What is it with the British small tradesman??


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Suppose I'm very lucky, I've a building trade background and have always done all my own repairs work etc. I've never paid another tradesman to do any repairs.

I've built 3 houses, here in oz, one totally complete apart from the plumbing, which I could have done but stupid aussie regulations prevented me from doing it.

I used to do all my kids repairs too but not anymore as it gets too hard us being away a lot, but they do save up jobs for me when I return back sometimes !

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Here's the problem (going back to the original issue!) - we too need a plumber to do a bathroom refit. We have been months trying to get plumbers to come. Either they can't be contacted at all, don't answer their answerphones, don't come when they say they will, or come - look at the job - tell us they will send us an estimate and then don't etc. etc. Amongst these we did have a couple that eventually gave us estimates but their dilatory response made us very hesitant about giving them the job - we might still be waiting a year next Christmas! We did however find one very efficient company who sent out not one, but two people in a nearly new sign-written van to look at the job, measure up and take all the details. They also followed up within 3 days with a quote. It was the local housing association - who now do work for private customers. HOWEVER the price was about 50% higher than anyone else, and a long way beyond what we were planning to pay. Reason? We would have been contributing (handsomely) to the overheads of the housing association. Those overheads give them the resources to do everything smartly - but at a price.

I should say we have now found a very pleasant and efficient seeming chap, who came when he said he would, gave us a quote immediately and told us the day that he would start.

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The trouble with plumbing work is that anyone can call themselves a plumber, whether they know the regs and apply them or not. Plumbers if they bother with liability insurance have to pay more than a gas engineer, purely because there are so many cowboys and they cost the insurance companies more money.

One thing I always recommend to folks is to ask to see a copy of their liability insurance and to make sure it is for at least £1,000,000 and it includes working with blow torches. Failure to do so can be very expensive, if there is a problem the first thing your home insurance people will say is 'you employed a professional you must seek redress for him or his insurance company'.

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While I do as much of the work around the house as I can - electrics, technology, repairs to building fabric, tiling, drains, gardening, etc, there is some stuff I will never touch - anything to do with gas or wet plumbing.

Around here, we tend to go by personal recommendation, so when we wanted a house extension, or new radiators, or anything up on the roof, it was done by people who'd already done work for neighbours. That way, we know we are getting it done by a known quantity whose work we could check.

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I fitted a new bathroom. Swapped from a normal bath and wash basin to a new 'showerbath/over the bath' shower, with new valve etc.,and new wash basin.

TBH, the plumbing was the easy bit. Mostly just cutting a few pipes and soldering a few joints.

Fitting 'showerwall panels' properly was a bit of a pain. (Don't like tiles)

Few exotic skills required though. Just a good dose of common sense and the willingness to think bfore acting and use the internet for guidance.

But overall the biggest problem is that you make all of your mistakes on your first job. So if you're only doing it once......

My 15 year old Stoves Halogen/ceramic cooker packed up recently. The hob would work ut the clock stopped and with it the two ovens. It's nearly dead anyway and a new kitchen is planned soon , but I wasn't ready to change just yet.

Got a bloke out who said it was the clock.

I knew that.

Said he'd try for a new clock but thought they were obsolete.

I knew that too. Stoves are only a couple of miles away and I'd already contacted them.

Bloke called back next day. Couldn't get a new clock.

Even I could figure out that the clock had relays controlling the ovens which could be by-passed if necessary, making ovens fully manual. But, checked on a few websites and found a chap who had looked at the clock circuit and decided the problem was almost certainly a small capacitor, costing a few pence. He'd fixed his own this way.

'In for a penny.. I went to local Maplins and purchased a close equivalent capacitor for 90p.

Five minutes with a soldering iron and my cooker was working perfectly again!

With capacitors you want simpliar phsysical size and similar 'pitch' (the way the lead out wires are positioned) Then roughly correct capacitance, same, or higher vltage rating and same or higher temperature rating.

It's not hard.

Col

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Feel free!

I am happy to supply my number.

Mobile. £50 per call

Landline. £35 per call..

:rolleyes:

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Capacitors come in many types, electrolytic, these come in different voltage types, two different wire types, and different temperature types, ALWAYS get the same or higher voltage, get higher temperature ratings and ALWAYS get the SAME capacity, they are marked in micro farads for capacity ratings, AND make sure you insert them into the circuit with the correct polarity, they are marked with Neg down one side!!

Other types are mylar, poly, ceramic etc, they rarely fail, chances are it will be an electrolytic, good tip, make sure you get JAPANESE made caps and NOT Chinese, Chinese last about one to two years, Japanese have a lot longer life.

Older PC's have dozens of electrolytic caps, the Chinese caps are well known for drying out and failing, they are used in switching power supplies, the very reason they are common for failures.

Todays PC's use ceramic caps, they will outlast the computer.

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When I was a kid ,my dad always seemed to be 'mending' old tellys or wirelesses.Anyway one day he had this wireless on the kitchen table with all the valves glowing,when all of a sudden it started smoking,the smell was awful,dad told us all to get outside,god knows how he stopped it going up in flames.,but believe it or not it was working after much more fiddling about with it.

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Not seen one explode in years Beestonmick, these modern ones have a top that bursts to relieve pressure, plus electrolyte all over the PC board, corroding the traces.

I've had HV RF caps blow, sound like a small calibre bullet going off.

The day's of "confetti" are over with low voltage caps.

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I've opened up electrical cabinets to see PSU caps have destroyed themselves. We used to build PSU and PWM controllers and they had at least four 0.5F capacitors in parallel. When they went, and they did on occasion, they went proper. I've got a Vox AC30 I've just finished rebuilding and every cap (some electrolytic some wax coated paper) needed replacing, very leaky and nasty. It had been sat in someone's garage for thirty years mind.

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When I lived in Saxondale, I needed a small plumbing job doing, so I rang the number I'd seen on a small card in the Bingham hardware shop. A woman answered and I told her my problem. She replied that it's take days as there was no one available.

I asked where she was situated and she replied Milton Keynes. FFS.

It was so simple, all I wanted was a LOCAL plumber. I ended up doing it myself for £9.

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I've got a few recapping jobs to do on some vintage Heathkit test gear, my FT736R transceiver PS, wife's sewing machine, (speed control circuit) Plus a few other old radios.

Tantalums make a loud cracking sound, so I hear, the Radio Shack ones contain acid, or at least they used to, mate of mine had a major clean up job on a PC board after he used an RS tantalum that exploded.

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Plumbing is so much easier with plastic pipes, measure, cut, prime and glue...Just remember to put orientation marks on fittings during the "dry run" before gluing up.

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Rule of thumb,get a bloke that is recommended, take a look at previous work at someone's gaff..if he spends more time in the van and on the blower..than on the job..give him the bums rush!!..wish I'd known you lot when I was in blighty.. I'm cheap,reliable, a bit chatty..and never say no to a brew!!

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Never come across those Den, either soldered copper, or plastic over here.

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My second plumber turned up on time,sorted out the boilers' problem in minutes online to Baxi...bought the part locally...fitted and tested Then balanced and bled all radiators.

Hour and a half later £100 richer (him not me) He's happy.....I'm sorted,and warm again. NOW WHY COULDN'T THE FIRST DICK'EAD DO THAT?

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