any boiler serviced for £29.99

[johnnyplumb]

this advert is in our local paper

any boiler service for £29.99 + vat
times are hard, as we all know, but he must be desperate.

it's people like this, that are driving prices down imo

 

[GQuigley67]

for a limited time only....better than going to groupon i guess

 

[nysk2008]

jeez thats cheap. but then again in my opinion we can all do cheap installs but it will look like cr**

 

[tamz]

I saw one the other day 730 + vat for a regular - combi swap. Absolute madness

 

[SimonG]

Start booking them in at 45 + vat and then sub it to him in to do for 30 + vat. 15 + vat for a bit of organisation 🙂

 

[jtsplumbing]

He can come and do mine for that price, just another get your foot in the door con, then find lots of things wrong with boiler !

 

[dave1]

How does £30 plus vat work out, time driving, diesel, labour, they going to actually strip and service a boiler for that?

 

[stevetheplumber]

How does £30 plus vat work out, time driving, diesel, labour, they going to actually strip and service a boiler for that?

no theyll turn up and stick a fga in it or do bp and gas rate

 

[johnnyplumb]

i know that advert costs £150, so he's not gonna make any money from £30 services, not directly anyway.
if he picks up a few boiler changes though, maybe by I.D ing a few boilers while servicing, then some money can be made.

 

[Syty]

they must cut corners.

I know one place where Engineer does 4 flats: 4 landlord certs with cookers and boilers plus 4 boiler services (8 years old ones) and he does it all in less than 3 hours.

 

[ambrosia]

notice he said any boiler, do a proper service on a new vaillant or worcester and youre meant to replace the gaskets, thats a £10 alone

 

[mfgs]

You only need to strip a worcester if the fan pressure it wrong though, which is very rare.

 

[Backboiler]

Ring him and tell him you are a letting agent who noticed his ad in the paper. Tell him you have 152 properties of which 148 of them have BBU's and fires. You realise these are difficult appliances to service but you are looking for a small discount for doing the lot!!

 

[Dannypipe]

He'd probably bite you arm off. He's clearly gonna cut corners, so why wouldn't he on a BBU!

 

[Halesowen1]

If he gets 30 or 40 of these booked in each week after a bit of advertising then great for him, £1200 a week and a bad job is it??
Nobody should ever be on a servoce for longer than 30 mins and thats very generous, otherwise you are charging to much and are trying to justify the fee.

 

[Halesowen1]

799 + vat is about £960, there is an easy £350 or more to be made there for a easy days work, is that not enough for you each day??

 

[GQuigley67]

in all fairness a £799 boiler install is a B rated banger probably

 

[Guest123]

He'll turn up, part carry out his service and do a BG and condemn the boiler as unsafe or say it's too difficult and costly to get parts for it. "Missus, ya need a new boiler and I can supply and install one for £xxxxx" The guy's VAT registered so he's above the 70k thresh hold so he's not daft, he knows what he's doing. Get in, condemn boiler, get paid for new boiler installation. Simples!

 

[jase158]

hmmm maybe the bigger picture needs to be seen here,

6 months of Gas boiler servicing at this price, 2-3 boiler services a day over 5 days = £450 a week.

he can also do other jobs between then. Now he has a list of people for next year that he can send a letter or call. Your boiler service is now due the total cost is £90 + vat.

1. how many people will check the price or even have kept receipt from previous year?
2. most people like to keep things the same so will just use him again as they will only remember that they used him before and he was good.

 

[Halesowen1]

Speculate to accumulate, but some need to realise, not everything thats cheaper than their price means its rubbish, rough or a con. It means they are getting the work and you aint.
I have had this argument a milion times on here, if I do a boiler change in a day I will guarantee my work against anybody on here who takes longer. It dont make me rough because I am quicker, it means I am off onto my next job while you are trying to justify your expensive prices.

 

[Halesowen1]

This was finished today took 2 days, orignal boiler in kitchen below, run new 28mm gas and fit new Worcester combi. Pipes straight, clipped, no runs on solder. Quick does not mean rough.

