"top gear" wrote in message
...

"Clive Summerfield" wrote in message
k...

"timegoesby" wrote in message
om...
Clive Summerfield )
Date: 2005-02-01 06:10:08 PST

"http://tinyurl.com/7y8y4" wrote in message
...

"Al Reynolds" wrote in message
...

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
A colleague bought a house on a new estate (from new) 2 years
and
8
months ago. The main water tank is leaking, and needs
replacement
(quoted price 350 quid). The builder says he won't replace it
as
it's
outside some '2 year period'.

That will be correct.

He says he's been told that NHBC doesn't cover this (I guess
it's
structure only?), but what are opinions of him getting this
paid
for
(eventually) by the builder?

Very little chance.

I doubt the actual tank is leaking. Far more
likely to be one of the connections to the tank.
I bet the plumber who quoted for replacement
will be able to find one that looks *identical*.

snip

I would assess using a heat bank/thermal store that can be pulled
through
the hatch, eliminating a cold tank, giving instant hot water,
high
prerssure
showers and liberating an airing cupboard. It is easy to fit as all
the
pipes are in the airing cupboard. This will bring the system uop
to
date.
Cold tanks in lofts is yesterdays technology

Another option is replace the existing boiler with a high flowrate
combi,
assuming an easy change and it fits in the same cupboard.


Another classic Adam/John Curtis/IMM/Dr Evil response. The house is
less
than three years old and yet you rekon a good solution to the
original
poster's problem is to replace the tank with a heat bank in the
loft,
or
replace the existing boiler with a combi. Madness, utter madness!

The problem is unlikely to be a tank failure, but rather a problem
with the
installation. If the builder is being awkward, then I'd first get as
much
evidence as possible, then either DIY or pay someone to fix it. Then
take
the builder through the small claims route at court to reclaim the
costs.

Cheers
Clive

If this man is to pay £350 to fix a cold tank and then pay about £500
for a good power shower pump, fitted, then he would be better off
modernising his system with a thermal store. That is £850 in all. He
has all to gain and little, except a little extra cost, to lose.
Having a cold tank in the loft in a new house, is a builder with no
idea of current water systems.

Why is he going to pay £500 for a good shower pump? May already have
one.
And why should he have to pay £350 for a cold tank that should have
lasted
longer? The bottom line is that he shouldn't have to pay a penny to
return
to the status quo, yet instead of helping him with his problem IMM/Dr
Evil,
and now yourself, seem determined to have him spend money on so-called
"improvements" to his existing system. Yet apart from the fact that the
house is less than three years old, that his cold tank is leaking in
some
unspecified manner and thus he doesn't have a mains pressure hot water
system, you, I and all the other posters who have responded have not the
faintest idea of the actual circumstances. So to claim that solving his
original problem is going to cost £850 is more than a little
disingeneous.
Compare the cost of your proposal against the cost the original poster
to
restore the status quo (i.e. £0 in all probability, albeit at an initial
cost of some money to fix the tank which he should recover, if he even
needs
to pay it out in the first place).

Hang on. He said the house was guaranteed for 2 years. It is now three
years. Hard luck he has to pay £350 to stop the leak, and be no further
on.


It is actually the builder that states that the NHBC guarantee on the tank
was for two years. However, the workmanship should be guaranteed for up to
10 years under NHBC, the tank itself shouldn't have failed after only 3
years. Bottom line is that there are a number of options he can follow to
get this repaired without incurring further costs.

snip


You have to learn to look at the "big picture", not "oh the tanks is broke
fix it".

No one apart from the original poster knows the "big picture", not even you.
For all you know, he may already have high quality shower pumps fitted. Or
not. Stop making major assumptions based on inadequate information. Had the
original poster come here and asked for advice on upgrading his hot water
system, giving us a detailed breakdown of the current equipment installed,
his requirements, the size of the house, number of occupants, etc, then it
becomes possible to give meaningful advice based on that information. But
the giant leap from "The cold water tank in my three year old house is
leaking, the builder wants nothing to do with it and I've had a quote of
£350 to fix it. What should I do?" to "Change your hot water system to a
mains pressure solution." is the sort of leap made by people with either too
much money, a tendency to jumping to conclusions, or a fixation on their
"ideal" solution as being applicable to everyone. The real world isn't like
that.

Cheers
Clive