Yet Another Plumbing and Heating engineer

I'm John, I live in the University area of Reading (RG1, Berkshire, UK) and I do domestic plumbing, heating, electrical and property maintenance work. I aim to offer a friendly, courteous and competent service to householders and landlords in the area. You can contact me by email: wibble@yaph.co.uk or phone 0780 866 8204

What I do

I concentrate mainly on Plumbing and Heating. "Heating" means gas: I'm Gas Safe (formerly CORGI) registered to work on domestic cookers, gas fires, water heaters and central heating boilers that run on natural gas. (I am also a member of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering.)

The range of work I do includes:

changing washers on, or replacing, taps on sinks, basins and baths,
repairing or replacing cistern valves on tanks and WCs,
replacing (or restoring) sinks, baths, WCs and basins,
installing outside taps,
fitting water filters and scale inhibitors,
unblocking waste pipes and drains,
installing showers,
replacing immersion heaters and hot water cylinders,
fitting Thermostatic Mixing Valves (TMVs) to baths, basins etc to make hot water temperature comfortable and prevent scalding,
diagnosing problems on, and repairing, central heating systems and boilers,
"powerflushing" central heating systems,
fitting Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) to radiators,
upgrading Central Heating controls, e.g. fitting Programmable Thermostats to systems,
changing radiators and extending central heating systems,
installing under-floor heating,
installing or replacing boilers,
integrating wood-burning stoves with conventional heating systems,
advising on and installing Heat Bank/Thermal Store systems for mains-pressure hot water,
installing gas cookers and hobs,
Landlords' Gas Safety inspections and certificates.

I'm also interested in out-of-the-ordinary projects (not all of which I claim particular expertise in) such as:

air-source, ground-source (and maybe even river-source) heat pumps for heating (and possibly summer cooling) and hot water,
thermal store/heat-bank based heating and hot water systems (including off-peak all-electric systems with radiators or underfloor heating and providing mains-pressure hot water),
wet rooms,
low energy buildings,
rainwater harvesting, grey water recycling, reed beds and ponds.

Things I don't do include:

installing whole new central heating systems (this usually involves too much work for me to do on my own in a reasonable timescale - though I am happy to help if someone else is supplying some labour for example fitting radiators and helping to install pipework)
installing kitchens or bathrooms (though I will do the plumbing work if someone else is doing the tiling, carpentry, fitting units etc.)
work on unvented hot water cylinders (e.g. "Megaflo" units). These require a particular qualification I do not have.
work on oil-fired or LPG (bottled or "Calor" gas) systems. These also require qualifications I do not have.
installing or working on:
- Agas, Rayburns and ranges of the type that provide hot water and even central heating
- gas tumble dryers
- gas-fired warm-air central heating systems
(these all require specific gas-appliance qualifications I don't have: I can work on other parts of systems containing these appliances but I am not allowed to work on the appliances themselves, even to do a Landlord's Gas Safety Inspection).
installing or working on flueless gas fires (the sort that don't go in a fireplace or have a flue through a wall to outside). Although I am qualified to do so I have reservations about the safety and efficiency of these appliances.
installing solar water heating (there are usually better ways of improving energy consumption for the same amount of money).
dealing with blockages and other problems in main drains underground (I don't have the equipment which specialist drain-cleaning firms have for this).

Electrics

I am also qualified to do Electrical work. I generally only do electrical work connected to Plumbing and Heating jobs, so that I can offer a complete service for work such as fitting shower pumps, immersion heaters, central heating controls, dual-fuel cookers or gas hobs + electric ovens, etc. Sometimes I do minor electrical works such as changing socket outlets, adding sockets to a circuit, changing light fittings etc.

For purely electrical jobs, and for more extensive work such as rewiring, replacing a consumer unit, wiring up an extension, Periodic Electrical Inspections etc, I can recommend electricians such as Red Kite Electrical.

Odd jobs

In addition to the above I do various other 'handyman'-type jobs if the need arises. These may include small areas of tiling, some carpentry, painting and so on. Generally I only do this sort of work where it's related to plumbing jobs (e.g. making good when installing a shower or boiler) or for landlords where they want one person who can carry out various tasks.

I do domestic work: that's in people's houses. Sometimes I work in small shops, offices or schools. I don't work on building sites (except extensions to people's houses).

And I work for myself: I'm self-employed, a sole trader, a one-man band!

Where I work

I specialise in Plumbing and Heating rather than driving(!) so I generally work within urban Reading, preferably near the University area where I live. That's not just because it's environmentally unfriendly driving all over the place, but because if it takes me half an hour to get to a job that adds up to an hour out of my day during which I'm working but not getting paid for it. And if I have to go back to adjust a valve or tighten a joint that's weeping slightly or whatever ....

What I charge

I charge nothing for visits to look over a job or time spent where I was unable to fix a problem ("no win no fee") unless I have warned you that I may not be able to (e.g. some intermittent problems).

Generally I charge £60 for the first hour's work and £40 an hour after that. I charge for the hours I actually work, not for my break times. If I have to go off to get special parts (e.g. for a boiler) I will charge for my time doing so. I keep most regular plumbing fittings in my van so I can do most regular jobs using what I carry.

If I am called out during an evening or weekend I will generally charge more (although if a job I started during the daytime runs into an evening I don't usually charge extra for that).

I charge for common materials (pipe fittings etc) at the sort of prices you would pay in B&Q, and for specialised parts (e.g. boiler spares) at cost.

For bigger jobs e.g. boiler replacements I will on request give an estimate of the likely cost. I don't generally give quotes because:

if I qualify the quote with exceptions (e.g. "if the existing pipework under the floor turns out not to be re-usable it will have to be replaced at extra cost") then the final price is not fixed, any more than it would be with an estimate; or
if I do give a fixed-price quote I have to inflate it to cover such eventualities.

I am not registered for VAT, so the prices I charge are what you pay: there isn't VAT on top.

Warranties and Insurance

If there are any problems with a job I've done I will come back and fix it for no extra charge where it was my workmanship or choice of materials that caused the problem, within a reasonable period. With items such as boilers and showers that carry a manufacturer's warranty I'll do my best to help you get satisfaction from the manufacturer.

In addition my work is covered by an insurance-backed warranty which covers it if I am unable to do so (through incapacity or whatever).

I also have £2M public liability insurance.

FAQ

Some of the things I find myself trying to explain to people from time to time:

Types of central heating boilers: condensing, combi, "sealed systems" etc
Types of Hot Water Systems: conventional tank in roof, "Megaflo", combi boilers etc (see also my vented and unvented HW systems page)
Showers: gravity-fed, pumped, "power showers" - separate pump or all-in-one unit on wall etc
Central Heating Problems: fault-finding

DIY-ers may be interested in other articles in the uk.d-i-y wiki, and should also read this article.

Contact me

You can contact me by email: wibble@yaph.co.uk or phone 0780 866 8204