 

[REDSAW]

Nobody should ever be on a servoce for longer than 30 mins and thats very generous, otherwise you are charging to much and are trying to justify the fee.

i must be doing it all wrong!! takes me 15mins to find, check the meter and do let-by, sp, wp and gas rate.
i take at least an hour cause thats what i book out for..then try and tout some business.

 

[GQuigley67]

no one is saying quick is rough, most of us on here are quick at our jobs, for £799 i wouldnt be able to make much of a profit once i bought boiler and materials i would be just as well working for someone on pricework with less hassle, because it says from £799 doesn't mean that's what he charges, once you add on all the extras.

 

[Guest123]

Halesowen1, you don't have to justify what you do. You do a good job, do it quickly and no justification needed. It's everyone to their own, I don't touch gas these days, only bathrooms and I take pride in my abilities too.

 

[hammers4spanner]

i know someone who does £15 for landlord cert ,
The argument goes to what does a modern condensing boiler need on a service if your fga readings are bang on?

You can also pick an alpha combi up with vat for about £550 so easy money to install a straight swap combi at a lower rate !

 

[tamz]

i must be doing it all wrong!! takes me 15mins to find, check the meter and do let-by, sp, wp and gas rate.
i take at least an hour cause thats what i book out for..then try and tout some business.

You don't "need" to do a tightness test on a service.

i know someone who does £15 for landlord cert

He'll go far :lol:

Pipes straight, clipped, no runs on solder.

I hate Talon clips, they are good clips but oh, they are ugly :wink_smile:

 

[PowerFlusher2]

But did you pick up that bit of rubbish between the pipes to the left of the black toolbox before you left?

 

[Halesowen1]

But did you pick up that bit of rubbish between the pipes to the left of the black toolbox before you left?

Yes and I even put the casing on the boiler.

 

[julesverne]

i dont have a problem with competition and pricing if your doing a proper job. but this is how i see it.
1. if your prices are low custs will always want that low price.
2. low prices might mean more work but it also means you have to work 2 , 3 , 4 times harder than a guy who's doing 1 service at 2 ,3,4 times the price
3. charging low prices means you will prob mean working life will be a lot longer. i aint working past 60 yrs old less if possible.
4.you'll drive yourself into the ground.
5. why spend all those years training to charge peanuts.
6. i might be a plumber and gas engineer but i'm also a business man not a charity and the name of the game is to make money. i have kids wife mortgage etc. profit isnt a dirty word.
i charge £60.00 an hour labour even more out of hours and look to make a min £600 clear on a straight swap boiler change with powerflushing charged extra. i might not get loads of boilers swaps but i get enough to be comfortable and do plenty repairs and servicing.

i aint the busiest in the world in these hard times but im doing alright but when this slump does eventually end my prices will be same bar inflationary pressures. so my custs wont be expecting cheap prices. i get a lot of repeat business and recommendations.

I think if your confident in your own abilities then charge what you want

 

[dave1]

A great post very good points made.

 

[Barry98]

View attachment 6993

This was finished today took 2 days, orignal boiler in kitchen below, run new 28mm gas and fit new Worcester combi. Pipes straight, clipped, no runs on solder. Quick does not mean rough.

Isnt tha mounted on combustible material ? Lol

 

[Halesowen1]

Supalux sheet, but its not needed. Most manufacturers now specify its OK.

 

[Halesowen1]

i dont have a problem with competition and pricing if your doing a proper job. but this is how i see it.
1. if your prices are low custs will always want that low price.
2. low prices might mean more work but it also means you have to work 2 , 3 , 4 times harder than a guy who's doing 1 service at 2 ,3,4 times the price
3. charging low prices means you will prob mean working life will be a lot longer. i aint working past 60 yrs old less if possible.
4.you'll drive yourself into the ground.
5. why spend all those years training to charge peanuts.
6. i might be a plumber and gas engineer but i'm also a business man not a charity and the name of the game is to make money. i have kids wife mortgage etc. profit isnt a dirty word.
i charge £60.00 an hour labour even more out of hours and look to make a min £600 clear on a straight swap boiler change with powerflushing charged extra. i might not get loads of boilers swaps but i get enough to be comfortable and do plenty repairs and servicing.

i aint the busiest in the world in these hard times but im doing alright but when this slump does eventually end my prices will be same bar inflationary pressures. so my custs wont be expecting cheap prices. i get a lot of repeat business and recommendations.

