What pump to replace this Grundfos underfloor heating pump and how difficult is it to do?

[Dan Robinson]

So the guy wasn't insured, his van wasn't insured, he doesn't have any running costs, pensions, sick pay. Certainly doesn't deserve holiday pay, and neither do any other members of his staff. His tools magically dropped out of the clouds and his training was telepathically implanted into his brain.

As for his 5 yearly renewals of his qualifications, the training centres do all that out of the goodness of their hearts.

Sundry materials? They come free with his morning McDonalds breakfast.

12 months guarantee on a product he didn't make? Nah. You pay extra for that..... oh wait.

Your post was inflammatory as it implies all professionals are ripping people off by charging markups on materials.



Oh yeah... corporation and income tax..... well we're all on the fiddle aren't we?

 

[Scarum]

I don't know about underfloor heating but you could just change the pump head by unscrewing the 4 Allen key bolts. Isolating the pump at the pump gate valves beforehand may not work 100% so be prepared in case you get some leakage.

 

[brokentelephone]

I live in London and some of the people I've dealt with in the past have charged well above market rate for parts. I replaced a garbage disposal a few years back and he charged me 250£ for the unit plus his labour. 5 years later, I bought the same one at Homebase for 125£ and changed it myself.

And yes, this was from a reputable company. It's hard to find a local plumber where I am in London, esp. one that doesn't overcharge for parts (only in my experience, maybe untrue).

OK your waste disposal unit.

So he charged you £125 for the unit and £105 plus VAT to fit it. They usually take at least an hour. Why do you consider that unreasonable? He does have to get to you and had to go and buy the unit.

ve parts are also expensive/impossible to park in somewhere like Mayfair inside the charging zone too.

"""It's hard to find a local plumber where I am in London""" Surely that is because plumbers don't charge so much that they can afford to live in Mayfair.

But we do travel! I go to difficult and expensive areas by tube. That eliminates driving and parking costs.

So I just don't believe you when you say you cannot find a local plumber bearing in mind that "local" in London is usually thought of as within six miles.

While talking about plumbers, how much do you think a plumber should earn? Lets give you a few figures? £15k £25k £35k £ 45k £55k £65k £75k £85k £95k ?

Tony

And tobansw

So the guy wasn't insured, his van wasn't insured, he doesn't have any running costs, pensions, sick pay. Certainly doesn't deserve holiday pay, and neither do any other members of his staff. His tools magically dropped out of the clouds and his training was telepathically implanted into his brain.

As for his 5 yearly renewals of his qualifications, the training centres do all that out of the goodness of their hearts.

Sundry materials? They come free with his morning McDonalds breakfast.

12 months guarantee on a product he didn't make? Nah. You pay extra for that..... oh wait.

Your post was inflammatory as it implies all professionals are ripping people off by charging markups on materials.



Oh yeah... corporation and income tax..... well we're all on the fiddle aren't we?

This is a toxic site.

Someone just 'accused' me of being a banker, like that profession is something to be intrinsically derided without consequence, whereas I simply say I've had bad experiences in the past being overcharged and want to buy my own parts, and somehow I've attacked the integrity of all plumbers? I unequivocally stated that I don't believe most plumbers are like that, but just that I've had a few bad experiences.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Nothing toxic about informing you of the facts.

 

[oilhead]

Do you buy your own oil and filters when you have your car serviced? Do you baulk at the £120 + labour charges bearing in mind that you take your car there, they don't travel to you?
All spares have a list price. If I travel to a stockist and buy several items from him, then I get a trade discount. For my customers' convenience, and to save them additional expense of double journeys, I keep a working stock which I have invested in. I may have parts in stock for some months, but still have to honour warranty obligations that I no longer can claim. some merchants are quite amenable to supplying anyone at a trade price, ebay and Amazon being prime examples. I will quite happily fit a customer's parts, but take no responsibility for their performance, or undertake any claim on their behalf, and if they have ordered the wrong part, or have a substitute for an obsolete part without the necessary adaptive parts, then tough, they have the hassle and delay of rectifying the situation.