Plumbing Problems

As part of a bathroom makeover, a pump has been fitted by the plumber and contrary to the Manufacturers Installation Instructions, the pump has been fitted using 15mm instead of 22mm piping throughout; isolating service valves have not been installed; the method used to connect the pump to the hotwater cylinder is not an approved method; none of the pipes have been secured in any way bar the use of insulating tape; the pipework has not been insulated; the feed pipe to the tank has been positioned about 40mm above a the feed to the hot water cylinder when it should have been position a minimum of 25mm below that feed. Finally the pipework has not been routed to avoid electrics.
The Pump Manufacturer's Customer support Co-ordinator stated on the phone that I should get a new plumber and that the installation was "unbelievable". In an e-mail he said regarding the above complaints: "Yes you're correct. Cant really detail shortfalls individually and there could be others that are missing. What I would suggest is ask your fitter to read, digest installation booklet and make adjustments to correct installation. They also confirmed that should anything go wrong with the pump then, given the non-compliance with the Installation Instructions, the guarantee would be null and void.
In addition, the 'flush against the wall' toilet and cistern is not 'flush against the wall' because the wall is out of plumb and there is a 5-6mm gap between the cistern and pan.
When the fitter installed the bath he did not measure for the height of the panel and the result is that the panel is too narrow and he has filled the gap at the bottom with mastic. Result? Panel is a fixture and cant be removed without the possibility of damage.
The glass shower panel allows water to escape and the floor gets drenched during a shower.
The towel warmer has been attached to the old radiator pipes which are 75mm apart. The problem here is that the towel warmer's inlet and outlet are 55mm apart. Also the wall fixing have been measured according to instructions, but, because the pipes are out of line cosmetic screw covers are not symmetrical.
The sink is ok.

Sink ws not ok!!!!!! The pedestal was free-standing and there were no screws fitted to secure the sink. It was supported by the taps, the drain and the mastic.

Witch consumer said:

Have you got anywhere with this?

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Yes. Refused to have the plumber back in the house and insisted on a SNIPEF registered plumber. He came in last week and has rectified most of the faults and will be coming back next week to finish off.All of the pipework and the fittings have been replaced with copper and insulated. Working to a very high standard!!

Shop has refused to supply a new toilet and cistern and they now have a letter from me stating that I intend to buy a new toilet and cistern and have them fitted at their expense by deducting the costs from the balance due.

In the meantime, Trading Standards have become involved because it turns out that the toilet and cistern installed are not those listed in the supply and fit estimate. I only discovered this today and was down to TS like a bullet.

Can I 'name and shame' the contracter involved? After all the guy, for whatever reason, decided to stitch me up and just threw the new bathroom in as cheap as chips. Most of the work has now been rectified but I feel that despite the claim that mine was the first complaint in 25 years of trading, there must be many customers out there who have had the same poor workmanship but just dont know it.

Weaver2 said:

In the meantime, Trading Standards have become involved because it turns out that the toilet and cistern installed are not those listed in the supply and fit estimate. I only discovered this today and was down to TS like a bullet.

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Re the quote from reply No5, I was mistaken because there are 2 back to the wall toilets and cisterns from different companies, and I was looking at the wrong one. This just not change my complaint because a back to the wall t & c was no use because the wall wasn't plumb.

Would like to post images of some of the work but have only made 7 posts. Can I post a couple of flippant ones to reach the required 10?

Things are moving on. The plumbers haven't been back but the bill for the balance has arrived.

Should have said that I am about to make a claim under Section 75. Have written the letter but giving it a thought for a couple of days before posting.

Will add details of photos later.

In my 8.13pm reply,the top image shows that the cistern feed is too close to the pan. The reason for this is that the fitter put the feed in place before checking out the toilet type ie he didn't know that it was a back to the wall toiet and cistern.
The second photo shows the gap between the cistern and the toilet which has turned out to be most unhygeinic.
In the third image, all pipework should have been 22mm, a service valve should have been fitted below the T in the plastic pipe and the pipework should have been clipped.

