I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.

On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.

Have you considered Europe? My brother-in-law (in Germany) regularly
has work done by (former East) Europeans. They work like crazy and
don't charge a fortune.

MM

In article ,
cubicsupport wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

Seems a bit much. We've just had a new CH system put in with Vokera
Compact 28 boiler and 10 radiators for 2,700 quid including all parts
and labour in the Newcastle area. That included removing the old
cylinder, water tank and warm air unit. Took them less than half a day
to fit the boiler.

--
Mike Clarke

"Mike Mitchell" wrote in message
...
On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.

Have you considered Europe? My brother-in-law (in Germany) regularly
has work done by (former East) Europeans. They work like crazy and
don't charge a fortune.
Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

NO

"cubicsupport" wrote in message
om...
I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.

On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
strung together this:

1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive.

They sound about reasonable to me, if you want to find someone cheaper
you'll end up with a crap job.
--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, cubicsupport wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.

Quote 1 is using a middle market boiler and is realistic about the time
it takes todo everything properly (including flushing out the radiators,
disconnecting the tank, removing the cylinder, converting to a sealed
system, possibly bringing the gas supply pipework to current standards
etc.) In view of this the quote would be quite reasonable (in London).

Does the quote involve making good the old balanced flue hole or removing
the old pipe?


Quote 2 is based on an up market boiler essentially is the same for labour
but are clearly intending to cut a lot of corners on the installation
method, unless their idea of a day's work is 24hours!

I would try to get quote 1 to install the better boiler for the money of
Quote 2.

If you think these guys are expensive have you tried BG or Servowarm?

Leaving the tank in the loft is not a problem, it will be easily disposed
of if/when you convert the loft and until then is taking up a huge amount
of space.

If you have many water cuts and the pipework allows leave the cistern to
supply the WC(s).

HTH

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 14:32:48 +0100, Mike Mitchell wrote:

On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.

Have you considered Europe? My brother-in-law (in Germany) regularly
has work done by (former East) Europeans. They work like crazy and
don't charge a fortune.

But aren't registered.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

Quote 2 is based on an up market boiler essentially is the same for labour
but are clearly intending to cut a lot of corners on the installation
method, unless their idea of a day's work is 24hours!

One day for a boiler installation is quite common. Its done by more than
one person.
--
..

On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.
My apologies but i must quote my usual rant about people wanting to
buy a mans labour cheaply. It seems that if a man carries a toolbag,he
is less worthy of payment than if he carries a pen or bashes a pc.

It costs money to operate as a gas man/heating installer/whatever.

IMHO speaking as somone with 23 years experience, the quotes are not
excessive.

I would tend to take longer than a day to do this job. Maybe its just
that I'm a slow worker,maybe its because i take more care?.

Good heating installers/gasmen are as rare as rocking horse muck. This
you have already found becuase its even hard to get someone to call
round and quote!.

I have never yet seen a thread on here along the lines of "....my
estate agent/solicitor quoted me £800 to do x/y/z..am i being
over-charged?". This of course is becuase the common perception is
that white collar workers are "professionals",whilst blue collar
workers are thieves/cheats and incompetent.

One thing that really ****es me off is if i quote for a job and the
customer says,well i had a quote from Bert Bodgitt and sons and they
quoted £500 cheaper. I feel all warm inside and just walk away and
advise them to get Bert to do the job then. Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

Sorry to rant,nothing personal.

Joe

On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 16:24:43 +0100, "BillV"
wrote:


Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

Does it make a difference these days?

In article ,
tarquinlinbin wrote:
Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

Does it make a difference these days?

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.

--
*Keep honking...I'm reloading.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:08:10 +0100, tarquinlinbin
wrote:

........... Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

But, as you said, they are as rare as rocket horse "muck". The rest of
us have to take what is available. I wonder just how much
shoddy/rip-off workmanship is covered by that Corgi "badge" of honour?
How about half the price of the new gas cooker to have the old hob
merely disconnected (I removed the hob) and the new cooker connected?

MM

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 08:28:51 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
strung together this:

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas -

Not unless he was making a living at it.
--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 09:45:59 +0100, Mike Mitchell
strung together this:

But, as you said, they are as rare as rocket horse "muck". The rest of
us have to take what is available.

