Spinny

So I have: 1/ Downstairs rads piped with press fit connectors 2/ Upstairs rads piped with copper Two downstairs rads won heat up properly. Impossible to achieve all 4 rads up to temp. Plumber failed to solve by rebalancing twice. On 3rd visit he has tried to con me by turning up the boiler temp to 65 when I wasn’t looking. Upstairs rads now reach 64 and pretty scalding hot. Press fit connectors/pipe clearly restrict flow and are crap. Now a major problem as floors will need to be destructively removed. I also have flow problems on the UVC where the pressure falls from 3bar to 1.4bar when a tap is turned on. This despite supply being 3.5bar and 20l/m. Again supply is linked to cylinder via 25mm MLC pipe and press fit connectors. Again the connectors must be choking off the flow with their restricted bore. Press fit inc MLC pipe is not fit for purpose (perhaps unless oversized). Is there any way to connect this pipe without using press fit restricted bore connectors ?

He has fitted one tundish which is the black one directly above the trap in the photos. Here it is in close up in another pic. Tundish not easy to keep an eye on tucked behind the cylinder when it could have been further forward. Also wondering if there should be 2 separate tundishes, one below each valve so you can see which one has opened ? He has plastic waste pipe below the trap which runs across under the floor into a drain pipe - as per final photo. Is there a way I can tell if the pipe is OK for 95C water ? As I understand some plastic pipe is OK for high temp and some not. It is going to be big problem to put a new pipe under the floor now as it is glued & screwed down with u/floor heating pipe in it !

Any feedback on the last post and photos please ? Is this tundish plumbing compliant to regs and acceptable ? ta

This is what the plumber has done to install the tundish he had failed to install below. Does this meet regs ?

The problem with builders is you don’t know what instructions they dictate to the tradesperson, or on what basis they employ them. I suspect the builder would instruct that no way is he lifting floors or replacing pipe. In other cases I suspect builder is using job and knock etc. Found out too late, Never, ever, ever, employ a builder. Their objectives are to screw maximum profit out for themselves. It isn’t their house so cheap materials, slap dash and hidden bodges are what they want. Every shortcut is more money for them. Cheaper tradespeople make them more money, you still pay the same for shoddy work.

It’s the builders plumber and like most of the builders tradespeople is crap. I am 80 weeks into a 22 week single storey extension build. The problem is if I don’t keep holding the builder accountable for fixing most of his constant screw ups then I end up paying twice over. Still waiting on other plumber quotes and new pipes will mean taking glued & screwed floors up again. I am trapped in a living hell.

He hasn’t done a calculation since he left school. He is bullshitting me about G3, rarely turns up, leaves me with no heating for a whole winter, no sink, no w/machine for 14 months & counting. 2 leaks from his pipework, stole the old copper cylinder and pipes, radiators don’t heat up properly, lousy water flow. Best thing would be to pull his fingernails out and drill holes in his teeth.

FFS Why should I have to do the plumbers job for him ? Why am I paying him ?

Plumber has just left a crimped join end exposed on the plumbing he is doing in my build. Photo attached. Measurements show that the external diameter of the connector is about 14mm and the internal diameter is 12mm (this is a connector on 16mm MLC pipe.) However as can be seen in the photo at the position of the pressed connector the internal bore is severely reduced - down to approximately 6.5mm internal bore. This is making me angry. How can this in any way be equivalent to 15mm copper pipe with an internal bore of around 13.5mm ? It is restricted to 6.5mm at every connection !? How can this be acceptable ?

OK I see. Thanks. I guess that is another possible option - get myself G3 certified and then certify the work the non G3 plumber has done. Id be ok with the theory but I guess there is a practical element or a need to already be a qualified plumber first. So not viable for me.

Why would they inspect if you are G3 and gas safe certified ?

And if they claim their gas safe card hasn’t been updated yet ? As I understand it if you complete and pass a G3 accreditation training course then you are issued with a specific G3 photo ID card. So some plumbers may carry both cards, but others just carry their gas safe card if it has been updated to include their G3 approval. Perhaps someone who has done the course can confirm ?

Well for a gas safe plumber I understand their G3 status gets recorded on the gas safe register. Although when I try to search for plumbers with G3 on the register there don’t seem to be any in my major city ?!? (But perhaps that is just a problem with the gas safe search function?) if a plumber won’t show you a separate G3 accreditation ID card, how do you definitively establish they don’t have G3 ? (other than simply waiting forever for a G3 regs certificate which never comes and never being able to get the build approved by building control as a result) Presumably if reported to gas safe they would get struck off for being a lying **** . But then you would end up with no G3 and no gas safe either.

I don’t see uncertified as an option… - Stops BC signing off the build - Invalidates insurance - An issue if selling the property - unethical & ‘illegal’ why are manufacturers allowed to sell unvented cylinders to non G3 plumbers ? oddly cylinder manufacturers run systems to trigger gas safe and g3 certification when the plumber registers the install/warranty. But surely they should check the plumber for G3 at point of sale, not post install.

Hypothetically, If a plumber installed an unvented cylinder without holding a current G3 certification, how would this need to be resolved to get the unvented cylinder install certified as G3 building regs compliant ? And what would be the warranty situation ?

Please can someone confirm arrangements re plumber photo id etc… Plumber has a Gas Safe photo ID card. Should he have a separate photo ID card for G3 certification ? Or should G3 certification be recorded on the Gas Safe Card itself ? (Plumber is claiming he has done G3 but not yet recorded on his gas safe card ? How do I check this ?)

I did wonder whether to look for hollow blocks (200mm deep?) and then have the posts run down through the centre of the blocks and into the ground ? Sounds like you resin bolted the posts to the blocks at the top of the wall using angle brackets ? Ideally I don’t want the wall-fence to be too thick. A normal fence is only 100mm square posts but this has to retain the soil.

That’s why I need it to look good with some decent blocks for the wall - any suggestions ? probably won’t be 9ft anyway - maybe 8ft - or even 7 where his patio is raised up. TBH could be very nice with some roses or espalier fruit etc grown on his side.

Yes it is on a hill, hence the retaining wall, fence will be 2m on my side. I am quite sure the neighbour doesn’t want me peering over a 3 ft fence on my side into his garden and it is North side so no impact on his sun.

How would people suggest building a retaining wall about 70cm high with a 5-6 foot fence on top ? Blocks need to look good on the neighbours side (low side). Is it better to run wooden posts down through the wall rather than somehow fix to the top of the wall. (Given wind load etc) drainage ?

Heatmiser do a wireless thermostat - the Neo air that is battery powered and wireless and connects to the Heatmiser hub. You could swap that in to control that zone. Another option could be the remote Heatmiser wireless air sensor but I see some reviews say it may not be very accurate. You could also try taking the floor temperature using an infrared gun thermometer - lots available on Amazon. There are also thermal cameras including ones that plug into mobile phones depending how much you want to spend. (Not going to solve anything directly just give you more data.) Another idea might be some kind of space heater that you could plug in and get Smart Control over that you then run automatically as a top up when the outside temp is very low.

Reckon one pipe is about 95m, the other about 60m.

UFH in 120mm concrete slab. Two pipe runs in one room/one zone. How accurate are mixing valve dials - are the temp markings on the dial arbitrary or do they accurately reflect the actual temp of the mixed water ? And what flow rate would people recommend and how would you optimise it ? (presumably if flow rate is too low the heat dissipates in the first half of the pipe leaving the far end cooler?)