Plumbing Blog

Copper Cylinders

2009-07-05T09:21:00.002+01:00

You would think with the price of copper, that hot water cylinders would be quite expensive! However I have just come across a great supplier who absolutly outdoes anybody on the net check out www.coppercylinder.co.uk.

£200 Cash back on your Old Boiler

2009-06-01T09:17:00.002+01:00

Today, we have decided to offer all our customers that have used the online booking service £200 cash back on their old boiler. This will be a massive saving for anybody wishing to exchange their gas central heating boiler for a an energy efficient appliance.

Obviously with new technology, there comes new appliances and some of the latest boilers could actually save you a huge amount of money each month in gas bills alone.

Top Spots SEO

2009-05-28T10:17:00.002+01:00

Finally, Google has deemed us important enough to reach the first page for our required keywords! But has this made any difference on our business? Well, not a lot! Albeit we are at the bottom of the first page, but you would think that with claims that 250,000 UK searches (per month) have made using our desired keywords we would get some kind of inflated hits?

Maybe its down to the users of Google, how far do they actually search for the tradesman they want? Do they just click on first result that comes up? The Sponsored Link! If this is the trend then we certainly have something to feel deflated about.

However, I will give it a bit of time and blog again soon to let you know how we're doing.

MAY DAY BANK HOLIDAY OFFER

2009-04-30T13:34:00.004+01:00

With the success of Aprils 50% offer, we have decided to offer another offer of 25% offer over the bank holiday! Where else would you get these great deals of tradesman!

A lot of people take a contract out to cover them for problems in the home and this can cost up-to £300 - £400 pounds a year. It beats me why people would pay this much on top of their home insurance? At the end of the day, how many problems are you going to have in a year? Would it not just be as cheap to call a local plumber when you do have a problem?

I dont know, but maybe its down to the reputation of the company and its worth paying over the odds for the assurance?

Summer central heating Installations

2009-04-22T09:26:00.003+01:00

With Summer almost here a lot of people will not be using their central heating and boilers as much. The boiler breakdown work obviously slows down and the most common problems will be hot water issues.

However, we have noticed that central heating installation enquiries seem to go up dramatically throughout the summer months. So we are now looking around at different suppliers and checking out the best deals on good quality Heating Boilers, radiators and parts. We are still aware that the economy is fighting a recession but with house sales going up for the third month, we can expect a few more enquiries.

We will publish our Central heating and boiler offers shortly.

A New Offer - Save 50%

2009-04-02T14:05:00.003+01:00

Every month Rapidfix will be offering new offers to their customers! Last month was a great example. and we gave away hundreds of jobs from £1 with some excellent feedback added to www.freeindex.co.uk.

This Month we are offering a 50% saving on all tradesmen! So you could get a fixed rate plumber for £27!

2009-03-30T13:02:00.000+01:00

Do heating boilers profit from a power-flush

With each passing year internal contaminants develops within your gas boiler and system. The contaminants will need to be flushed out to restore your gas fired boiler and central heating system to normal operation.

A popular method for quickly removing that these contaminants is to use a powerflush.

Any gas boiler and system can develop this contamination problem over time, time is the main factor has deposits build every day. If you are replacing major components in your system you should consider a power flush to help them operate in the optimal conditions. Fitting new components will inevitably disturb the contaminants causing it to circulate through the boiler and central heating system once more.

You can purchase corrosion inhibitor in the shops which can be added to the central heating system and help to slow any contaminants buildup.

Gas Safe warn DIY'ers

2009-03-23T10:58:00.003Z

It's interesting to read that the New governing body 'Gas Safe' has issued figures with over 4 in 10 people (41.4%) admitting they are more likely fit a new gas appliance in the current economic climate. Only 15% of respondents said they would always use a professional tradesman.

Obviously these are worrying figures and would recommend anyone considering do any Gas work themselves to check out our Special offers page as there are always affordable tradesmen on there.

Whos responsibility is blocked drains?

2009-03-18T09:27:00.003Z

We often get calls from disgruntled people who have blocked drains. A majority of time we can unblock your drains using common methods such as roding or high pressure water. However, a small percentage of the time we find that there is not blockage on the customers property but still they have a foul smell and water is residing in the drain. This is often because the blockage is either further on down the line on a neighbour's property or the actual main sewer line is blocked.

Problems start to arise when the blockage is on the neighbours property but is only causing homes further down the line problems. The argument then becomes 'who is going to pay for the drains to be cleaned'?

Painting and Decorating

2009-03-17T10:01:00.002Z

It's strange how the emphasis on on products and services changes each week? Its would seem that somewhere, someone has decided that the country needs painters and decorators this week and guttering the following week.

I have considered that this could be a change in the weather but still not entirely sure. Yesterday was a really busy day for us an we done quite a few quotes on maintenance work for painting and decorating.

