compare an ideal outcome with the costs if it were to go disasterously wrong.

If all goes smoothly, you will have gained a little experience, (perhaps) earned a little money, and earned some esteem.

If however it goes wrong, you may end up forking out for a pro to put it right, and you may strain relationships, and look a prat.

At the end of the day, if you have an uneasy feeling in your gut - perhaps best to leave well alone.