Unable to fix shower - no plumbers!

[Katspace]

My mum is 88. She can’t use the bath as she has arthritis. Her shower has been broken for a while and we cannot find a plumber in her area (near Workington West Cumbria) who will install a new one. Called occupational health who did a visit but said there was nothing they could do. She lives on a private estate and can pay but can’t find a plumber. I have tried everywhere that I am aware of. Tried word of mouth but nothing.

Any ideas?

Round our way a lot of recommendations go via the local Facebook groups. If she's not on them (fair enough!) does she have any neighbours who are?

What have you tried so far - presumably normal googling isn't getting you anywhere?

I get good results by messaging large numbers of people, responding quickly if they get back, and paying whatever they ask on the nail without question...

Try local Age Uk, they should have a list of trusted workmen.

What about websites like Checkatrade, MyBuilder or Rated People? They come with reviews too.

I feel your pain. I’d echo what @PermanentTemporary said. Try a local Facebook page and the app Nextdoor. I have had plumbers and electricians from there for my elderly parent. Depending on level of vulnerability you could consider mentioning it’s for an elderly person as some traders will be sympathetic- a couple I’m sure have just charged my mum a straight £50 for jobs they would have charged me more for.

If you are
desperate rather than going for a plumber, try a property maintenance company. They are £££ but have staff to come out. Re: Age UK, some areas do the trusted trader and some don’t. I’m Northwest and they don’t in my area. The neighbours and a carer who lives local have also given me names of tradesmen.

I do sympathise - I was reading a local Facebook post at the weekend from a relative outraged that a housing association hadn’t repaired the heating for her elderly father within 48 hours! The local MP was tagged in. It’s not a race to the bottom but I couldn’t help compare this scenario to situations I have been in similar to yours!

Have you tried the big chain ones like Homeserve, or does she have home insurance with breakdown/repair cover?

Often the chains are more expensive but more reliable and willing to do small jobs.

Thanks all.

Age UK are useless and couldn’t help either.

I don’t think the big chains cover the area. I will check out FB but I think I have tried everywhere. There is only one on Checkatrade and they won’t do it! I will check out maintenance companies so thanks for that!

At the moment the only option seems a complete refurb which will be several thousand.

I don’t think the house insurance covers it but will check.

There are quite a lot of listings on Thomson Local. I'm sure most of them will be semi-fake or unavailable but you only need one!

It can be a struggle to find a plumber where I live too. My Age UK don’t answer their phones and if you leave a message, no one calls back. You could try the nearest city or neighbouring areas …

What type of shower is it?
You might find a handyman style workman can do it if, eg, it is just replacing the front/external part. Check reviews carefully.
When we were struggling, our local (independent) DIY shop recommended someone. Is there a place like that nearby your Mum could get to?
Also, I'd guess plumbers are about to become much more available, as the weather warms, and boiler replacements stop being their entire workload.

Can you get on a local to your Mum Facebook group and search for showers, and see what names pop up?

You need an independent, many are word of mouth so try the local facebook or nextdoor page. My dad was a plumber and never advertised (retired but still would have done it for you if he was closer, he's still doing a bit)

If you go to the nearest kitchen and bathroom or DIY shop do they offer a fitting service if you were to buy a replacement?

It doesn’t work at all. Previously tried a repair but nothing there either so I thought a replacement might be more attractive. Got an emergency plumber to fix a toilet one time but he wouldn’t do the shower.

NextDoor doesn’t exist in that area. I will try Facebook. I have been through Google, Yellow pages, Thomson local. Nothing on Checkatrade etc.

@floormops basically no unless you do a full refurb.

Sorry, I can't see this mentioned in pp, unless I missed it, but could her home insurers help her find someone? There is usually emergency plumbing cover. this isn't an emergency but the company would have a list of people they use.

Is it an electric shower, you don't need a plumber if it is, spark or handy man.

@SpringOfContentment oh yes, good call on asking in a shop - electrical shop, tiling shop, hardware even B&Q often have cards up. @Katspace If you are calling you could try the ‘little old lady card’ - someone may be moved to help.

I also googled for property maintenance in your mum’s area and this came up:http://www.ppm-limited.co.uk/ no clue who they are but this is the sort of set up I was thinking of if you are desperate.

Sorry @Katspace should have also said that this happened to my Mum recently. Cost £150 and a plumber did it - same guy who replaced a toilet cistern. On both occasions the bloke left all the packaging so I was able to check the price and see what he’d done. As another pp said, with an electrical shower other options are an electrician and an odd job person. It’s a nightmare. I live in daily terror of my Mum’s heating breaking down. It’s a back boiler so I don’t think any tradesmen will touch it.

www.google.com/localservices/prolist

What kind of shower is it? It sounds like it might be more complex work than a straightforward repair or replacement if plumbers don't want to do it or are talking about total refurbishment.

If it's an electric shower you can go to the manufacturer and give them the make and model number. They should be able to tell you what their nearest equivalent replacement is ie the current version that should fit the existing plumbing set up. Often they offer a fitting service too.

If it's a non electric but plumbed in shower it can be harder to get a match - particularly if the workings are set within the wall and tiled over. Some re-tiling might be needed which might not be an exact match to the existing tiles.

It will depend on your priorities for a working shower versus a nice matching bathroom.

A good plumber should be able to come up with some options though.

At the moment plumbers that are gas engineers too are still in their very busy period dealing with heating repairs. That will level off soon when the warmer weather arrives. You may well find them more willing to take on a fiddly shower repair when their workload isn't so manic.

Possibly Age Concern could provide a list of suitable plumbers. Other sources like Check a Trade, Facebook recommendations or simply asking neighbours who they use can be helpful.

There's a FB group called Workington which people seem to have posted about asking for plumbers before so that's probably worth a try

I get all tradespeople via our local fb page. I'm not interested in getting recommendations, I only go for tradespeople who respond themselves - they want the job - then I check out their reviews. I've never been disappointed.

She may be eligible for an improvement grant through social services, call them and see if they can help, do you know what sort of shower it is.

Thanks all again. It’s not electric, it’s plumbed in. I think it works off the boiler. I thought an electric shower might be an option to replace. At this stage I am willing to pay over the odds but I don’t have £10k for a full refurb.

She has a shower in her other bathroom but can’t use it as the bath is not safe (already been stuck in it once).

I did contact oc health re a grant as it is unsafe or at least to recommend something but they were useless.

I will rejoin Facebook and try the Workington group.

Thanks for the person who mentioned PPM Ltd I will have a look when I’m not at work: