new boiler installation story

[jacks0003]

Decided to put this up on here because i think it worth letting people know about how thing can go when you get someone to come round and fit you a new boiler.

The job was to adjust some pipe in my garage and fit a small radiator in my utility room and fit me a new boiler.
He said he'd do it in two days and have to start at 10am due to school run.

He arrived late on first day by an hour got about half the pipe work done and the radiator hung by the end ofthe fst day which was about 8.30pm. The radiator was also way bigger than i wanted
The next day he arrived an hour and half late (no phone call) started with pipe work in garage then left it to start the boiler installation about 4pm. He said he'd got a guy coming to help him with the flue fitting. This guy never showed and at 7.45pm he was telling he'd need my help to get the ladders off. At this time he also stated he needed to drill two holes to mount the boiler slightly further away from the wall. Through the course of the second day he spent about 2hrs having to nip out to go get something from Grahams plumbing and heating but when it got late he had to go to B&Q. He drank my coffee like a fish drinks water.
So at about 8.30pm i was stood holding the ladder for him in the pitch black while he fitted the flue. I noticed quite a few of the neighbours watching me. My next door neighbour arrived as we'd just finished. I took the opportunity to explain that he still needed to drill 4 holes. Luckily she was ok with this.
So i left him to tinker away at fitting the boiler and basically he failed to do it and the day ended with me having no fuctioning boiler and the guy having to come and finish in 2 days time because he was on a course the next day and i wasnt available in the afternoon. He's said 9.30 he'll be here, i doubt this will happen due to his general time keeping on the past couple of days he's been here. He only has Thursday morning to finish and i dont think he'll get it done.
There are pipes still to be moved, the earthing wire still to connect to the gas meter i'm not sure if he's seeled the flue up right. There's the old control panels from the previous boiler still to take out and of course the new boiler to finish installing. It was midnight when i finally got rid of him, hopefully thursday will be a better day. I will post an entry to let you alll know how it turns out.

 

[buryboy]

I would certainly ask to see his Gas Safe Registration card.
Check the back which show the areas of work he is qualified to work in.
Then check on the Gas Safe's Internet web site with his number to confirm that all is what it should be.
If he is not registered I'm afraid you'd better stop the job. Its in your own interests. Also if he is qualified to the earth bonding at the Gas Meter. This should only be done by a qualified electrician or if he has qualifications as a heating engineer to do that. Not many heating engineer / Gas Installers /Plumbers are qualified to do earth bonding.

 

[tamz]

Perhaps you should check his getting out of bed in the morning ticket too

Not all jobs are as straightforward as you think but any installer will give a reasonable estimate of timescales depending on their abilities which are "usually" never far away but unforseen obsticles and holdups do occur at times.

When the work is finished make sure he fills out the paperwork correctly and registers your boiler.

 

[ocentric]

From what you've said, I'd be very doubtful that this guy is gas safe registered, let alone a plumber. He's just the sort of person that gives our trade a bad reputation. I hope that you haven't parted with too much money yet. Did you get other quotes? It's always best to use someone that comes recommended.

 

[jacks0003]

This guy is on the register, i checked before i let him do the work. As far as qualifications go he got the lot which is quite odd. When he talks to me about what he's got to do you cant fault him he talks the talk but he dont walk the walk. He's back he tomorrow at 9.30am he better be here on time, so far he's not managed it.
What come back can i expect if i have to sack this guy mid way through the job.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

he would probably be quite ****** off,his time keeping is terrible

 

[buryboy]

On a boiler change - bearing in mind - perhaps no heating or hot water, I tell my customers exactly what I expect to achieve based on the amount of work involved. I always err on the wrong side so when I tell them you'll have hot water and heating a day earlier than when I said, its met with smiles.

I've got an awful feeling the man you're dealing with spends the first couple of hours in a morning before he arrives checking manuals etc to see what he needs to do that day.

He might have the ticket but I'm afraid he doesn't sound like he has the practical experience. What kind of tools does he have?

Up a ladder in the dark drilling holes for the flue..................... hold on, the mind boggles.

I really think you have an awkward situation on your hands.

