I COULDN'T JUST WALK AWAY
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- čas přidán 20. 04. 2023
- Day in the life of a plumber
I show you a job that got to me a bit, I couldn't just walk away and leave water leaking through someone's ceiling despite only be there to quote for a boiler. Sometimes you have to what feels right at the time. I then try to sort out a problem on a secondary return system that had never worked properly
Thanks for all the support as always, it is so greatly appreciated
Have been a registered plumbing and heating installer since leaving school , ran my own busines for 38 years until poor health and had to stop. I love your videos, being real and treating your customers with respect. I feel your pain on some of your jobs and relive mine from the past. Well done keep going . Top job from fellow plumber
Thanks for the support and kind comment, I'm so pleased you enjoy the videos
Can’t help but feel bad for people in that situation. You’re such a good guy for helping with the leek. Keep up the good work tom
Thanks for the support as always mate, it's hard to see people in a bad place, hopefully things will start to get better from this point for him, the hardest part can be just asking for help
I know how that feels mate. You’re there to do a job but you have this perverse sense of disgust, guilt and sadness for the resident all mixed in together and it just leaves you in a state of surreal horror. Plus the relief of not being in there any more. I don’t miss the trade when I remember those days.
Your a fantastic tradesman Tom, and a wonderful human being..
Keep up the great work young man.
Thanks for the support as always Carl, have a great weekend mate
Unfortunately the untidiness is becoming more and more a problem for people who are struggling with day-to-day life, you are a credit to our great trade. Keep up the fantastic work. Tom. 👍🙏
Thanks for the support as always Andy, it's so sad to see people living like this, hopefully things are going to get better for him now
I always watch your videos for the high craftsmanship standards. Now I realize your ethical moral & humanitarian standards are equally as high. Puts the rest of us to shame. Keep up the good work. You're an inspiration & a true hero
Thanks for the support as always mate, it is greatly appreciated
I had a hoarders house last year on emergency call out to a leak through a ceiling. It was a dormer bungalow with a huge tank and a primatic cylinder. I couldn’t physically get to the room above and the kitchen ceiling was destroyed as was the chipboard floor above it so I ended up cutting through the lot and the carpet above to isolate a pinholed rad. I had water from my fingers running past my balls on it’s way to my toes. It’s a sight I’ll never forget and I did really feel for the old couple in there.
It sounds like a right nightmare mate, they are never nice jobs seeing someone in a mess and struggling, all you can ever do is your best and deal with every situation in a professional manner, thanks for watching as always Robert
Never doubted for a minute that you wouldn’t help, it’s such a shame when this happens nobody really knows the mental health situation of some people. You are the boy Tom well done.
Thanks for the support as always Charles, I do my best to help out when I can, hopefully he is getting some help now and things will improve
The algorithm sent me to you Tom . I’m a Electrician in California for us we have licenses and I believe you do in the UK to for plumbers electricians and tradesmen and whether it’s your license or money or whatever the problem is you can’t leave people with dangerous stuff like water, running or in my case I’ve been in many situation’s where I’ve seen just straight dangerous stuff either a fire will happen or kids gonna get electrocuted or you know weep shocked out of them ,so I’ve been in that position too whether I’m I paid or not, I gotta fix it. I got to safety the problem off. A lot of customers out there I think it’s just all code and engineering type stuff but there’s also written in the electric code that things have to be done in a workmanlike manner so when people do half measures or what we call hacking crappy work that’s illegal has to be done in a workmanlike manner and part of that is keeping people safe! Good job man go have a couple of pints It will help your mind forget about it
Thanks for the support mate, I always see it as a duty of care, like you say to walk away from a dangerous situation, even if you are not there to fix that issue, makes you responsible, most of the time things can be made safe quite easily. To me money always comes second in theses cases, people are way more important, if I end up not being paid all I have lost is an hour of my time and a couple of cheap valves, in the big picture its nothing
Yes I’ve had them like that Tom
Humble , Tom as a good person you are helping a person in need of which they situation may not be their own making , we should not be judgemental and do the right thing .
