"Ed Sirett" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 18:55:38 +0000, nemo wrote:

Does anyone know if the Worcester (Bosch) Greenstar HE Combi Boiler was
made
obsolete by a new regulation which came into force on April 1st?

The Council have installed these on my estate and there is a rumour
going
around that this is the case and because of the regulation Camden
managed to
get them on the cheap. This would not be unusual for Camden, believe me!
Our
last lot of lifts were obsolete when they went in and have given us 30
years
of hell! They've learned though. The new ones are state-of-the-art.

The boilers seem OK, except that they take ages to fill the bath up -
but if
we should have got better ones, we should have had better ones.

The contractor Camden are using is Makers. Very imaginative name. Does
anyone know anything about them? The general consensus here is that
they're
a bunch poorly-skilled cowboys run by con-men!


One of the problems for plumbers working for corporate Landlords is that
inevitably there is a team of them. So that when there is a problem if the
plumber does not fix it all in one go then the next time there is a call
someone else gets the job and starts all over again.

This makes the service company look even more incompetant than they
actually are.

It is not is the medium or longer term interest of any Landlord to fit a
boiler that is average or below in terms of long life.

The unit they have chosen is IMHO probably towards the better end of the
spectrum in both quality and efficiency - it is a condensing unit and
therefore has not been made obselete by the new energy efficiency
standards.

Combination boilers do not generally fill baths quickly, however they have
advantages and disadvantages seem main FAQ.


'Makers' aren't just plumbers. They're a general contractor and are doing
the whole lot - new kitchens, bathrooms and toilets and decs to communal
staircases etc. And actually, the plumbers have been pretty good, as have
most of the skilled guys.

As I said, apart from the low flow-rate the boiler is fine. I've just had my
first gas bill since it was fitted and it's about 30% less for this time of
year.

It's just that we've had so much bull**** from some of the workmen, the Site
Manager and the Council and broken promises from the consulting architect,
Sprunt, what we were getting, that we're gravely suspicious of any
rumour alleging we're being ripped off.

There was also a huge amount of mistrust generated by the way they handled
the "Options Appraisal" part of the process, with a survey that would have
conned us into voting for major works without realising we'd be moved out
for them! The consultant was CAPITA in those days, which explains a lot.

In the end we formed a working group and took the survey over. We weren't
supposed to know we could do that - and when our fully informative survey
came back - surprise, surprise - a huge majority had voted for Option One,
which was as much of the package as could be done without us having to be
moved out. We'd have ended up spread all over the country with the housing
shortage in London!

And then, just before the works were due to start, the Council's new Project
Manager started acting with extreme hostility to the Working Group and
more-or-less bullied it into non-existence - or rather it's down to one
person now. Me!

It is as it's always been - the usual "You thick tenant - me big
professional" routine - except we've got all sorts of professionals on this
estate - even the one and only lady Goldsmith of the City of London! - and
every other art, craft, trade and profession going as well. (Except the
oldest. We did have one of those but she got evicted! ;o)

Makers and the Council still choose not to accept this and instead like to
go by the right-wing press stereotypes of council tenants, i.e., single mums
who had their babies deliberately to get a flat and are on benefits and
drugs and families consisting of hooligans and criminals! - and when they
realise this ain't so, they behave as though it's our fault!

Add to that the fact that the Council Officers involved live out in the
sticks with large mortgages around their necks, have to commute to their
work in smelly, overcrowded trains and hate our guts because we live in
low(ish) rent, central London properties, and you can see what we're up
against.

I really resent this attitude. I didn't get this flat because of any
privilege or scam. I inherited the tenancy after my mother died, and believe
me, I'd much rather be out in the sticks paying off a large mortgage like
them with her still around!

Sorry for the tome, but these things do have to be said, especially for
anyone thinking of employing Makers and for any other Council tenants about
to find themselves in the same predicament! Our leaseholders were interested
in using Makers at first. They ain't now!

Oh, yes. And one of our leaseholders is Lloyd Newson. You might have seen
his modern dance film a few weeks ago on Channel 4. He started here as a
"thick tenant" too!

Nemo




--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
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