soapdragon Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 We have been very fortunate in not having to call out plumbers, electricians etc for a very long time. Therefore I don't have a clue how much things cost these days! The valve in the cistern of the en suite loo has finally given up the ghost and the loo now refuses to flush at all! OH is not good at DIY (destroy it yourself, as its known in our house!) so experience has shown that's its quicker, easier and far cheaper to just do GAMI (get a man in). However, said man - South African plumber called Lee - has quoted potentially £110 to replace valve (as its a slimline one and not standard?!) This does seem expensive to me but I have no way of knowing if that's so or I am out of date! He seemed a nice chap and advertised in our local parish mag...no call out fee! Whilst I don't want to appear cynical can anyone advise if this is a realistic quote? Thanks, peeps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Which valve? If it is the main one, the replacement part can be around £50 on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 Fred.....he did say that the valve might be £40/£50.........I am clueless about such technicalities hence my query!!! Also presuming that is PLUS VAT!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I think that is a reasonable price, I had to replace it on my cistern once and it was a right pain. Took me a good few hours to sort it. But in the process I broke the inlet valve too so I had to replace that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 You should ask whether that is inclusive of VAT. It's possible he may not be doing enough business to be VAT registered during the recession a few sole traders dropped below that threshold so if he's not registered he won't charge VAT. Frustratingly as a contractor I was below but since I was dealing with big corporations they insisted on a VAT number so I had to register And once you've registered of course you have to charge and pay the VAT and do your VAT returns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Agree with others. I guess £50 is probably a kind of minimum charge esp in your area, and then the cost of materials on top. I had a horrible experience when plumbers I knewcharged us over £100 to clear a blocked drain. All they did was to pour a bottle of drain cleaner dow it. Grrrrrr. You can probably make more as a plumber than a lot of "whitecollar workers" ( plz excuse, dislike that phrase but cant think of another) Ax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 I think that is a reasonable price, I had to replace it on my cistern once and it was a right pain. Took me a good few hours to sort it. But in the process I broke the inlet valve too so I had to replace that as well. Fred...that's why OH doesn't get involved anymore The element gave up in our hot water tank a few years ago and, in trying to get the old element out, OH buckled the tank and we needed a new tank PLUS element!! There is a lot to be said for knowing ones limitations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 In my defence, it was knackered already and the replacement was very simple.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sounds about right to me too, plumbers don't come cheap, having said that if you don't know what you are doing getting it right is difficult because water can find its way out of the smallest gap. Our house is nearly 30 years old and we have three loos and they all seemed to wear out at the same time, I think on balance it would be cheaper to replace a loo than have it repaired, although presumably you then have to pay a plumber to put the new one in. I would love to have children who took on a trade, I have three therefore I could have covered most bases, but so far two have gone off to uni instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Presume you mean the siphonic flushing valve isn't lifting the water to start the siphonic action because the diagram has failed, or is it the type with a dump valve. Is your cistern close-coupled, because that can be a 'can of worms' needing the seal and clamp plate replacing as well? Valve £35, close-coupling kit £15 plus two hours labour is £100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 OOoerr, Beantree! Havn't a clue, I'm afraid...all I know is that it was a struggle to flush then stopped flushing at all! Apparently its a slimline one so presume that costs more! The plumber said it would prob take between half an hour and an hour! It will be luxury just to be able to pull the handle and flush rather then pouring water into the cistern and pumping the handle half a doz times.......sometimes its just the little things in life that please me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 We had that problem in a holiday cottage last year. The owner gave us a pair of pliers (he did offer to fix it but OH said he could sort it) and we tiddled with the arm thing that holds the float thing up and it sorted it out. It was a fairly old loo though, not sure if they are all in a sealed unit now. Apologies for incorrect terminology With the lid off the cistern it was easy to see what needed doing, just not sure of the names of all the parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 You can get a whole new loo for £48 in B&Q - probably even cheaper elsewhere. It's a feature of their delightfully named "takeaway toilet" range (aka bog-in-a-box) If you just want plain white, it may be more economic than fixing your current loo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 My one regret in my beautiful bathroom was buying a cheap loo with slimline cistern from B&Q I'd sourced all components separately to get the cheapest possible with even my bathtaps coming as 3 separate components from different sources. For the loo I'd thought one loo is much like another as all I wanted was white floor standing close coupled built-in cistern. The cistern failed - cracks appeared and it leaked so I took it back for a replacement (which I had to pay for as although the loo hadn't been fitted for that long I'd bought the loo early on as I was assembling stuff to do two bathrooms and it was over the year). Whole replacement process took several painful months with at one point B&Q insisting I'd collected the cistern and signed for it - fortunately I could prove I'd been at a funeral 100 miles away at the time they say I collected I'm now very aware I have a 'cheap' cistern built behind a lovely tiled panel and will not be able to get a matching replacement next time it goes wrong as B&Q change their suppliers and stock regularly on these offers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 That's really put me off B&Q! Ours is a Johnsons Heritage one - can't remember how much it was but is about 11 years old. I like the idea of a 'bog in a box' .......made me laugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
