Advice please?

[questions]

Hi all,
We have been having some difficulties with some work done at our house. The plumbing was completely replaced from scratch, going with what the plumber recommended. The downstairs ceilings are down for the work to be done.

The installation seemed ok, after a week we turned the boiler off for a while. Then the leaks started, while it was off. Several compression joints were dripping at varying rates.

The plumber has been back out 4 times and has adjusted things and even replaced some pipes and fittings entirely. We still have leaks, often when the system temperature changes, just dripping. He says the system has been pressure tested to 3.5 bar and he doesn't understand why it is leaking when the pressure test was fine, and has never had this problem before.

The consistent problems are worrying me- as once the ceilings go back up this system will not be accessible from above or below without taking the ceilings down again. However, we need to get the ceiling back up as we cannot plaster the rest of downstairs until this is done. This has been going on for some time now and will soon mean that we have to delay other tradesmen who are booked in.

The plumber advised using plastic- but I am beginning to think after reading some things on here, that this is a bad idea as it will be inaccessible. Should I be asking him to entirely replace with copper?

Is it likely that the materials he has used are at fault- he says they are all from the same batch?

What would you all recommend doing from here? Thoughts/ideas?

Thanks in advance...

 

[SimonG]

Any piccies?

 

[Mike Jackson]

Pictures would be helpful. Properly installed, good quality, plastic shouldn't be a problem.

 

[questions]

These pictures are fairly rubbish, sorry, I'm just trying to find some better ones. Please let me know what sort of photos would be useful- I can take some tomorrow.

 

[lame plumber]

probably hasnt used any inserts!

just seen the phots, doesnt look well planned re layout and mixed make fittings doesnt help a few pipe clips wouldnt be amiss

 

[questions]

Thanks Mike, our plumber reckons he is buying good quality parts, he says the ones he uses are expensive. He has sent some of the problem parts to be tested.

 

[questions]

Lame plumber, what do you mean by inserts (spot the non-plumber here!)

 

[SimonG]

That is not the work of a plumber. Looks a bit of a mix and match of fittings and too many fittings for my liking. That's probably where your problem lies. 3.5 bar is not a sufficient enough test.

 

[lame plumber]

speedfit fit needs pressurising up to 10 bar to ensure the grab ring has secured properly over an hour iaw the mfis, so i expect most makes need similar. inserts are fitting pushed into the cut end to support the pipe for the fittings to secure to properly. If I use plastic. I like to keep fittings to aminimum as theres less chance of leaks especially if your making them inaccessible.

 

[questions]

Thank you very much for your advice. So what do you suggest I do next/ask the plumber to do? Re-test to 10 bar? Replace some/all? Stick with the plastic just re-done, or use copper?
I have a couple of clearer photos I can upload if they would be any use, just need to get them off my phone.

 

[questions]

Could someone explain the mixed make problem for me?

 

[Rickster123]

Thank you very much for your advice. So what do you suggest I do next/ask the plumber to do? Re-test to 10 bar? Replace some/all? Stick with the plastic just re-done, or use copper?
I have a couple of clearer photos I can upload if they would be any use, just need to get them off my phone.

the more photos the better. We love a pic on here!

 

[SimonG]

Nothing wrong with plastic if the person installing it knows what they are doing. It looks like your 'plumber' doesn't. With all of them fittings it was probably more expensive to install than copper would have been.

 

[josh]

hmmm, nice..

 

[SimonG]

Could someone explain the mixed make problem for me?

You have what look like Hep2O, Speedfit and compression fittings. To me it looks like somebody was just using up what they had left over. The pipes are supposed to be inserted at 90 degreees and won't tolerate a lot of misalignment. There's one or two fittings that look as though they are just waiting to leak. Plastic moves a lot when it heats up and cools down. As the pipes are moving they seem to be putting undue stress on the fittings and leaking.

 

[lame plumber]

if you get a leak down the line which firm will be responsible Hep (grey fittings) or Speedfit (white pipe)? So mixing makes isnt good. problem with trying to do everything right now you have been using it is are you going to dismantle and check every fitting to check for damage if its been moving down the pipe and sctratching it on the way or is it better to put it in new properly and only you and your plumber can make that choice. I wouldnt be putting my ceiling up yet

 

[questions]

More pics...

 

[questions]

Thank you all for the advice. I will have to discuss this with him tomorrow. To be honest I don't trust what is in at the moment- I can see the ceiling having to come down in the near future if we leave it as it is and put them up, even if the leaks appear to have stopped. This is the latest in a string of issues so I'm wondering whether I should cut my losses and get someone else, or see if this guy will sort it out?!

 

[Guest123]

Some call me old school but I don't care as I don't get leaks and in inaccessible areas like that my installation would always be copper and soldered fittings.

Sorry but from your photos, that looks like a diy job.

 

[questions]

System3- I may take offence to that as I reckon the boyfriend would have done a better job if we'd gone DIY! Ha ha!