Location: Chadderton, Oldham, Lancs

Date: July 2009

Description: The owner of this home had already decided that he wanted a combi boiler installed before we arrived. They currently had a system boiler and showed us the one he wanted from a manufacturers brochure. We discussed several other options and the fact that the least expensive boiler wouldn’t necessarily produce the expected results. In the end we decided on a different manufacturer with a warranty that was four years longer than the one he had picked and a boiler which produced more litres per minute as required for his needs. Due to lack of storage space we found another location to install the boiler so that when we removed the tanks from the airing cupboard the entire space would now be usable.

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Location: Oldham, Gtr. Manchester, Lancs

Date: Mar 2009

We have worked in this property before and this time around were asked to remove the old balanced flue boiler which was consuming large amounts of natural gas and replace it with a more economical system. As the client already had a pumped shower being fed from an insulated cylinder in the loft we opted for a conventional boiler. We modified the gravity hot water, pumped central heating pipe work to a fully pumped S-Plan and added the required controls. We also corrected some major and minor electrical issues found along the way. continue

We were asked by a local daycare to remove a redundant childrens bathroom, remove three radiators and move two radiators to new locations. To make it interesting the original contractor had decided to install all radiator pipe work inside of dry lined walls with all joints hidden and no drain off points. We managed to remove everything with no leaks or surprises. The bathroom was drained down and systematically removed and all redundant feeds and waste pipes modified, safely capped off or removed. As the heating pipe work runs over the top of the building it is difficult to bleed the system and air gets trapped easily. Instead of coming out to bleed it on a regular basis we added bottle air vents to aid in the commissioning process and lengthen the time between visits. continue

How To Locate Flow and Return Pipes

The Basics:

Over the years one of the more frequent questions that homeowners ask me is how to locate which of their radiator pipes is the flow pipe and which is the return pipe. The question usually revolves around the need to install TVRs (Thermostatic Radiator Valve) at each radiator. In most cases TVRs are unidirectional. In other words it doesn’t matter if the valve installed on the flow or the return side of the central heating circuit.

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Date: August 2008

Description: This property was previously owned by the council. You can tell because it has the old forced air heating system which over the years becomes a forced dust blower system! The new owner of the property wanted the system removed and a combi boiler installed. As there was no existing pipe work for water of gas we had to add everything. We started by removing the old system and making repairs to the poorly cut electrics that were done during the heaters original installation. continue

Date: July 2008

Description: The bathroom appliances were not only worn out but behind the scenes there were a lot of issues which required resolving. The floor was sloping which made the toilet look lop sided, the toilet was leaking behind the plywood boxing, the pipework was still lead including the tub overflow and the plaster and lathe walls required partial replacement before we could start any major work.

Once the ceiling and walls were repaired and skimmed the walls were tiled and the appliances were installed we left the home owner to enjoy a relaxing whirlpool bath.

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Date: June 2008

Description: The remit  was to swap the bathroom built on an outside wall to a larger room next door with no outside walls or windows and add a seperate shower . The windowless room was created when an extension was added to the rear of the house years earlier and was being used as a storage room.  All other appliances were to be reused and of course all pipe work was to be extended with new. The largest issue here was the fall required for the length of  waste pipe for the toilet. We did have to lower a section of ceiling in a downstairs utility room to get it installed correctly. All outside waste pipes were replaced and previous poor workmanship repaired at the same time (see cowboy award).

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