Radiator Repipe - Rectifying Cowboy Workmanship

The problem

The customer had bought designer vertical radiators and wanted them to look like they were floating on the wall, with the pipework hidden. While they were on holiday, their previous tradesperson fitted one of them. When they got home, the pipework was on show and the installation was poor. They weren’t happy with the workmanship.

Finding the right company

This time the customer researched carefully before choosing someone. They found MS HEATING AND PLUMBING through Which? Trusted Traders, read our Google reviews, and spoke with us before booking.

Quote and assessment

We asked the customer to send clear photos on WhatsApp, followed by a video of the radiator. From these we gave them a fixed price before any work started.

On site, the job turned out to be worse than the photos showed. In nearly 30 years of plumbing and heating work, it ranks among the worst installations we’ve seen. A large number of fittings had been crammed into a very small space.

The work carried out

MS HEATING AND PLUMBING carried out all of the work:

1. Draining the system. The system had no drain-off valves, so we drained the whole central heating system and then drained the radiator by hand, catching the water in a flexible bucket under the fittings.
2. Removing the old installation. We took out all the unnecessary fittings and took the radiator off the wall.
3. Chasing the wall. We checked for electric cables first, then carefully chased the brickwork to expose the existing microbore pipework without damaging it.
4. Re-piping. We traced the flow and return pipes back to a clean, undamaged section and re-piped from there, routing the new pipework inside the wall.
5. Joints. We used end-feed soldered joints throughout. In concealed pipework we never use compression, push-fit or plastic fittings, because once they’re buried in plaster or a cavity wall they can’t be reached if they fail.
6. Testing. We pressure tested the system to confirm everything was sound.
7. Making good. We left the wall ready for our plasterer to bond and replaster over the new pipework, giving the hidden, floating finish the customer wanted.

Standard of work

This pipework will never be seen once the wall is plastered, but we finished it to the same standard as visible work: clean copper, neat soldered joints, and nothing left to chance.

Outcome

The customer is very happy with the work and how it was carried out. We may not be the cheapest option, but we focus on doing the job right the first time, respecting our customers’ homes and looking after them once the job is done.