If he has got the ticket (qualifications) then you can only wait to see if he can actually do the job. I would report back with anything you feel is bad workmanship. With his time keeping and working into the night, I might be wrong but I think you might be in for a surprise either way.
As for sacking somebody half way through the job as gas man says, he will be mighty p****d off. Put your tin helmet on.

 

[jacks0003]

Yeah i think i 've got to see it through now, unless anything drastic happens. Will be reporting back tomorrow evening on what happens in the morning. im not expecting him to finish tomorrow but i'm hoping he can be back friday to complete the job.

 

[REDSAW]

i am still stuck on 'up the ladder while you are holding it when fitting boiler in a 'garage''...?????????????
how high is the boiler mounted?

 

[tamz]

I really would never critisise any other tradesmans work, no matter how good or bad it is as no matter who does the work, if i want to go over things with the fine toothcomb (my work incuded) i could pick faults. Everyone can have an offday and for all you know the guys wife may be packing her bags and his mind is elsewhere.

His biggest mistake as Buryboy said was giving you a specific timescale. Anyone with half a brain looks at the work, thinks of the worst and goes with that. If things come in early you are over the moon and he is brilliant.
For me (and i am fast) this is how i would have explained the work for 2 men, because i hate going out to the van.

We may get your heating back on the first day but it depends if we hit any obstacles.
(Now you have not mentioned the previous boiler position, how long (or how many pipes) the bit pipe run in the garage was, what floor covering you have etc etc we are only seeing half a picture)
It may run intio the 2nd day.
Finished on day one.........well pleased
Finished as estimated on 2nd day .........still very happy.

Speak to your installer and find out what has not gone to plan. The guy is guilty of underestimating his timescale!

What a great thing the internet is when you can attempt to find out if the guy fitting your heating is any good

 

[Blackcatgas]

Was he reccomended to you or the cheapest quote?.

 

[jacks0003]

The internet is great for this type of thing and im very appreciative of everyone who has made comments on this thread. When the times comes i will have to talk to this guy about what went wrong.

 

[jacks0003]

He wasnt the cheapest quote but one of the cheapest. After he'd been round i thought his quote would come back higher but i was surprised it didnt. He talked me through a lot when he came to do the quote much more than anyone else and he actually appeared very organised, showed me his certs, his gas card and had a testimonial. But now i know, i should have gone with somebody else.
You live and learn, im not bitter lifes too short

 

[tamz]

As said before, speak to the guy and find out what has gone wrong on the job. Speak to the guy. He is just the same as you really, just go to work and do the job (and don't put it over as he is an eejit) He won't bite the head off you and if he is being genuine he will explain things.
Btw for future referance
Try to go with a personal recommendation.

 

[jacks0003]

Its 9.45am, i rang him because he's late and he's not rung. It sounded like i woke him up. No apology nothing just i'll be there in about 25 minutes. I think he wants to get sacked.

 

[jacks0003]

Right here we go,
the guy that came was his mate who he called to come and give him some help. When i questioned him he thought i knew why he was here and i could tell he was not comfortable about being here at all. H e didnt stay long, to be honest i could tell there was sincerety in his mate face so i let him help. I told the guy i need to leave for work at 1pm he said an hour an half he be finished. He wasnt he got it running but when he did the valve was still open on the bottom radiator and i had water spraying everywhere, luckily i noticed and stuck the hose pipe onto it and put the end out the door then shouted him to sort it. He got the boiler going and we were in the process of checking all the radiators and he noticed one of the pipes he'd connected up was leaking. His take on it was "thats not bad that, for all the pipe work i've done to have just one leak is pretty good". Since it was time for me to go to work i stuck a bucket under it and its still dripping now. When i got back from work i looked round the boiler, theres water coming from somewhere inside it i cant tell where its very slow but obviously its a worry. I've put up with a lot from this guy and it scares me that he's going to commission it.
After reading the entry posted by agile i checked his number again idont have his licence card number i have his gas safe registration number which checks out fine and brings up a picture of him.
Questions
As long as he is registered and he's installed it and commissioned it this wont effect my boiler warranty will it?
I dont think it possible to get some else to commission someone elses work but gas safe say they come out an inspect work thats been carried out in the last 6 months, how likely do you think they'll check this work out based on this story?
He told me i can run it as it is (still with outer cover off and not been commissioned yet) is this right?

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

running it with the cover off thats worrying what brand of boiler is it?