Cover Heat Policies and complaints

2009-03-16T08:32:00.005Z

Throughout the years we have been sub contractors for all the main insurance companies and policy providers. And just over a year ago we were contacted by Coverheat whom were looking for reputable plumbing and Heating tradesmen in the Northwest. After a couple of conversations and a bit of research into who Coverheat, we finally agreed to attend a few boiler service jobs and all was well. It then progressed to boiler breakdowns and repairs, this is when we eventually got concerned. As we were called out to diagnose a problems with customers boilers and provide a quote with parts and labour to repair the appliance, however we were never asked to repair the boiler. This resulted into Coverheat customers repeatedly calling our control center and complaining about the service and all we could do is refer them back to Cover heat Customer services. This did not go down well and cover heat customer have ended up paying us to repair the boiler without going through their policy.

Now it seems that cover heat are going through all sorts of problems and a lot of contactors are chasing money from them. We have also stopped our services as we have oustanding costs since November.

Tradesman from a pound?

2009-03-13T08:43:00.002Z

There is a lot of caution from our website visitors when using the online quote and booking form. We know this because of the high number of calls we get each day requesting an emergency plumber or boiler repair.

We believe that the quick quote form is pretty simple to use but would be extremely grateful for any feedback from you guys. Please either respond to this post or email us at info@rapidfix.com.

Once more we have an excellent promotion to encourage you guys to use the online booking form; we are offering all our services from ONE POUND check the special offers page out!

CORGI Carbon Monoxide Report

2009-03-12T10:44:00.001Z

CORGI has released its second report that highlights the areas and groups of people who are most at risk of gas-related carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lack of an official, centralised incident reporting system and many cases going undiagnosed, means the overall figures in this report could be much higher.

Worst hit regions
London, Yorkshire, The Midlands and Wales are the worst affected regions in the UK, reporting the most incidents per head of population.

Vulnerable groups
The elderly, those living in private rented accommodation and those living in non-English speaking communities have all been identified as vulnerable groups.

Consumer awareness
The public in general are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning due to their startling lack of knowledge of the dangers. CORGI’s consumer research reveals that 91% of people have a smoke alarm installed but 65% of people do not have a carbon monoxide alarm. Shockingly, 3% of people do not even know what a carbon monoxide alarm is.

Recommendations
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be cause by many factors such as blocked flues and chimneys, installation or appliance faults, owner error and even weather conditions. Counter measures recommended to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning include using a CORGI registered installer to annually service appliances and installing a carbon monoxide alarm.

Washing Machine Leaks

2009-03-11T09:18:00.006Z

There has been a recent influx of calls for emergency plumbers concerning leaks in kitchens. The funny thing is that a majority of these emergencies have been due to washing machine Hose leaks!

Its simple to avoid this problem and here's how to do it. Look behind your washing machine. Notice the hoses connecting the appliance to the water main. The hoses are probably old and made of rubber. Almost nobody ever turns off those faucets so the hoses are always fully charged with maximum water pressure. When one splits or bursts, it will flood your house.

Any company offering plumbing services will tell you that replacing old hoses with new ones, preferably stronger, braided stainless steel hoses, will go a long way toward preventing a flood. You don't need licensed plumbing specialists to do the job. Anyone who has ever hooked up a garden hose can do it. It's a simple residential plumbing solution that will save you a fortune.

Gas Safe Register

2009-03-10T12:51:00.004Z

We got our Gas Safe registration cards today.

As you may know Capita's Gas Safety Register scheme replaces CORGI's registration scheme from April 1, 2009, and installers will need to be registered on the scheme to operate legally.

I am still pretty concerned about taking the Corgi logo of the website as there doesn't seem to be allot of exposure of the Gas Safe Register Brand. This should really cause some concern for the public whom do not realise that it not a Corgi Plumber that they now need to repair gas appliances. But it is a Gas Safe Registered Plumber?

Corgi To Gas Serve?

2009-02-24T10:22:00.002Z

From April 2009 the Health and Safety organisation Corgi will transfer over to the Capita controlled regime of 'Gas Serve Register'. This means that all operatives that service your boiler or repair gas appliances should now be registered on the Gas serve Register.

Boiler safety

2008-10-08T10:02:00.003+01:00

Carbon Monoxide poisoning is a subject that people know very little about. Not only can it kill you, it can cause permanent Neurological Damage in the longer term. In the short term, it can make you feel ill and inhibit you life potential.

Here's what to do to protect yourself. Please read all of the steps to the end, it may be that the following five minutes could save your life, or the life of someone else.

1. Check the flame colour of your appliances, if it's Orange you do have a problem. However, Blue does not necessarily mean it's safe. Get your appliances checked annually and get a CO Detector if unsure. You would not drive your car without an MOT. Doing the same for you home is common sense as you spend most of your time there.

