Hi All,

A friend of mine has need of a good plumber to do various jobs for her
(move wc, washing machine, install new bathroom suite etc etc).

She has had a plumber in to do the first bit but isn't very pleased
with the quality of the work.

I would like to think there are still reasonably priced folk out there
that could do such jobs in such a way where a 'housewife' can't see
obvious problems or be able question why stuff has been done this way
or another (gaps / holes / unfinished etc)?

Any thoughts please?

All the best ..

T i m

T i m wrote:
Hi All,

A friend of mine has need of a good plumber to do various jobs for her
(move wc, washing machine, install new bathroom suite etc etc).

She has had a plumber in to do the first bit but isn't very pleased
with the quality of the work.

I would like to think there are still reasonably priced folk out there
that could do such jobs in such a way where a 'housewife' can't see
obvious problems or be able question why stuff has been done this way
or another (gaps / holes / unfinished etc)?

Any thoughts please?

There's a chap called Noel (surname) in Kennington who was a "Plumber of
the Year" a few years ago. Curb your cynicism, you lot - he is
excellent. Not cheap though, as you'd imagine.

I still have fond memories of the old chap in the village who did a bit
of plumbing after retiring from the Rutherford Lab. Compared with
coaxial pipework for liquid gases, he said, domestic jobs were like a
holiday.



--
Ian White

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 13:28:43 +0100, Ian White
wrote:

T i m wrote:
Hi All,

A friend of mine has need of a good plumber to do various jobs for her
(move wc, washing machine, install new bathroom suite etc etc).

She has had a plumber in to do the first bit but isn't very pleased
with the quality of the work.

I would like to think there are still reasonably priced folk out there
that could do such jobs in such a way where a 'housewife' can't see
obvious problems or be able question why stuff has been done this way
or another (gaps / holes / unfinished etc)?

Any thoughts please?

There's a chap called Noel (surname) in Kennington who was a "Plumber of
the Year" a few years ago. Curb your cynicism, you lot - he is
excellent. Not cheap though, as you'd imagine.

As this point I'm not sure cost would be too big an issue (within
reason), getting a good job done is. What seems to be an issue is that
it's often 'assumed' you want the cheapest job done. The 'problen'
when demand outsrips supply is the tradsmen 'cherry pick'. Anything a
bit tricky or not straiight forward means (potentially) less quanty of
work therefore less money? (I guess?). A mate wanted a small toilet
tiled and ended up doing it himself for the above reasons.

I still have fond memories of the old chap in the village who did a bit
of plumbing after retiring from the Rutherford Lab. Compared with
coaxial pipework for liquid gases, he said, domestic jobs were like a
holiday.

I bet .. like welding a Landy chassis on yer garage floor versus a
stainless pipeline as it dissapears over the back of a ship .. ;-)

Would you have any actual contact info for Noel please Ian?

All the best

T i m

In article ,
Ian White writes:
I still have fond memories of the old chap in the village who did a bit
of plumbing after retiring from the Rutherford Lab. Compared with
coaxial pipework for liquid gases, he said, domestic jobs were like a
holiday.

Reminds me of the physics department glass blower at University College
London, who besides making lots of specialist valves, lamps, vacuum
apparatus, etc for the research groups and students, use to do a demo
of glass blowing every few years so each group of students going through
got a chance to see him in action, which really was quite spectacular.
He made a number of different types of light bulb from scratch which
worked, but also combined the sort of artistic glass blowing you might
see at a summer fare.

At one point in the demo, he made a wine glass, and was describing all
the things to check for when looking for high quality hand-made wine
glasses. This lead on to how the former head of the department had kept
bringing in his own wine glasses to have the chips removed each time
he damaged one. The chap said he really wouldn't have minded, except
the wine glasses were such crap quality ones anyway they really weren't
worth repairing at all ;-)

--
Andrew Gabriel

On 19 Jul 2005 13:07:08 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Ian White writes:
I still have fond memories of the old chap in the village who did a bit
of plumbing after retiring from the Rutherford Lab. Compared with
coaxial pipework for liquid gases, he said, domestic jobs were like a
holiday.

Reminds me of the physics department glass blower at University College
London, who besides making lots of specialist valves, lamps, vacuum
apparatus, etc for the research groups and students, use to do a demo
of glass blowing every few years so each group of students going through
got a chance to see him in action, which really was quite spectacular.

My missus likes elephants and as a treat I asked the guy in a little
shop we found in the Cheddar Gorge to actually make her one (rather
than buying one he had made earlier).

He agreed and it was fascinating. A blob became a leg or a tail, all
whilst glowing so hot you couldn't easily make out what was going on
(without a mask).

Once finished we had to leave it to cool for a couple of hours before
we collected it.

A bigger demonstration was given at a small glass factory in Nth
Norfolk .. glass figures made / blown on steel poles, rolling,
drawing, colouring and shaping on pads of wet newspaper / wood ...
brilliant ;-)

Paperweights are not as useful as light bulbs of course ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

T i m wrote:
My missus likes elephants and as a treat I asked the guy in a little
shop we found in the Cheddar Gorge to actually make her one (rather
than buying one he had made earlier).