I think if your confident in your own abilities then charge what you want

This maybe why you aint busy, if you charge less or advertise at a lower price you will get more work. Then you can charge £40 per hour but be working 40 hours a week instead of 10 or 20. Just a thought.

 

[julesverne]

This maybe why you aint busy, if you charge less or advertise at a lower price you will get more work. Then you can charge £40 per hour but be working 40 hours a week instead of 10 or 20. Just a thought.

.

with the greatest of respect i dont think you have understood the point i am trying to make.

whats the point of being busy if your making peanuts or just surviving. i would say i'm doing on average 30 hours a week plumbing excluding all the other crap we have to do.

and just to clear things up it was in no way intended at anyone directly just my thoughts . i do a fair bit out of hours work so i can on a bad week work 10-20 in week and still clear a decent whack.

example last saturday hebden bridge flooded. cust calls wanted all gas checking as meter had been under 8 ft of water in the cellar. checked everything out all ok after checking water heater, cooker,meter etc( didnt really expect any problems) then property either side asked to me do same whilst i was there. i told em all price all custs happy as insurance were paying 5 hours later 600 quid richer.

 

[cdodds2004]

i charge what i want to charge, and i think my customers are happy. im not the cheapest and probaly not the best, but im curtious, prompt and genuine, i have only been on my own coming up 2 years and my work is building up slowly but surely! word of mouth is quite simply the best form of advertising as these people want you first and worry about your price second!

 

[ndsmith]

.

with the greatest of respect i dont think you have understood the point i am trying to make.

whats the point of being busy if your making peanuts or just surviving. i would say i'm doing on average 30 hours a week plumbing excluding all the other crap we have to do.

and just to clear things up it was in no way intended at anyone directly just my thoughts . i do a fair bit out of hours work so i can on a bad week work 10-20 in week and still clear a decent whack.

example last saturday hebden bridge flooded. cust calls wanted all gas checking as meter had been under 8 ft of water in the cellar. checked everything out all ok after checking water heater, cooker,meter etc( didnt really expect any problems) then property either side asked to me do same whilst i was there. i told em all price all custs happy as insurance were paying 5 hours later 600 quid richer.

Is that your normal charge or was it higher as insurance company will be paying?

 

[hammers4spanner]

This £30 pound service is suddenly become more common , seen it advertised a few more times in my town now , think this post must be having an effect!

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm! Halesowen seems to have what appears to be a good fair trade attitude towards customers, we need more of it in this country. It is not all about the gas fitter, there are other people to consider in a contract. You can't moan about bankers and then take the same attitudes yourself

 

[Anders0n]

This was finished today took 2 days, orignal boiler in kitchen below, run new 28mm gas and fit new Worcester combi. Pipes straight, clipped, no runs on solder. Quick does not mean rough.

Great to see someone else who takes pride in their work, 99% of installations I see whether new or old have been tossed in.

 

[LPC]

I'm doing boiler services at the moment for £30. Takes me on average 40 mins to do a full service, bit longer if it's a back boiler or an older boiler. Worked for a guy for 5 years (who has been a gas engineer over 30 years, and was one of the first Corgi reg engineers in the country) who charges £45 for a service and has done for as long as I can remember. I've started out on my own and £30 seemed like a good price to get me some work.

Way I see it, £30 for less than an hours work, i'm pretty happy. Lots of heating engineers in my town, i've got to get started somewhere. And a £30 service is working wonders.

 

[Halesowen1]

Good on you, nobody on here can tell anybody what to charge, the ones who are moan ing are worried they may have to work for a living soon.

 

[jase158]

I bet its easier to do a service then to fix a toilet, yet to turn around and say £80 to fix a flush valve, most customers would be puzzled why it is that expensive, yet £80 for a boiler service and people aint that bothered.

 

[topdog]

good installation and good on you,
A lot of People would give there right arm for £30 per hour,
If your happy that's all that matters.
Good luck and hope you get loads more installs,
topdog
Trainee gas engineer
doing work portfolio at the moment.

