I have a small domestic plumbing job at my flat in SE1 (fixing a broken tap) - can anyone recommend a good, reliable plumber that will travel to the area?
I have called some of the numbers recommended previously on the SE1 forum and they do not take on small jobs like this.
After similar head scratching we settled for Pimlico Plumbers - the charging schedule is very clearly defined and so disputes less likely. HOWEVER, since you mention taps...I got PP in to fix the fact that my HOT tap had taken to dribbling COLD water. Plumber told me on arrival my tap was full of limescale, limiting water flow, meaning combi boiler not firing up as it should and thereby not generating hot water. He took the tap apart and soaked it in descaler - voila. He apologised profusely for the fact I had to pay for min. 1 hour for a five minute job and offered to look at any other plumbing related jobs while he was there to make up for it. It's the easy option IF you think your job is straightforward.
My experience is that PP can be variable and expensive. However if you have water gushing out in the middle of the night or need someone urgently, it is worth paying whatever it takes.
For jobs that can be scheduled in I often use Blue Plumbing who are a Waterloo based family firm, following an earlier Forum recommendation. 020 7401 3416. I have found them to be reliable and trustworthy, and certainly for minor jobs often half the price of PP.
Just curious - what price per hour should one expect to pay for a plumber? If you can say whether it's ex or inc vat please, so I know what to expect to pay.
It sounds a lot but if I get away with £70ph I think I am doing well. It really has to go above £120ph before I get shocked.
Many plumbers - and builders - live an hour of more out of London, and so you have to factor in the cost of two hours journey time. Plus congestion charge and parking and journey time between jobs. Plumbers, or at least the ones who deal with boilers, need CORGI registration which is amazingly expensive.
If you have a job that can wait, it is worth doing in the summer. Then you can get fixed price quotes, hopefully from people who will want steady work outside the peak season. Another way that can bring bills down, especially if like me you need to have annual landlord certificates, is by giving a trusted plumber the keys so he can go in whilst passing rather than making a special journey.
I used blue plumbing on the recommendation of this forum and I do not think they provided value for money. They took £70 for a new fan for the boiler and didn't return for nearly three weeks. In the meantime I got in another plumber who fixed the problem - it wasn't even caused by a faulty fan. Now all blue plumbers will do for me is give me the fan which they bought with my money. A waste of £70.
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