I think you missed the point. If customers don't want to pay a
reasonable price then they never will get the pro's in to do a job.
This has been done recently on another thread.
--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 08:28:51 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
tarquinlinbin wrote:
Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

Does it make a difference these days?

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.
I appreciate that CORGI reg is an attempt to maintain some sort of
standard of professionalism but really I think its a rubber stamping
procedure for mediocrity. I speak genrally of course and there are
plenty of gas chaps and ladies who hold very high standards but these
are personal standards and nothing to do with CORGI. There are plenty
of CORGI's who dont even bother to test for gas leaks after doing
work.

I have 23 years experience and I'm not CORGI reg'd yet i could produce
a ring binder full of evidence and certification to clearly
demonstrate competence.

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 10:27:33 +0100, Lurch
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 08:28:51 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
strung together this:

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas -

Not unless he was making a living at it.
I've thought of a scam to bypass this. Do a job at a customers
premises,sell them a gas safety guide or similar publication for the
cost of the job. Thus no payment has been directly received for the
job,only for the publication. demonstrate competence to the customer
by showing evidence and doing a good quality job. Everyones happy.

joe

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 09:45:59 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:08:10 +0100, tarquinlinbin
wrote:

........... Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

But, as you said, they are as rare as rocket horse "muck". The rest of
us have to take what is available. I wonder just how much
shoddy/rip-off workmanship is covered by that Corgi "badge" of honour?

I totally agree with the inference. CORGI reg is a poor attempt at
upholding standards and registrations,its all weve got I'm afraid. I
just wish Joe and Joanne public would realise that thats all it is,a
registration scheme.
How about half the price of the new gas cooker to have the old hob
merely disconnected (I removed the hob) and the new cooker connected?

If the same guy was doing both jobs at the same time (in the same
visit) it does sound a bit steep.

MM

True, it's about supply and demand at the end of the day. Also true,
it costs money to operate as an installer - but not that much. I don't
think anyone is crying any tears for the poor installers because they
are making very good money.

I have never yet seen a thread on here along the lines of "....my
estate agent/solicitor quoted me £800 to do x/y/z..am i being
over-charged?".

You may not have seen a thread on here about it because most people
wouldn't expect to ask solicitor or estate agent questions in a DIY
newsgroup but outside of here Estate agents and solicitors are bitched
about far more than heating installers.

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
He'd be breaking the law by working on gas -

Not unless he was making a living at it.

Well, what the f**k does a 'tradesman' usually do? Work for the hell of it?

And as I understand it - it's not even just a case of making a living at
it - working on gas in anywhere other than your own property, unless
'qualified', is distinctly dodgy.

Consider, for example, of someone working on a public building that may
normally rely on at least some volunteer work - churches etc.

--
*Many people quit looking for work when they find a job *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
tarquinlinbin wrote:
Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

Does it make a difference these days?

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.

I appreciate that CORGI reg is an attempt to maintain some sort of
standard of professionalism but really I think its a rubber stamping
procedure for mediocrity.

I wasn't supporting the law in any way - just making a point.

I wouldn't employ a non CORGI person to work on gas, purely from the
insurance point of view. But I'll happily work on gas in my own house.

--
*We have enough youth, how about a fountain of Smart?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:31:32 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
strung together this:

Well, what the f**k does a 'tradesman' usually do? Work for the hell of it?

Er, I'm a tradesman and I don't make a living at doing gas work.

And as I understand it - it's not even just a case of making a living at
it - working on gas in anywhere other than your own property, unless
'qualified', is distinctly dodgy.

Well quite, I think it's one of those grey areas.
I personally am quite confident at gas work, but I still get the gas
engineer from across the road or my Dad to check it, I'm just like
that.

Consider, for example, of someone working on a public building that may
normally rely on at least some volunteer work - churches etc.

And your point being?
--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
Consider, for example, of someone working on a public building that may
normally rely on at least some volunteer work - churches etc.

And your point being?

Someone with no experience or skills might decide to work on gas in that
sort of building just to be 'helpful'. For no money, or earthly gain. If
others know that you must be qualified to work on gas (apart from in your
own home) they might just stop him.

--
*Am I ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Lurch wrote:
Well, what the f**k does a 'tradesman' usually do? Work for the hell of
it?

Er, I'm a tradesman and I don't make a living at doing gas work.