 

[johnnyplumb]

Good on you, nobody on here can tell anybody what to charge, the ones who are moan ing are worried they may have to work for a living soon.

For most self employed people, being work shy is not an issue, it's a fair price for the job most tradesmen want,
this forum is full of people moaning that there's no work and that prices of jobs are falling.
it's the people who do servicing for £30, that are causing prices to fall, if everyone charged say £80 for a service, then thats what the customer would have to pay.

cost cutting only benefits the customers

 

[jase158]

For most self employed people, being work shy is not an issue, it's a fair price for the job most tradesmen want,
this forum is full of people moaning that there's no work and that prices of jobs are falling.
it's the people who do servicing for £30, that are causing prices to fall, if everyone charged say £80 for a service, then thats what the customer would have to pay.

cost cutting only benefits the customers

Excellent point, There should be a standard price all over the country for servicing, will never happen, but there should be.

 

[EPH]

The irony of somebody earning the same money in 40 hours as someone else does in 30 then trying to give them business advice is not lost on me.

 

[Orry Clayton]

Excellent point, There should be a standard price all over the country for servicing, will never happen, but there should be.

Sadly there are law's against price fixing.

 

[tamz]

The way some people (customers) look on it is say you do a job that takes half an hour plus a fivers worth of parts and ask for say £55. They compare that to how much they make in a day, say £80, and think they have just been shafted by another plumber or gas man who is pulling in what must be 100k a year at those prices.
They have no comprehension of what your actual costs and profit for that job may be and there is no point trying to justify it.
The low prices advertised are usually just a foot in the door exorcise. The £29 service is a sales ploy that may cost them 2 grand for a boiler if they (and they will) play it by the book but poeple are gullible.
Just take the rate you need or want. You are running a business not a charity and need to make a profit.

 

[tamz]

Sadly there are law's against price fixing.

Really! Is that why all the big players are within a few quid of each other with their prices.

 

[Orry Clayton]

Really! Is that why all the big players are within a few quid of each other with their prices.

Funny, I was just on a few of there websites and noticed the same thing.

 

[REDSAW]

Sadly there are law's against price fixing.

i have said this before.. there is no law about charging the going rate.....
unless you have a business the size of barclays bank.!!!!
i find it hard to believe you and the other 100,000 plumbers taken to court over it!!!!!!!

show me a solicitor doing £30 an hour and i will show you 100 doing £90-120 an hour, its the going rate and every trade should stick to the 'value' or if not, promote a special offer to gain custom only to pick it up on extended services rendered.

i like people working for nothing as eventually they will get out of the business due to going bust or 'theres no money in it' ethos. when there gone, leaves more for the rest charging the appropriate rates.

 

[Orry Clayton]

That was in response to: "there should be a standard price".

Also, I couldn't agree with you more; I'd also like to see a solicitor doing £30 per hour.

 

[Backboiler]

Is that your normal charge or was it higher as insurance company will be paying?

Saturday, desperate and out of hours if you read it properly

 

[Halesowen1]

For most self employed people, being work shy is not an issue, it's a fair price for the job most tradesmen want,
this forum is full of people moaning that there's no work and that prices of jobs are falling.
it's the people who do servicing for £30, that are causing prices to fall, if everyone charged say £80 for a service, then thats what the customer would have to pay.

cost cutting only benefits the customers

I am not in the game for ripping my customers off, never have been and never will be. If you think £80 is a fair price for something that can more than likely be done in 30 mins then you go ahead and charge it, £160 per hour. All I am saying is that I am more than happy earning less that and be full week in week out. The only people who want to see a standard price of £80 per service are the ones who aint doing much and need to charge double just to get a decent wage, I much prefer to earn my money fairly and dont have to drag the job out for an hour or longer just to justify the high price.
Cost cutting doesnt only benefit the customer, if that guy is doing 40 services a week now at least £29 a go and all the extra work on top, I would say he is benefiting a great deal, £1200 plus per week, every week.
You say the forum is full of moaners going on about no work and low prices, well I have a plan for you lot, lower your prices, get an advert showing in your local rag your NEW low prices and you WILL get work. But be carefull not to show these on here as they will rip the **** out of you for doing it, doing what?? using initiative and getting work.