2. Check the flue, is it blocked? Do you have creeping plants growing up your walls? Do you have birds nesting in your flue? Completely remove these obstructions from the flue area and fit a guard to stop any birds nesting. Get your flue checked! Is it drawing properly? Was it fitted correctly in the first place?

3. Do you have a horizontal gas grill? They can be particularly hazardous. Is yours working correctly? Older appliances can be problematic, use the electric toaster instead. Get your cooker checked.

4. Is there adequate ventilation? Check your air bricks or trickle vents. Have you had double glazing fitted? If the appliances in your home do not have enough air they will produce Carbon Monoxide

5. When were your appliances last checked? Do it every year, don't leave it to chance. Remember, the engineer can only check the conditions on the day that he attends, get protection year round, fit a CO Detector with a low level alarm.

6. Do you suffer from unexplained illnesses, Fatigue, Muscle pains, Upset stomach, Lethargy, Dizziness, Headaches?

Go to your doctor and get a CohB test, go directly from your house, don't go elsewhere as the CO in your blood will deplete and may not be picked up.

7. Are you a Tenant? Do you have a Safety Certificate? Does your landlord annually check the appliances in your accommodation? (He must do this by Law). Has the engineer done a thorough check? How long was he in the house for? Has your landlord fitted a CO Detector?

8. Are you a Landlord? Have you been carrying out statutory checks? Even if you have, you may be liable if one of your tenants becomes ill or worse, dies. Fit a Detector for your own and your tenants' piece of mind. As a Landlord, you have to show Due Diligence. If you are found guilty of neglect you may be fined or even sent to prison. Could you live with the consequences for the rest of your life?

blogarama.com

New Website

2008-09-25T14:06:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since our last blog and we have done a quite a bit!

We have now reinvented our website at www.rapidfix.com with a interactive quote form on every page. Check out our plumbers page and let me know what you guys think?

Obviously we have attempted to make our forms visitor friendly by allowing customers to get a non obligated qoutation at a fixed rate!!!

Warm front

2008-03-14T09:55:00.003Z

There was something interesting I read in the news yesterday about the Warm front Scheme, which is a grant available for households to install Central heating etc.

We have done work with this scheme because the customer has requested us personally, and didn't find any real vetting involved? Plus we had to pay a £50 fee to do the work. Which really defeats the object of being in business, but the customer preferred our tradesmen above all else and seemed to settle it for us.

Read the article below

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/investigates/2008/03/13/warm-front-s-heating-scheme-leaves-the-elderly-cold-89520-20349737/

Landlord Energy Performance certificates

2008-02-25T09:31:00.001Z

It’s important that landlords are aware of this development as all residential and commercial
buildings are affected from 1st of October at the latest, with some commercial buildings being affected earlier.

Remember, heavy fines are on the cards for non-compliance. Energy Performance Assessors are likely to be in demand so prudent landlords may consider getting their properties up to standard and assessed early, especially if re-letting is likely.

The Landlord’s Energy Savings Allowance scheme (LESA) allows landlords to claim the cost of buying and installing energy saving measures against their tax bill. Take a look http://www.rapidfix.co.uk/EPCS.aspx

Carbon Monoxide Report

2008-02-18T10:39:00.000Z

I was interested to see that Corgi has released a report pin pointing the most vulnerable areas and people who are exposed to Carbon Monoxide. Not only because of the business Rapidfix is in, but because I have also had a friend who was a victim to intoxication.

The report shows that between January 2006 and April 2007, there were 102 carbon monoxide incidents claiming 50 lives and causing 218, often long-term, injuries. Lack of centralised reporting plus undiagnosed cases passing through the healthcare system means the overall figures will be much higher.

My first thought was what can Rapidfix do to tackle this issue? Maybe we could supply our customers with Free Carbon monoxide testers?

http://www.trustcorgi.com/consumer/Documents/J3129%20Corgi%20Brochure_final.pdf

Russ

Pictures as Promised

2008-02-15T14:16:00.002Z

The first look at our control centre, just waiting for the new furniture!

New Office Phase - 1

2008-02-15T09:08:00.003Z

Finally, our job control centre has moved into their new offices. In ways, it reminds me of the Starship Enterprise! Altough there is still a lot of work to do, its looks like we're making progress! I will post some pictures shortly.

Busy New Year

2008-01-25T11:40:00.000Z

So far, the new year has been really busy in all trades of our work! Putting private customers aside, we also take a lot of work from Homeserve which is a conduit for all the major household insurance companies. And a lot of work has been completed on this side of the business.

We have also received our customer satifaction scores on both plumbing and drainage for the last two months, which Homeserve have concluded is over 95%.

More on this tommorow as I need to answer the phone (Very Busy!) :)

Rapid First Blog

2008-01-22T13:36:00.000Z

This first post is really a test to see if my blog application worked! And also to see what it looks like.

Hopefully over the next few weeks I can get somebody from all our trades and professions to submit a blog!

Russ