You're only a tradesman when working at your own trade, FFS. Otherwise
you're an amateur.

--
*If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 13:58:27 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
strung together this:

Someone with no experience or skills might decide to work on gas in that
sort of building just to be 'helpful'. For no money, or earthly gain. If
others know that you must be qualified to work on gas (apart from in your
own home) they might just stop him.

I see what you mean, yes I agree with you. There is this whole
qualified\registered thing again!
--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 13:59:39 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
strung together this:

You're only a tradesman when working at your own trade, FFS. Otherwise
you're an amateur.

I'm still a tradesman, just not in that particular area. Although I
see what you mean.
--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote
| tarquinlinbin wrote:
| Surely they won't be Corgi registered?
| Does it make a difference these days?
| He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
| doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.

Of course, said Polish gasfitter might be registered with whatever the
Polish equivalent of CORGI is[1] and so should, under mutual recognition of
qualifications and free movement of labour within the EU, be allowed to
practice in this country.

Owain


[1] I was thinking POODLE but couldn't come up with a source for the
acronym.

On Sat, 3 Jul 2004 15:21:55 +0100, "Owain"
wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote
| tarquinlinbin wrote:
| Surely they won't be Corgi registered?
| Does it make a difference these days?
| He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
| doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.

Of course, said Polish gasfitter might be registered with whatever the
Polish equivalent of CORGI is[1] and so should, under mutual recognition of
qualifications and free movement of labour within the EU, be allowed to
practice in this country.
CORGSKI

Owain


[1] I was thinking POODLE but couldn't come up with a source for the
acronym.

Change the 900 to 670 in the return email address to reply

In article ,
Owain wrote:
| Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

| Does it make a difference these days?

| He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
| doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.

Of course, said Polish gasfitter might be registered with whatever the
Polish equivalent of CORGI is[1] and so should, under mutual recognition
of qualifications and free movement of labour within the EU, be allowed
to practice in this country.

Ah. It's now a *Polish* gasfitter?;-) T'was but an Eastern European
earlier...

Shortly after I came to London in nineteen hundred and mumble mumble, I
had a bedsit in the family home of a Polish plumber. Quite the best
landlord I ever had, and one of the nicest people I've known, too.

Just thought you'd like to know that. ;-)

--
*Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder...

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote
| Of course, said Polish gasfitter
| Ah. It's now a *Polish* gasfitter?;-) T'was but an Eastern European
| earlier...

Polish schmolish. The original posting had expired off here and I oculdn't
remember.

| Shortly after I came to London in nineteen hundred and mumble mumble,
| I had a bedsit in the family home of a Polish plumber. Quite the best
| landlord I ever had, and one of the nicest people I've known, too.

Yes, but what was his plumbing like?

| Just thought you'd like to know that. ;-)

First flat I lived in after uni, the landlord plumbed the electric shower
into the hot water system, and it shut down if anyone switched the immersion
on. So a choice of warm water and no shower, or cold water and warm shower.

Owain

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:06:49 +0100, tarquinlinbin
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 09:45:59 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:08:10 +0100, tarquinlinbin
wrote:

........... Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

But, as you said, they are as rare as rocket horse "muck". The rest of
us have to take what is available. I wonder just how much
shoddy/rip-off workmanship is covered by that Corgi "badge" of honour?

I totally agree with the inference. CORGI reg is a poor attempt at
upholding standards and registrations,its all weve got I'm afraid. I
just wish Joe and Joanne public would realise that thats all it is,a
registration scheme.
How about half the price of the new gas cooker to have the old hob
merely disconnected (I removed the hob) and the new cooker connected?

If the same guy was doing both jobs at the same time (in the same
visit) it does sound a bit steep.

No, 40 quid on the Tuesday to disconnect the hob, which I then
removed. 80 quid the next day (Wedesday) to connect the new gas
cooker. They were working in the village at the time. Must have cost
them, ooh, all of five minutes to drive to my house. I did query it,
but they said they had to fit a steady chain...

"But you have to have Corgi!!!"

MM

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 21:38:27 +0000, . wrote:




Quote 2 is based on an up market boiler essentially is the same for labour
but are clearly intending to cut a lot of corners on the installation
method, unless their idea of a day's work is 24hours!

One day for a boiler installation is quite common. Its done by more than
one person.