He agreed and it was fascinating. A blob became a leg or a tail, all
whilst glowing so hot you couldn't easily make out what was going on
(without a mask).

Once finished we had to leave it to cool for a couple of hours before
we collected it.


A bloke at, um, The Glass Blobbery(?) in Wales does commissions and loves a
challenge. He's done sekketries at their PC, that sort of thing.

He did a sheep for our 7yo who absolutely loved it. And he didn't flinch
when we came in with a 7yo and a staggering 2yo to his glassware shop - so I
think he deserved a mention for being brave ;-)

"T i m" wrote in message
...
Hi All,

A friend of mine has need of a good plumber to do various jobs for her
(move wc, washing machine, install new bathroom suite etc etc).

She has had a plumber in to do the first bit but isn't very pleased
with the quality of the work.

I would like to think there are still reasonably priced folk out there
that could do such jobs in such a way where a 'housewife' can't see
obvious problems or be able question why stuff has been done this way
or another (gaps / holes / unfinished etc)?

Any thoughts please?

All the best ..

T i m



Hi,

Try M. Berry Plumbing Services Grove 07966622861

T i m wrote:
Would you have any actual contact info for Noel please Ian?

01865 739248, according to the Institute of Plumbing ad in the Oxford
Yellow Pages (hint hint).

--
Ian White

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Ian White writes:
I still have fond memories of the old chap in the village who did a bit
of plumbing after retiring from the Rutherford Lab. Compared with
coaxial pipework for liquid gases, he said, domestic jobs were like a
holiday.

Reminds me of the physics department glass blower at University College
London, who besides making lots of specialist valves, lamps, vacuum
apparatus, etc for the research groups and students, use to do a demo
of glass blowing every few years so each group of students going through
got a chance to see him in action, which really was quite spectacular.
He made a number of different types of light bulb from scratch which
worked, but also combined the sort of artistic glass blowing you might
see at a summer fare.

At one point in the demo, he made a wine glass, and was describing all
the things to check for when looking for high quality hand-made wine
glasses.

My, that takes me back... watching the lab glassblower in the weeks
before Christmas, making matched sets of wineglasses on the lathe.

"Oven-proof Pyrex wineglasses - just what I wanted!"


--
Ian White

Ian White wrote:
My, that takes me back... watching the lab glassblower in the weeks
before Christmas, making matched sets of wineglasses on the lathe.
"Oven-proof Pyrex wineglasses - just what I wanted!"

And very useful for mulled wine they would be too.

Owain

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:56:01 +0100, Ian White
wrote:

T i m wrote:
Would you have any actual contact info for Noel please Ian?

01865 739248, according to the Institute of Plumbing ad in the Oxford
Yellow Pages (hint hint).

Ah, thanks for that Ian. Not sure how much good the hint would be with
me living in London or her in Didcot as she's nearly given up finding
anyone in the Yellow Pages or anywhere (hence the call to me)!

Thanks again .. I'll pass the number on .. ;-)

T i m

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:52:45 +0100, "James Salisbury"
wrote:


"T i m" wrote in message
.. .
Hi All,

A friend of mine has need of a good plumber to do various jobs for her
(move wc, washing machine, install new bathroom suite etc etc).

She has had a plumber in to do the first bit but isn't very pleased
with the quality of the work.

I would like to think there are still reasonably priced folk out there
that could do such jobs in such a way where a 'housewife' can't see
obvious problems or be able question why stuff has been done this way
or another (gaps / holes / unfinished etc)?

Any thoughts please?

All the best ..

T i m



Hi,

Try M. Berry Plumbing Services Grove 07966622861

Personal experience James ? (well, not 'personal' personal but you
know what I mean!) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:52:45 +0100, "James Salisbury"
wrote:


"T i m" wrote in message
. ..
Hi All,

A friend of mine has need of a good plumber to do various jobs for her
(move wc, washing machine, install new bathroom suite etc etc).

She has had a plumber in to do the first bit but isn't very pleased
with the quality of the work.

I would like to think there are still reasonably priced folk out there
that could do such jobs in such a way where a 'housewife' can't see
obvious problems or be able question why stuff has been done this way
or another (gaps / holes / unfinished etc)?

Any thoughts please?

All the best ..

T i m



Hi,

Try M. Berry Plumbing Services Grove 07966622861

Personal experience James ? (well, not 'personal' personal but you
know what I mean!) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Yep,

He seems to do an ok job. Youngish apprentice served guy wanting to get him
self established. Had him install a kitchen sink and fix my mains water
cyliner and swap out the shower cartarige. I have also had him descale my
cylinder. He dosn't have a corgi ticket, last time I asked.

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 21:38:31 +0100, "James Salisbury"
wrote:



He seems to do an ok job. Youngish apprentice served guy wanting to get him
self established. Had him install a kitchen sink and fix my mains water
cyliner and swap out the shower cartarige. I have also had him descale my
cylinder. He dosn't have a corgi ticket, last time I asked.

Cheers James,

Info passed on to friend.

T i m