 

[jacks0003]

glow worm

 

[Toddyplumb]

It isnt the condensate dripping is it ? He is coming back tomorrow ?

 

[GrahamM]

Its the boilers outer case we are talking about? Can you get a photo of the boiler as it stands and upload it?
Forgetting his failings upto now. If he has left you with a boiler without it's cover, connected up to gas/electricity and said you can run it he is incompetent and should be reported. He is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[jacks0003]

he said it can be run like this

 

[gasmarc]

i dont want to slag the geezer off but maybe he is smoking **** gear or he has run away from the circus ,not being funny but if you pay peanuts you get monkeys,

 

[jacks0003]

the white cable is what he arrived with + the red bits that he said were hard to find

 

[gasmarc]

that is wrong what the guy has said because the air is being taken from the room as opposed to through the flue , just check there is no velcro on the wall

 

[gasmarc]

quality work check the back of the box for grip fix

 

[jacks0003]

I got 2 other quotes cheaper than his and to be honest i had over half a dozen guys round to give me quotes but onlu 3 got back in writing with a quote. I beleive this guy is just brand new and he's finding it harder than he thought it would be. I wasnt trying to be cheap in hiring this guy but money was an issue as we hadn't budgeted for it.

 

[GrahamM]

This guy is completely incompetent and a danger to himself and others. He is not "brand new".
He has left a boiler in a dangerous condition without it's cover, never mind the wiring.

 

[gasmarc]

i suppose everyone has to learn but hopefully not at your expense

 

[buryboy]

The boiler is from a brand new range by Glow Worm called Ultracom 2 that was introduced July 1st this year.

I am puzzled by the cover missing as it acts as a seal. There is no inner fire door. Where is the front cover? The wiring is dangerous if left like the picture. Has a roomstat been fitted. (And connected to the boiler).
Have you paid him?
Has the system been flushed, has a long term chemical Inhibitor been put in with the C.H. system water?
Have you been given the Installation and servicing manual with the Benchmark pages filled in completely, if you haven't you've no manufacturer's warranty. Which on this boiler is two years parts and labour.
As GrahamM said earlier this installer is an accident waiting happen.
You can always ask Gas Safe register to get one of their inspectors to check the work.

 

[gasmarc]

sounds like a right can of worms IMHO

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

jesus this clown is lethal ,work like that should be riddor,this is not a wind up? he has actually left it like that?

 

[mark.brazenor@b]

Please call the Gas Safe Register before he kills someone

 

[jacks0003]

talked to gas safe today before he arrived. Sounds like the best thing to do is let him finish the boiler and then try and get them to come inspect the work. I talked to them about what had been going on but they were only concerned about anything that compromised safety. Which i can kinda understand. i told them about him leaving it connected up and leaving the cover off but this to them wasnt that much of a big deal and recommended i not get so wound up by what i read on internet forums.
Since he's been here today i've spent alot more time with him watching him work and i think i can see how he slows himself down. He is obviously very knowlegable, he can real off quite alot of tech speak but he seems to get stuck on stuff and then take 10miins pondering and reading the manual sorting it out but then moves onto something else and doesnt seem to focus on one particular thing. i dont think he's a cowboy and i dont think he's an impersonator. His professionalism is crap (not calling to say he's going to be late and such) i think he spreads himself too thinly. I reackon he can fit my boiler and it will work ok but when GOD KNOWS!

 

[buryboy]

Like Gasman says, this is not a wind up is it?

Also as mark.brazenor@b syas call Gas Safe Register in before damage is caused to people or property.

If an installer tells you to run a brand new boiler without the front cover fixed, its either a wind up/practical joke on us lot who have been following this has it has unfolded these past days or he is a danger to the public on this job or in the future.

Its been fascinating to follow over the past couple of days although tinged with the sad realisation that this stuff goes on by people who somehow have the correct qualifications. Or has he.

Do the photos on his Gas Safe Register card match the ones on Gas Safe's web site, or am I turning into Insp. Clouseau.

 

[jacks0003]

yes the photos match. When i talked to gas safe they just played it down, it was all well what can we prove sort of thing they felt what i was telling them wasnt concrete enough evidence of unsafe workmanship and i told them all the stuuf i put up on here. I wasnt impressed with their attitude.