OK it might be possible to sort out all the issues involved with enough
people oon one day. I fear on many sited they would easily get in each
others way.




--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:08:10 +0100, tarquinlinbin wrote:

On 2 Jul 2004 05:13:22 -0700, (cubicsupport)
wrote:

I want to replace my existing floor standing 100000 BTU boiler with a
combi boiler. The boiler is currently located in the garage, with good
access to the work areas. The new combi to be located above it. All
the necessary pipework and wires are within 1 m of the existing unit.
I have received 2 quotes so far:
1) £1450 for a Baxi 105e. The job was going to take 3days?
2) £1850 for Worcester 28. The job was to be completed in 1 day?

None of the above included for the removal of the tank in the boarded
loft.

To me this appears excessive. The quote was from an independant
fitter.
This work is in the Bolton area.

I have tried ringing a larger company, but they are too busy to take
on any more work. Some fitters have come around with a promise of a
quote, which failed to arrive.

Am I being overcharged or what.
My apologies but i must quote my usual rant about people wanting to
buy a mans labour cheaply. It seems that if a man carries a toolbag,he
is less worthy of payment than if he carries a pen or bashes a pc.

It costs money to operate as a gas man/heating installer/whatever.

IMHO speaking as somone with 23 years experience, the quotes are not
excessive.

I would tend to take longer than a day to do this job. Maybe its just
that I'm a slow worker,maybe its because i take more care?.

Good heating installers/gasmen are as rare as rocking horse muck. This
you have already found becuase its even hard to get someone to call
round and quote!.

I have never yet seen a thread on here along the lines of "....my
estate agent/solicitor quoted me £800 to do x/y/z..am i being
over-charged?". This of course is becuase the common perception is
that white collar workers are "professionals",whilst blue collar
workers are thieves/cheats and incompetent.

One thing that really ****es me off is if i quote for a job and the
customer says,well i had a quote from Bert Bodgitt and sons and they
quoted £500 cheaper. I feel all warm inside and just walk away and
advise them to get Bert to do the job then. Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

Sorry to rant,nothing personal.


Yes! I find it annoying when I have quoted at around the going rate to
start haggling. In fact, like you, I just tend to say good bye and leave
them with the thought that since they are selecting on price I hope they
get better than what they pay for.

Most people are however that you returned their call and have the sense to
know when they are not being ripped off.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 16:46:15 +0100, Mike Mitchell wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:06:49 +0100, tarquinlinbin
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 09:45:59 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 04:08:10 +0100, tarquinlinbin
wrote:

........... Good tradesmen dont need
to tout for work or be haggled down.

But, as you said, they are as rare as rocket horse "muck". The rest of
us have to take what is available. I wonder just how much
shoddy/rip-off workmanship is covered by that Corgi "badge" of honour?

I totally agree with the inference. CORGI reg is a poor attempt at
upholding standards and registrations,its all weve got I'm afraid. I
just wish Joe and Joanne public would realise that thats all it is,a
registration scheme.
How about half the price of the new gas cooker to have the old hob
merely disconnected (I removed the hob) and the new cooker connected?

If the same guy was doing both jobs at the same time (in the same
visit) it does sound a bit steep.

No, 40 quid on the Tuesday to disconnect the hob, which I then
removed. 80 quid the next day (Wedesday) to connect the new gas
cooker. They were working in the village at the time. Must have cost
them, ooh, all of five minutes to drive to my house. I did query it,
but they said they had to fit a steady chain...

"But you have to have Corgi!!!"

I tend not to charge a call out but I do have a minimum fee of £40.
I might take a bit less from a _neighbour_ if the job is trivial.

Small jobs are disproportionately expnsive, it's the same for carpentry or
electrics or any of the trades.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 15:21:55 +0100, Owain wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote
| tarquinlinbin wrote:
| Surely they won't be Corgi registered?
| Does it make a difference these days?
| He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
| doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.

Of course, said Polish gasfitter might be registered with whatever the
Polish equivalent of CORGI is[1] and so should, under mutual recognition of
qualifications and free movement of labour within the EU, be allowed to
practice in this country.

