Over 3 mins to get hot water in kitchen - is this normal?

[LCV]

Hi,

My family have just moved back in from a house renovation just before the Easter bank holiday. When I turned on the tap in the kitchen to wash up and it takes over 3 mins before the water was hot enough to wash up. I had a large kitchen sink put in and I managed to fill that up with cold water which I had to then drain away to replace it with the hot water. It would have been faster (and used less water) if I had boiled the kettle for the hot water. I now wash my hands with cold water after I have used the toilet because it takes so long and as a family so much water is wasted while we wait for it to be hot enough to bathe and shower.

I feel concerned. Is this normal? Before the renovation I did not have to wait long to get hot water to all my taps.

We had a Vaillant system boiler with a 250L indirect hot water cylinder put in. The previous combi boiler was moved from the kitchen to the Utility room. The kitchen is at the front of the house while the Utility room is at the back of the house on the same floor. The previous house was over 3 floors with 2 bathrooms and a loft conversion has taken it to 4 floors and 3 bathrooms. We were told that we would have to wait up to a minute to get hot water in the loft which we said we were fine with but it is actually a lot longer than that and we certainly did not expect the rest of the house to be affected in this way.

I will go back to the plumber to discuss but wanted to get your views and advice first. I am really hoping the problem is to do with a setting on the boiler.

Thanks!

 

[LCV]

We have actually spent all our life savings renovating the house. That is why I feel so upset this has happened. I woke up feeling completely depressed today.

I don't even understand how this could have happened. I did my reference checks and visited two of their previous clients whose houses were much bigger than mine and their renovation more complicated and they couldn't praise the builder and team highly enough. Their other client I spoke with was an Architect and the renovation on his house won them a very prestigious award. They had new heating and hot water systems put in.

I actually feel cursed. Sorry just feel upset about the situation. I spoke with Mak yesterday and he said the only solution is to have a secondary return put in. I have no idea whether they would agree to it and I can't bear the thought of moving out again living out of boxes and seeing my house being smashed up when we have just moved back in. It was May 2015 when works started on the house.

 

[rpm]

must be one bloody big house to have a sprinkler system fitted you sure you dont mean fire alarms?

Please keep the thread on topic Shaun, we are now over 100 posts and nowhere further forward than post #1 for crying out loud.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Please keep the thread on topic Shaun, we are now over 100 posts and nowhere further forward than post #1 for crying out loud.

you wont get any further until she gets a g3 eng out to check the system mate sorry to say

 

[rpm]

you wont get any further until she gets a g3 eng out to check the system mate sorry to say

Wish somebody had told her that before, a long time before tbh.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Wish somebody had told her that before, a long time before tbh.

post 24 and 33 etc

 

[LCV]

What is a G3 engineer and how do you check if someone at that level?

 

[Riley]

post 23 mate

That's yonks ago mate :smile:

 

[rpm]

post 24 and 33 etc

And your still talking about it? !!!

 

[Riley]

G3 means that they are qualified in working in domestic hot water in your instance the ability to work on and install invented hot water cylinders. One would hope that your plumber was otherwise you could have a bomb waiting to go off in your utility room. Not wanting to put the frighteners on but it's true. Most will have a card, often if they are gas safe then they will have it on their gas safe account

 

[rpm]

That's yonks ago mate :smile:

Many, many yonks ago.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

they should have a card with the words unvented cylinders

 

[LCV]

He has never given or shown me a card but I think he is gas safe registered because he made the connection for my gas cooker. I will look him up on the gas safe register and find out.
Thanks!

 

[Howsie]

...Desn't speak great English so we don't really understand what he is saying.
View attachment 25921

I doubt very much that he's a qualified plumber, in fact I'd be willing to lay money on it. Total shambles.

 

[Gray0689]

What floor is your hot water cylinder on

 

[Riley]

So is he gas safe?

 

[LCV]

the hot water cylinder is on the ground floor in the utility room with the boiler.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

the hot water cylinder is on the ground floor in the utility room with the boiler.

any luck with finding out if hes qualified/ registered ? if you can find any info on him have a look in the boiler manufactures instructions (servicing/ commission) in the back hes details and gas safe no should be there if hes gas safe,

if not call gas safe out and ask them to have a look at the install

 

[LCV]

I only know the builder's team so electrician, plumber, carpenter, tiler etc on a first name basis. From the replies here I know he needs to provide me with paperwork for me to submit to building regs so he must have to put down his full details on that.

