Replacement refill valve - quote

[thelma57]

Hi all. Our refill valve needs replacing (pretty sure) as cistern isn’t refilling but flushes fine when manually filled.

Got the part and going to have a go at refitting myself but being a bit scared thought I’d get a quote from a plumber for the job too - they said £80, surety this is too much?!

£80 is probably fair.

Usually the fill fails "open", because the diaphrame fails, either way not a hard job if the access is good.

Tip, You might want to fill the bath first, in case you need to leave the water off while getting tools / parts.

Gosh it just seems like such a lot for what is surely a 10 minute job?

I’ll have a bash myself and hope I don’t break anything and cost us more!

I changed the valve on my grandmothers toilet, took about 30 mins and cost less than a tenner.

It's actually fairly easy if the access is good, just make sure you've got the right tools first!

Tradesmen are not cheap these days. You are incredibly lucky you have found one that is prepared to do such a small job. Usually they promise to come round to quote then just don't turn up.

Interesting you say that @KievLoverTwo as he quoted by text and has a lot of reviews stating he didn’t show 🤦‍♀️

That sounds like a quote for a job the plumber doesn’t really want to do because it’s small but will do if you pay him enough.

We had a similar fix done by a friend of a friend earlier in the summer, cost us £50 and he did it in the evening because he’s pretty much booked up with full days work on big building projects.

When we moved last year, we were trying to get all the tap washers throughout the house changed.

We contacted three firms who all promised to come round and quote. Between the three of them, they failed to show up six times. That was just to quote.

If they get a last minute offer of a better paying job, they'll drop you like a hot potato.

We lost so many tradesmen to Brexit that they don't have to be reliable anymore. They are so thinly spread that they will get the work regardless.

£80 doesn't sound shockingly expensive tbh.

Definitely have a go at doing it yourself - I've done a couple in my house and it's not hard as long as the cistern is accessible. Loads of videos on YouTube.