I was asked to do some gas work when I was on hols in Germany so I looked
into this. I was not able to find out anything from CORGI or elsewhere.
I was confident I new what I was doing and my german is just good enough
to be able to read the instructions and know what they mean - with a
little help from 'her'. There is no way I would tackle this in Poland.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:03:04 +0100, tarquinlinbin wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 08:28:51 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
tarquinlinbin wrote:
Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

Does it make a difference these days?

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.
I appreciate that CORGI reg is an attempt to maintain some sort of
standard of professionalism but really I think its a rubber stamping
procedure for mediocrity. I speak genrally of course and there are
plenty of gas chaps and ladies who hold very high standards but these
are personal standards and nothing to do with CORGI. There are plenty
of CORGI's who dont even bother to test for gas leaks after doing
work.

....some of whom work for Transco. Although mostly they are the good guys.


I have 23 years experience and I'm not CORGI reg'd yet i could produce
a ring binder full of evidence and certification to clearly
demonstrate competence.
--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

Yes! I find it annoying when I have quoted at around the going rate to
start haggling. In fact, like you, I just tend to say good bye and leave
them with the thought that since they are selecting on price I hope they
get better than what they pay for.

Most people are however that you returned their call and have the sense to
know when they are not being ripped off.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

Had one today, went to see him last week and he spent the whole time
moaning that he couldn't get anyone to quote the work let alone turn up to
see the job, all he could say was that's expensive didn't think it was gonna
be that much. so I told him to have a think and let me know.

reddi-sparks

"Ed Sirett" wrote
| Of course, said Polish gasfitter might be registered with whatever
| the Polish equivalent of CORGI is[1] and so should, under mutual
| recognition of qualifications and free movement of labour within
| the EU, be allowed to practice in this country.
| I was asked to do some gas work when I was on hols in Germany so I looked
| into this. I was not able to find out anything from CORGI or elsewhere.
| I was confident I new what I was doing and my german is just good enough
| to be able to read the instructions and know what they mean - with a
| little help from 'her'. There is no way I would tackle this in Poland.

That's because you speak a little German and less Polish :-) It's no reason
for a Polish person not to work in Britain, if they speak good enough
English.

If it's a decent combi boiler the instructions will probably be in German
anyway.

Owain

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 19:52:59 +0100, "Ed Sirett"
wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 11:03:04 +0100, tarquinlinbin wrote:

On Sat, 03 Jul 2004 08:28:51 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
tarquinlinbin wrote:
Surely they won't be Corgi registered?

Does it make a difference these days?

He'd be breaking the law by working on gas - and therefore probably
doesn't bother with insurance etc either. Or, of course, pay tax.
I appreciate that CORGI reg is an attempt to maintain some sort of
standard of professionalism but really I think its a rubber stamping
procedure for mediocrity. I speak genrally of course and there are
plenty of gas chaps and ladies who hold very high standards but these
are personal standards and nothing to do with CORGI. There are plenty
of CORGI's who dont even bother to test for gas leaks after doing
work.

...some of whom work for Transco. Although mostly they are the good guys.

Hmm,but i think the difference here is basic human error(something
which is sometimes unavoidable)and
indifference,arrogance,wrecklessness and incompetence. Transco really
is the pantie liner on the arse of the gas industry. There is enough
chaos now,with more to come,but without Transco,there would be more
death and distruction.


I have 23 years experience and I'm not CORGI reg'd yet i could produce
a ring binder full of evidence and certification to clearly
demonstrate competence.

Change the 900 to 670 in the return email address to reply

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 13:57:59 +0100, Owain wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote
| Of course, said Polish gasfitter might be registered with whatever
| the Polish equivalent of CORGI is[1] and so should, under mutual
| recognition of qualifications and free movement of labour within
| the EU, be allowed to practice in this country.
| I was asked to do some gas work when I was on hols in Germany so I looked
| into this. I was not able to find out anything from CORGI or elsewhere.
| I was confident I new what I was doing and my german is just good enough
| to be able to read the instructions and know what they mean - with a
| little help from 'her'. There is no way I would tackle this in Poland.

That's because you speak a little German and less Polish :-) It's no reason
for a Polish person not to work in Britain, if they speak good enough
English.

If it's a decent combi boiler the instructions will probably be in German
anyway.

I have no idea if there are reciprocal agreements over gas fitting regs.
If there are and there English is good enough I have no objection.

It seems that gas app. manufactuers seem to make stuff that's specific
to GB+IE

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html