Also, does he need to provide me with a plan showing the layout of the pipework?

 

[LCV]

Hi Shaun - erm the back of the boiler manual is blank. Is this the paperwork that he is meant to provide me with? perhaps he forgot to do that or I need to ask him to complete it. Is it usually done as a matter of course after a completed install?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I only know the builder's team so electrician, plumber, carpenter, tiler etc on a first name basis. From the replies here I know he needs to provide me with paperwork for me to submit to building regs so he must have to put down his full details on that.

Also, does he need to provide me with a plan showing the layout of the pipework?

no, but they may be marked on the builders plans (long shot),

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Hi Shaun - erm the back of the boiler manual is blank. Is this the paperwork that he is meant to provide me with? perhaps he forgot to do that or I need to ask him to complete it. Is it usually done as a matter of course after a completed install?

yes they need to be filled in i would say hes not gas safe registered and dont think hes g3 registered

next bet would be phone the builder up and ask him direct, you want to see your plumber/ boilers man gas card if he stalls thats a bad sign

 

[LCV]

Ah right. So if I get another plumber in to assess wouldn't it be very difficult for him to investigate?

 

[Best]

You are never going to be exactly sure how to proceed with tackling your problem unless you get the opinion of a plumber who actually gets a look at the work. Post photos of the hot cylinder and its pipework etc.
Or you will have to pay a plumber to inspect as much as they can and give you a report. For that you would have to pay

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Ah right. So if I get another plumber in to assess wouldn't it be very difficult for him to investigate?

or even better phone gas safe up and ask for a free visit to check things over as things arnt sitting right

 

[LCV]

Isn't illegal to make gas connections if you are not gas safe registered. I can't e-mail the builder to ask this at this point because I am still waiting to hear from them about when they are going to come over to discuss my hot water issue.

The builder's company is registered with the reputable trade bodies, FMB and Build Assure, and is highly rated on Mybuilder site. Surely he wasn't use someone that is not gas safe registered, just wouldn't make sense for him to do that. But it is strange that he didn't complete the card at the back so I will ask for it to be done and check him out to be safe. I have two children that I need to protect.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Isn't illegal to make gas connections if you are not gas safe registered. I can't e-mail the builder to ask this at this point because I am still waiting to hear from them about when they are going to come over to discuss my hot water issue.

The builder's company is registered with the reputable trade bodies, FMB and Build Assure, and is highly rated on Mybuilder site. Surely he wasn't use someone that is not gas safe registered, just wouldn't make sense for him to do that. But it is strange that he didn't complete the card at the back so I will ask for it to be done and check him out to be safe. I have two children that I need to protect.

you cant touch anything related to gas unless your gas safe, and the person who installed the cylinder needs to be g3 reg as well

 

[Gray0689]

So the cylinder is on ground floor
Isit the 4th floor that takes 3 mins for hot water to reach

 

[Riley]

I'm still intrigued about this under 5 litres a minute

 

[Gray0689]

Something is deffo not right here Riley I agree

 

[LCV]

The kitchen, loft and ground floor toilet take 3+minutes. The taps in the 1st and 2nd floor bathroom take about 2mins but the time is a lot shorter if for example I've washed up in the kitchen and then popped upstairs to use the toilet in the 1st floor bathroom.

 

[Scott_D]

Have you paid in full?
They might be holding the paperwork until then

 

[LCV]

I feel the same and my plumbing knowledge is zero. Something feels wrong.
The builder must feel the same too because he thought without the ring I would receive hot water in the loft in 20-40seconds and that's in the loft on the 4th floor.

 

[LCV]

I have 5% left to pay. This is paid 3 months later after all snagging is completed.

 

[Gray0689]

If it's a balanced cold then yes I can understand the 4th floor being very slow
But not the kitchen on ground floor as this should in principle be the quickest

 

[LCV]

Even if the boiler and cylinder is at the back of the house and the kitchen and toilet is at the front of the house?

As I mentioned before, when I had the boiler in the kitchen I waited about 40seconds to get hot water in the Utility room so I did expect when I moved the boiler into the Utility room the time would be the same or better because I thought my combi boiler wasn't very good.