Btw wc

[wiggers]

Ok chaps, went around to a custards house to inspect btw wc on access he showed me one of his other three wcs as there all the same (wife in the shower) his wc was running
I had been here before 12 mths ago to repair one of the other wcs so had a idea it would be the same issues, now WC is 10 years old immersed in bloo loo so because of previous issues with btw,s I now only replace all parts so I do not get any call backs. Tnt was happy with last job so called me back as a favour
(facebook friend) I charged him £65 parts which he could supply and £50 labour last time so the same price again was asked.
he was taken back by the price and said he would speak to supplier as he gets discount
he texts me yesterday saying he's just had a replacement seal fitted by a plumber for under a fiver!
and a happy christmas to which made my blood boil I immediately texts him back saying I knew what causes it but I only replace and do not repair like it or lump it so to speak I informed him that I was not overcharging him but only covering myself against future issues
i believed it would have been easier to get a rudder for the titanic than get a new seal for the push Btn flush
but was wrong. But didn't want hassle of locating one from suppliers
question is how do you guys feel working with these btw,s do you repair or replace and I normally charge around £80 for the total strip down is that about right
parts I quoted were
siamp optima 50 cable operated, fluidmaster pro45b new cistern bolts Mcalpine long flexible pan connector new isolation valve and a new flexible hose. Which in my supplier comes to 65 quid Croslings
any advice welcome
thanks

 

[SimonG]

You were spot on. Also no plumber will fit a new seal for a fiver. He's done it himself. Send him an invoice for diagnosing the issue.

 

[plumben]

i prefer to swap the hole unit as the customer feels like there paying for something £30+ parts just to stick a new rubber on dosent seem like good money to some especially when they see how easy it is

 

[wiggers]

Thanks chaps it's just that if you replaced fill valve I would still change pan connector pushing the price up and if any problems that may occur the first thing is a leak through the ceiling, as I said it's just not worth the hassle changing faulty part ,
I posted on my fb plumbing page " if you think it's expensive to hire a professional wait until you hire an amateur " think this may have touched a nerve, but this guy lives in a 400k house and is a successful landscaper so for the sake of £120 for a professional job with back up is a small price to pay for peace of mind, just waiting for that phone call now and you can guess wot he's gonna hear....

 

[WaterTight]

the new seal doesn't always work. don't know why. the sealing face on the cradle may feel clean and smooth but no matter what you do the new, correct seal doesn't always seal. whereas a new flush valve will. i've found fluidmasters to be so good you almost never need to replace them. i've chucked in thousands and replaced about 5.

people on here will say all sorts, ***** the bubbles on the seal with a pin on original seal, blah-de-blah. if you're doing this for living and not a hobby then you do what you need to do so you don't keep going back and you make worthwhile money for the visit. new innards, basically. especially on pain in the rear back to the wall pans.

i wouldn't even give the a fixed price on a btw pan. you don't know what bodge you may see behind it. could be 4 pan connectors siliconed together pushed into a cracked CI soil spigot in the wrong position/height for the WC. who knows.

i'd charge more than that but i'm down south so probably about right.