 

[julesverne]

if that guy is doing 40 services a week now at least £29 a go and all the extra work on top, I would say he is benefiting a great deal, £1200 plus per week, every week.

playing the devils advocate please consider this:
40 services x 29.99 = 1199.60
15 services x 80.00 = 1200.00

who do you think will retire sooner and live longer just a thought :yesnod:
customers perceive cost and value for money on the service they receive and this doesnt relate just to your plumbing skills but also tidyess, presentation, customer service, puncuality etc. all these skills (and they are skills) are just as important in a business so why shouldnt a plumber charge a premium if they possess these skills. although at £80.00 for a service i would expect my car washing aswell ;0)

 

[southcoastboile]

I am not in the game for ripping my customers off, never have been and never will be. If you think £80 is a fair price for something that can more than likely be done in 30 mins then you go ahead and charge it, £160 per hour. All I am saying is that I am more than happy earning less that and be full week in week out. The only people who want to see a standard price of £80 per service are the ones who aint doing much and need to charge double just to get a decent wage, I much prefer to earn my money fairly and dont have to drag the job out for an hour or longer just to justify the high price.
Cost cutting doesnt only benefit the customer, if that guy is doing 40 services a week now at least £29 a go and all the extra work on top, I would say he is benefiting a great deal, £1200 plus per week, every week.
You say the forum is full of moaners going on about no work and low prices, well I have a plan for you lot, lower your prices, get an advert showing in your local rag your NEW low prices and you WILL get work. But be carefull not to show these on here as they will rip the **** out of you for doing it, doing what?? using initiative and getting work.

Theres no way you can do a thorugh boiler service in 30 mins

 

[tamz]

You can fit an outside tap in that time tho:tounge_smile:

 

[Halesowen1]

playing the devils advocate please consider this:
40 services x 29.99 = 1199.60
15 services x 80.00 = 1200.00

who do you think will retire sooner and live longer just a thought :yesnod:
customers perceive cost and value for money on the service they receive and this doesnt relate just to your plumbing skills but also tidyess, presentation, customer service, puncuality etc. all these skills (and they are skills) are just as important in a business so why shouldnt a plumber charge a premium if they possess these skills. although at £80.00 for a service i would expect my car washing aswell ;0)

But if one of these £30 a service guy lands on your plot, you suddenly look very overpriced and lose work, then he is still doing 40 and you do 5 at £80. Plus servicing is hardly going to tire anybody out is it??

 

[hammers4spanner]

Theres no way you can do a thorugh boiler service in 30 mins

new boiler analyse 30 mins?

 

[anz]

new boiler analyse 30 mins?

Who's going to do the rest?

Gas Rate
Gas Pressures
Cleaning Condensate Trap
Checking for leaks (yes, taking off cover and having a look)
etc....

 

[southcoastboile]

agreed but then I normaly check all the rads work, tanks in loft etc if applicable, gives the customer the impression they are getting something for thier money. Every boilers different but I normaly take around 40 mins on a new condencing unless its a floorstanding greenstar.
Cant believe someone thought it would be a good idea to invent a modern highflow, hate those things.

 

[bert large]

Theres no way anyone would do 40 real boiler services in a normal week. 5 day week, 8 hour day, 25-30% of boilers are BBU & fire fronts, trouble getting covers on or off, getting tools to & from the van, Driving across town between jobs, parking difficulties, tenants or householders not in at the appointed time, the inevitable, "oh, while your here could you........"
You'd be lucky to do 4 or 5 in a normal day if done properly without any difficulties !
I think what we a talking about here is a swift FGA & gone again, or more likely just a foot in the door & oh er missus your boiler is knackered.

 

[tamz]

Who's going to do the rest?

Gas Rate
Gas Pressures
Cleaning Condensate Trap
Checking for leaks (yes, taking off cover and having a look)
etc....

Optional (chargable) extras :smile:

 

[julesverne]

But if one of these £30 a service guy lands on your plot, you suddenly look very overpriced and lose work, then he is still doing 40 and you do 5 at £80. Plus servicing is hardly going to tire anybody out is it??

theres plenty of these guys on my plot servicing £30.00 landlord certs £25.00. i just leave em to it they've got no business sense. i'm doing ok for business not rushed off my feet but then i dont have to be. 2 boiler swaps booked in next week and if thats all i did in july it would still cover all my bills mortgage etc for the month.