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In the top photo of the 8.11 reply:
the white plastic pipes should have been 22mm, insulated, clipped and supported:
in the second photo the lack of care and skill is obvious;
in the thrid the pipework is much too close to the electrics, and in the last photo we have an illustration of so called professional plumbing that most DIY beginners would be ashamed of;

This is one of my favourites. Who would have thought that a man claiming to be a fully trained and qualified plumber with 25 years experience, would even think of installing pipework like this, let alone actually doing it? I am, of course, talking about the white plastic pipe!

Just an update. I have just sent a 3 page letter with one of each of the 3 botttom photos in my reply of 08.11, printed on the back. They look great!

Question: How can a reply be posted at 08.11 PM

Quote from their website - “We've developed an esteemed reputation ......... for our quality service and attention to detail ”.
Looking at the photographs below, would you agree with the above quote?

Kings Kitchens and Bathrooms, Inverurie - A Word of Caution

THE COMPLETE ONLINE REVIEW:

After entering into a contract for a bathroom makeover earlier this year, when proprietor himself arrived to do the job himself, I thought that my bathroom makeover would be exemplary. I was so wrong! A week later when he had finished, I discovered that the installation was so bad that I refused to have him back in the house and insisted that a SNIPEF registered plumber be called in to rectify the many, many faults. These included the failure to fit service valves,clips, pipe supports or pipe insulation, a sink that wasn’t screwed to the wall, a sink pedestal that was completely free-standing without any fixings whatsoever, out of alignment pipework for a towel warmer, a bath that took forever to empty and made loud clunking noises in the sink when it was being emptied, insulating tape used instead of clips to secure pipework, a flush-to the-wall toilet system which was not ‘flush’ because the fitter installed it knowing that the wall was out of plumb, a failure to follow manufacturer’s instructions when installing a pump, so much so that the entire pump installation had to be dismantled and re-installed by another plumber, and a contravention of the Scottish Water Byelaws 2004, namely:
• the installation of pipework which was not adequately supported or clipped
• the installation of pipework which was not adequately insulated to protect against heat or frost;
• the failure to fit isolating or servicing valves to pipe work where necessary.

I got a letter from Kings stating that as per my request, my snagging list had been passed to another plumber and I checked to see that they were SNIPEF registered. They were. The new plumber did a great job of correcting many, but not all of the faults and the situation now is that Kings bill has been settled but there is still a fair bit of work outstanding. They haven’t appeared back in seven months.
There were, and are, other problems which are not listed above but all have been captured on camera and it is fair to say that everyone who has seen the photographs has been shocked at the poor workmanship. I did ask Mr King directly, if he was a fully qualified plumber and he replied that he was. Why then, would a fully trained and qualified plumber almost completely botch a bathroom makeover, ‘forget’ to fit service valves, clips and pipe supports in contravention of Scottish Water Byelaws and be unaware that the same Byelaws require that pipework must be adequately insulated to protect against heat or frost? I don’t know why Kings, for the sake of cost cutting, expediency or whatever, decided not to carry out the work in my home in a workmanlike manner or with due care and attention. I hope and trust that my age didn’t have anything to do with his decision. What I do know is that, as a result of my experience, I could never recommend Kings Kitchens and Bathrooms? Choosing them in the first place was the worst decision I have ever made.

Quote (Kings website) - "We've developed an esteemed reputation throughout Aberdeenshirfor our quality service and attention to detail".
Looking at the photographs in the posts below, would you agree with that quote?

Key To Photographs in post number 14:

1 Cistern feed too close to toilet pan.
2 Unhygienic gap between pan and cistern.
3 Plastic fitting has broken earthing/bonding continuity. To re-instate that continuity, an earth wire should have been bridged between the 2 copper pipe ends.
4 Plastic pipe unsupported and uninsulated.
5 The plastic pipes not only blocked the inspection cover but one of then was actually hard against the 13Amp socket switch.