to want plumber to repair the damage to my ceiling?

[cornflakegirl]

Genuinely not sure on this one, so want some opinions please.

Just had a new boiler fitted. Old boiler was in the kitchen, new one in the airing cupboard, so lots of pipework redone. At one point, something went a bit wrong and water came out of one of the (supposedly) stopped off pipes into the bottom of our airing cupboard when we used the tap in the bathroom. Not a lot of water - we used the tap 2 or 3 times until we worked out that the weird sound really was water. The plumber mopped up the water when he arrived maybe an hour later.

Fast forward two weeks and some staining has appeared on our lounge ceiling, kind of spreading out from underneath the airing cupboard. We're assuming that it's because of the earlier incident. We asked to plumber to come and check - he sent his partner, and from the heads up that he gave him, he is also assuming that the cause is the same incident. Plumber's partner confirmed that boiler is working fine, pipes and cupboard floor are dry so pretty sure not an ongoing problem.

I asked plumber about repairing the damage to the ceiling. He said "It just needs painting." I said we couldn't do it ourselves. He said he'd talk to his partner - I haven't heard back yet (this was Thursday morning).

So, the staining isn't really bad. I'm guessing that an application of stain block and a coat of paint will deal with it. But it's 3 years or so since we last painted the ceiling, so I imagine that we'll have to paint the whole ceiling, or it will look odd. The room is a lounge-diner, so fairly big and full of furniture that can't really go anywhere else. We also have a 4yo and an 8mo.

So, am I being unreasonable to want to plumber to make good / pay for someone else to make good?

If he's a good plumber, I wouldn't push it, tbh. They're like gold dust!

YANBU

In an ideal world he would, but not sure where you stand in the real world.

Having been in a very similar situation to you recently, I was happy for the plumber to confirm that source of the problem is sorted, wait for the ceiling to dry out (depending on what it is made of, this can take some time). I would then stainblock and paint it. I've had to do something similar recently as the upstairs flat flooded and leaked into mine.

In my case, the plumber paid for the stainblock and paint, rather than doing a return visit, I was happy to do the painting, only took a couple of hours, and if you use a roller on a stick, there isn't any mess, and I was able to work round the furniture that way. Obviously, your circumstances are different but this might be a useful compromise, if all else fails.

You discussed this with him on Thursday, we're now at the weekend (assuming he doesn't work weekends), I would give him a reasonable amount of time to respond before assuming he won't sort the problem out. Say a week? If you have any concerns, the best thing to do is to give trading standards a ring on Monday morning and just clarify your rights in this situation, and then if your plumber is reluctant to fix it, you know where you stand in terms of legal protection etc, I tend to find the threat of trading standards is great leverage to get good service.

On a legal note, have you paid him in full for the job already? I would usually hold back the final bit until I am sure that all aspects of the work have been done to my standards. That way the tradesperson has the financial motivation to finish the job properly. If the invoice is outstanding, obviously don't pay him until the ceiling is repaired.

I appreciate that it is a big pain in the bum, but as the previous poster said, good plumbers are hard to find, and no doubt your boiler is under warranty, if anything happens with it, the same plumber would come back to repair. So ideally, you need to keep him onside.

Sorry for the essay, good luck with getting it sorted.

Thanks for the advice Cloud. I do want to keep the plumber sweet, but I really don't want the hassle. Iirc, last time we painted the ceiling there were four of us lugging a ladder and a gazillion dustsheets about and desperately trying to keep track of which bits we'd painted. We probably overcomplicated it, but I'm fearful of agreeing to do it ourselves and then it being a horrible job again. Will have to talk to DH about it.

Will call trading standards to get their advice. The work is already fully paid for.

also, I know it's easier said than done but don't stress about it, give the chap a chance to sort it, and deal with any problems if they come.

In terms of painting, you will probably need some mini steps (depending on ceiling height) and a good roller (perhaps on a stick). As long as you don't overload it, it won't make too much mess, and you can get paint that goes on pink and dries white, brilliant for ceilings where you have to watch for good coverage and keep track of what you have painted. It is only a little more than usual paint.

Maybe get your DH to take your little ones while you do it or vice-versa? With any luck it'll be one coat and take an afternoon. I found that two coats of stain block, properly dried were the most important thing.

Either the way, there is a not too painful (although not ideal) solution, don't lose any sleep over it, chances are, he'll sort it anyway.

we had similar - due to the previous people routing ONE pipe from downstairs, so not stopped when he turned upstairs off. plumber got v wet. it was def our job to repair it. painting one ceiling is really not that hard, but then i'm currently working my way through the 4th house we'll have repainted from top to bottom, so getting quite blase about it.