 

[Halesowen1]

Who's going to do the rest?

Gas Rate
Gas Pressures
Cleaning Condensate Trap
Checking for leaks (yes, taking off cover and having a look)
etc....

Come on.
Take off cover 1 minute, gas rate 3 minutes, working pressure 2 minutes, analyser while doing working pressure, check for leaks 30 seconds, clean trap 3 minutes. Thats being generous too. No excuse to take longer than 20-30 minutes.
As for BBU, then you are charging extra as its 2 appliances obviously, so even if it takes 45 for them you have charged the extra.

 

[Halesowen1]

theres plenty of these guys on my plot servicing £30.00 landlord certs £25.00. i just leave em to it they've got no business sense. i'm doing ok for business not rushed off my feet but then i dont have to be. 2 boiler swaps booked in next week and if thats all i did in july it would still cover all my bills mortgage etc for the month.

No business sense just because they are not ripping off folk??
They need work and more than likely will get more if they lower price, seems like good business to me. Nothing wrong with a full diary.

 

[tamz]

Nothing wrong with a full diary.

Nothing wrong with charging what you see fit either.

An old saying which refers to busy fools
Wise men talk because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something - Plato

 

[EPH]

What happens when people start doing them for £19.99 after they've been earning minimum wage in a shop and doing their ACS that will suit them fine.

Be all the same people on here defending doing cheap work moaning about crazy prices.

 

[Halesowen1]

Look Gas men dont have a right to charge stupid money, those days are quickly leaving us. Our game is flooded at the moment and also less demand due to homes having less to spend, the prices were always going to drop, thousands of gas men have been laid off in the last 5 years and many have started up on their own, prices will continue to drop so get used to it.
I have also changed my route a little, as I am now doing commercial and taking LPG soon too, a company I do work for have offered me loads of LPG and Com.

 

[Millsy 82]

I am a quick worker I can fit a 3 port in 45mins all tested rads nice and hot before I leave (dont include microbore systems as they can be anything upto 4 hours getting rid of airlocks) and pumps in about 15-20 mins. But I cannot service a boiler properley in 20-30 mins takes usually 40 mins minimum FGA takes 10 mins as you have to check them high, low, high, then with casing off plus you should get them upto temperature before hand. Then checking safety devices on them some boilers will go through their cycle 5 times and can take 4-5 mins to lock out. Then checking the flues discharge pipe controls etc all takes time.

BBU and fire front takes me around an hour for a clean 1 takes me 20 mins to get to the BBU after cleaning the fire then removing the burner cleaning it then cleaning the heat exchanger is another 20 mins then carrying out all the checks on it and putting it back together as I go.

I personally do have doubts about people who get through jobs too quick as they are probably missing things. Their was a lad who worked for our company that did 1 area since he has left I am the 1 going around after him there are many jobs that I am finding quite a few faults on that have not been picked up (pretty basic faults flues not clipped etc.) all because he wanted to be in and out as quick as possible.

 

[John_]

This £30 service, shouldn't their be a radius for this price (say within 5 miles), then another price, say £40, radius for say 6 to 10 miles etc. Isn't this much fairer?

 

[jase158]

Was sat in my van, cleaning it out and a chap comes up and says "are you a plumber" i said yes, turned out he wanted bath tap changing to mixer style, done it for £30 as he was in my street and wasn't really doing much anyway.

Last week I tiled the whole bethroom and he is going to get me to do his bathroom in his own house too, so a lot of work coming my way for that initial first £30.

Why do so many think it is a con because you are getting a foot in the door, services are a simple way of getting a build up of customers.

 

[Millsy 82]

It does not matter if you charge £10 £20 £30 £100 £200 as long as the job is done correctly and that is how most people get repeat business. The company I work for is mainly repeat business they are not the cheapest around by far but they still get the work. Nobody complains about the price most people pay there and then.

