DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

hi every body
i would just like everyones view on how long they reasonably think a workmans guarantee should be /last for
not the guarantee on a product which is normally 12 months but the actual labour side of the work
lets say i fit a handbasin in a bathroom and 15 months later thier is a leak from behind one of the taps,would expect the plumber to fix for nothing
if you have any storys please post the reply
many thanks
bob

You can guarantee workmanship, but how can they prove no-one has tampered or changed something since you done the work. Has/could the pipework have been knocked, has someone sat or put alot of pressure on the basin where it could have moved - causing the leak ?

Sometimes pipes and joints can be fine for many years, and just start to leak.

There's no way i'd repair anything after 15 months without a labour charge.

Where I work, if i do a job - up to seven days after - If it went off or there was a problem it's classed as a callback. Anything after the 7 days - it's a new job. I would say it should the same for any job, if there's a problem you would notice it within a week or so.

15 months seems a bit long. I would investigate and if no fault in workmanship ( crossed thread, olive at tip of pipe ) i would charge. I would let them know about this in advance.

All of the trades at DIY Doc have discussed this one and we have decided that it is reasonable to expect any tradesman to guarantee his or her work for 12 months. This is of course as the man says above, providing no-one has tampered with it or there are no external forces at play. If a tradesman is not confident enough to place a guarentee on their work in our opinion they are not a tradesman. The defining point here is to ask any tradesperson that if they did the job for themselves, at their own home, would they be happy to need to repair it in anything less than a year ? We think not. If the manufacturers are happy to put a 12 month guarentee on the product then the fitting guarentee should be just the same.

come on every one get stuck in i want more views
thank you doctor your more or less the same as me,if the repair was quick and simple no problem good for customer relations
but if was a days work for instance id have to think about a charge
bob

Frankly, I reckon 12 months is long enough, but personally I tend to look more at what the problem is rather than the timescale. If I feel the labour or part should have lasted longer and particularly if it's a nice customer. I might be persuaded to fix it free.

Ten minutes of goodwill could get (and has got me) extra work.

hi mate,
you should expect from a quality bathroom fitter at least a 2yr guarentee.

i install for an exclusive bathroom company in bath, i give a 2yr guarentee on workmanship (does not include faulty fixtures ie dripping tap ) but a leak from a joint or seal would be covered. my company is registered with IBSA (independant bathroom specialist association), after my guarentee has expired a further 4 years is covered for all aspects of the installation.

hope that helped, at the end of the day you get what you pay for. a joe bloggs fitter guarentee isnt worth jack. principle and customer satisfaction should cover such a meanial dispute.

craig