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Phone rings - 'Hi, can you come and replace our bath taps, we want a bath/shower mixer thingy. We also have a leak under our kitchen sink. How much will it be?'
Me - 'Usually Ā£60 plus VAT for the first hour which is normally enough to sort both of those out.'
I get there with the apprentice. Turns out to be the original taps on an old cast iron bath. The brass backing nuts have seized onto the cast iron bath so well that nothing, and I mean nothing is getting them off. Only option is to angle grind off the taps and knock them through as there is no room to get the angle grinder underneath the bath. I explain to the customer that there is a good chance this could damage the bath. Customer understandably doesn't want to risk it as they are having the bathroom replaced next year.
Thus no pay there today.
Leaking kitchen sink waste, cheap imported sink with non-standard fittings underneath, has been bodged already. No standard pipe or trap can be inserted into the leaking outlet to repair the leak. Tried some plumbers gold, not very confident it is going to stop the leak so didn't charge any labour at all this evening.
Potentially out of this I may have a sink replacement and a bathroom install but there's a good chance I've wasted 2 hours completely tonight. All for what would have been probably Ā£30 profit normally!
Me - 'Usually Ā£60 plus VAT for the first hour which is normally enough to sort both of those out.'
I get there with the apprentice. Turns out to be the original taps on an old cast iron bath. The brass backing nuts have seized onto the cast iron bath so well that nothing, and I mean nothing is getting them off. Only option is to angle grind off the taps and knock them through as there is no room to get the angle grinder underneath the bath. I explain to the customer that there is a good chance this could damage the bath. Customer understandably doesn't want to risk it as they are having the bathroom replaced next year.
Thus no pay there today.
Leaking kitchen sink waste, cheap imported sink with non-standard fittings underneath, has been bodged already. No standard pipe or trap can be inserted into the leaking outlet to repair the leak. Tried some plumbers gold, not very confident it is going to stop the leak so didn't charge any labour at all this evening.
Potentially out of this I may have a sink replacement and a bathroom install but there's a good chance I've wasted 2 hours completely tonight. All for what would have been probably Ā£30 profit normally!