Nowadays a lot of the larger companies are spewing out people who go out and do 10 services in a day and if you charge £30 a time then you will make a healthy living but are the people getting what they pay for? I would say 9 times out of 10 NO. I have to follow these people round and flag up faults that have been missed for the passed 5 years because not enough time was spent properley inspecting the appliances.

In an average working day it is 8-8.5 hours with getting to a job and carrying out a job I reckon 7-8 services max unless you are on a street for a whole day then yes 10 but then no travelling involved.

 

[jase158]

I am a quick worker I can fit a 3 port in 45mins all tested rads nice and hot before I leave

really, takes me 40 minutes just to drain down, get my tools out the van and get ready to work. suppose you dont need to completely drain, but i hate airlocks. still couple hours usually.

 

[tamz]

really, takes me 40 minutes just to drain down,

Get yourself a set of bungs and live in the fast lane
Toolstation > Hand Tools > Plumbers Tools > Radiator Valve Change Kit

 

[hammers4spanner]

really, takes me 40 minutes just to drain down, get my tools out the van and get ready to work. suppose you dont need to completely drain, but i hate airlocks. still couple hours usually.

I done one other day and took me about 45 mins i reckon . Depends tho how easy it is to access in cupboars and how much space you have at times

 

[BLOD]

did one a while ago using bungs, cap was missing off the aav so put some blue tack on it.
About 20 mins to change the valve and a further 45 mins to get the blue tack out of the aav

 

[julesverne]

No business sense just because they are not ripping off folk??
They need work and more than likely will get more if they lower price, seems like good business to me. Nothing wrong with a full diary.

just because i charge what i charge doesnt mean i'm a rip off. it means i charge what i am worth and what i want to earn. and i dont see what your problem is anyway, you'll be smoking 50 quid notes soon with all your 29.99 services that your doing. but remember you'll have to do 2 of them before you can do that :bucktooth:

 

[mutley racers]

So fellers, to change a motorized valve just put a bung in the cold feed and cap the vent and not drain down then? And for a sealed system?

 

[tamz]

Shut any auto air vents and let the pressure out. Sometimes you can get away with just dropping the pressure.

 

[Millsy 82]

I dont trust bungs and never used them. What I do is shut mains water off, open tap, start draining, Rewire new valve whilst its draining, You will hear when the water level drops below the 3 port so as soon as it drains enough swap it, shut off DOC start filling whilst I tidy up turn it on leave for 20 mins whilst drinking your tea then away you go. I very rarely get airlocks either doing it this way.

 

[jase158]

I dont trust bungs and never used them. What I do is shut mains water off, open tap, start draining, Rewire new valve whilst its draining, You will hear when the water level drops below the 3 port so as soon as it drains enough swap it, shut off DOC start filling whilst I tidy up turn it on leave for 20 mins whilst drinking your tea then away you go. I very rarely get airlocks either doing it this way.

hmm, you will be there for a few days if you open tap to drain central heating, lol

 

[jase158]

not having a go, but i have a back boiler and the landlords gas man came round, took fire off, serviced boiler, checked gas meter and taught his apprentice what he was doing, all done in 1 hour.

 

[Halesowen1]

just because i charge what i charge doesnt mean i'm a rip off. it means i charge what i am worth and what i want to earn. and i dont see what your problem is anyway, you'll be smoking 50 quid notes soon with all your 29.99 services that your doing. but remember you'll have to do 2 of them before you can do that :bucktooth:

I dont do services for £29 never said I did. Only said its better to have a full diary than working half the week. Thats down to a good job at a good price, not ripping off customers.

 

[Halesowen1]

Just change the head on the diverter valve, takes all of 5 mins to do.
Its never the body thats gone.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Just change the head on the diverter valve, takes all of 5 mins to do.
Its never the body thats gone.

wrong!!

 

[Orry Clayton]

any boiler service for £29.99 + vat
times are hard, as we all know, but he must be desperate.

it's people like this, that are driving prices down imo

If you see there review on Yell, probably explains why they are so cheap. Not found any other, probably not advertise where they can be "reviewed"

 

[EPH]

wrong!!

Very wrong!

Had 2 last week.

 

[julesverne]

I dont do services for £29 never said I did. Only said its better to have a full diary than working half the week. Thats down to a good job at a good price, not ripping off customers.

I never said i did services for £80.00 but you still seem to thinks it's a crime to charge what you want.

i'd rather charge my price and be comfortable and not work myslef into the ground rather than charge peanuts be busy and work myself into the ground.

stop taking it personally i aint commenting on you i'm commenting on tit heads who charge 29.99 for a service.

 

[LPC]

I'm so busy doing £30 services it's stupid. And so many people have said the only reason they're getting it serviced is because i'm charging £30. I do a full and proper service, takes me anywhere from 30 mins to 1hr generally. If it's more than 5-10 miles out from me it goes up based on travel etc.

I don't rip people off, I don't tell them their boilers are ****ed, I don't chase installs. I just service the boiler in about an hour for £30. I see the logic in charging £80 or whatever, I just don't think it's the best way personally. I'd rather do more, get more customers, more word of mouth spread = faster, larger growth than do less, earn more.

 

[GQuigley67]

how will you get larger growth charging 30 a service

 

[LPC]

Because you've got 10 people in a room. There is me stood there, I charge £30 to service a boiler. Next to me, we have Jim. Jim charges £80 to service a boiler.

You might get 1 or 2 choose Jim, because they think the higher price mean that they're getting something better for their extra £50.

The rest will choose me, because i'm £50 cheaper.

Now I have 9 new customers, Jim has 1 new customer.

This room is the market, and I'm £50 cheaper.

 

[mickeyuk]

Nice one!!

 

[phpaul]

i see merit in both the only question is how u gonna tell the punter ur only charging 30 dabs local rag ? no bugger reads that anymore

 

[LPC]

Cards in shop windows (I paid £1.25 to put a card in a local newsagents window for 2 months!), go to burger vans and ask if you can blutack a card up (most let you if you're fairly regular, just change up where you get your bacon sarnies every few days), print out some leaflets and go drop them through doors in the evenings (not so much any more).
Put cards in sandwich bars, coffee shops, anything with a big footfall where people are stood waiting for something (more likely to look around, and at my card), advert on your van (magnetic signs from vistaprint cost next to nothing).

And of course, nothing compares to getting a couple of churchgoers on the books. You get one, you get the congregation 🙂

 

[phpaul]

yep have 2 churches a rabbi a 1 freemasion 3 coppers 2 firemen 5 greenwashers 3 nurses 16 teachers 1 prison officer 7 so called property devlopers in last years diary and yes i did keep score in the back last year . me and my spark mate had a points system he won on points and i paid for a case of ale at xmass lol

 

[ally]

Back to the £30 service, maybe the guy has a few employees and trying to keep everyone in work.

 

[gornsgorns]

It's never just an hour to do a proper service though is it. By the time you've jotted up travelling time it can be anything up to another hour on top of the time it's taken to complete the service. Then you've got all your overheads on top of that. Say your lucky and it's 15mins there and 15mins back, overall it's taken you an hour and a half. That gives you £20 quid an hour without even taking into account your overheads and the fact your self employed so need to factor in lack of holiday/sick pay e.t.c.

Each to their own, but this should be a skilled trade and i don't want to work for peanuts. Not only that i'd rather work for customers that want me to do the job because i do a good job, not because i'm the cheapest.

 

[Blake]

I won't even start the van for less than £40, with all the costs involved in running a business it's just not worth it. Doing services for £30 just about sums up the state the industry is in right now. You can talk about the need to survive, mouths to feed etc etc, but at the end of the day I'd rather work in Tesco than service a boiler for £30.00. At least there is no possibility of life in prison if you stack the shelves wrong.

Common sense tells you that if you charge £29.99 for a service, then eventually someone is going to charge £25.99, then someone else £19.99 etc etc etc until maybe in a few years time we will be paying the customer to service there boiler. Eventually people will realise that training costs, business running costs far outweigh the salary that can actually be made. Then less people will apply to be gas engineers and some other fad will come along full of promise and pots of gold.

Suddenly there will be a shortage of engineers, so prices will rise and the whole game will start over again and I will no doubt be typing the same nonsense about the same subject in ten years time.