You are right there Ian, I never judge anyone, like you say there are a multitude of things that can lead to people living like this, hopefully things are looking a bit more positive for him now, thanks for the support as always mate
Tom you're you tube video's, are real world plumbing, love your content you show the real life of a plumber,keep it up mate👍👍
Thanks for the support as always Jim, I try to show things how they are, not everything is going to perfect out there, I'm so pleased you enjoy my content
Hi Tom , good on you for helping that person. I’ve had similar in my time and like to think that it’s not always about the money . Doing the right thing is worth loads . Keep up the great videos mate 👌🏻
Thanks for the support as always Chris, it feels good to help people, money should be secondary on jobs like this, no way would I leave someone in a mess
Well done Tom for helping the customer out.
Thanks for the support as always Paul, have a great weekend mate 👍
Tom anything good and nice you have in life you work very hard for it,
Good video as always mate
👍👍🤜
Thanks for the support as always Tony, it is greatly appreciated mate
You're a good man Tom, a lot of of plumbers would've walked away from that job, sometimes its not always about money
Thanks for the support Steve, someone once said to me walking away just wears your shoes out faster
Your a awesome human being like myself put people's be needs first were all human keep smashing it tom
Thanks for the support Matthew, I do my best to try and help others, I hate to see people struggling
Two frustrating jobs Tom, different but similar reasons. Fair play for sorting the ball valve.
Thanks for the support as always Paul, have a great weekend mate
dont know why in our job but you always feel the need to help people no matter what the situation. fair play to you tom for that. had a few like this and its never easy.
It certainly isn't easy mate, I think it's often part of the job that gets overlooked, you don't go to college and learn about how to dealing with people but it's an essential part of the job
It’s awful when you see people living like that but this is how some people live,but very nice of you to do they bit you done 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for the support as always mate, they are not nice job to be honest, all you can do is deal with the situation in the best way you can
I had an identical job Tom. Old lady with water pouring out an overflow from her roof onto her garden, I was working a few doors down. I saw it and thought I know what that is, she came over asking for help. I went in and the house was absolutely packed, really bad smell. She had no heating, hot water and her toilet was long blocked. An old ball valve had snapped at the joint on the header, I capped the tank off, couldn't do much more, the boiler had long since gone out, no chance lighting it and not safe. Didn't charge despite her trying to give me some cash. Got on the phone to the council when i left, felt bad, but it was hard work finding anyone who cared.
She needed help, life had just got away from her bless.
It's so sad when people get themselves in a mess, I've had a couple of jobs over the years and it really does make you apprecaite what you have got, we may all go through tough times and when you get yourself in a mess it can be tough to get out, thanks for watching
Well done mate your a genuine tradesman
Thanks for the support mate, it is greatly appreciated 👍
Favourite channel to watch, keep it up mate!
Thanks for the support mate, I'm so pleased you enjoy my videos, plenty more to come in the future hopefully
Good on you Tom, you see all sorts as a plumber don’t you, take care and hope you have a good weekend.👍🚽
It is a very varied job, you meet people from all walks of life, thanks for the support and have a great weekend Peter
Good of you Tom 👍👍
Thanks for the support John, it is greatly appreciated
You’ve got a big heart Tom no doubt about that mate. I know very little about the commercial side of things so I found this really fascinating to see. I totally agree with you on the pump in line surely it’s only matching the speed of the water coming out of the original pump and a bigger pump would be better. Cheers again Tom great job.
Thanks for the support as always Robert, adding a second pump wouldn't have really done much, I wasn't happy with the job so I decided just to put it back how it was, I would have fitted a larger pump but even then because the pipes aren't lagged I don't think it would have fixed it fully, sometimes you can only do your best, thanks for watching mate
I watch a lot of CZcams channels and yours is my favourite :)
Thanks for the support mate, I'm so pleased you enjoy my content so much
Well done Tom 👍😎
Thanks for the support as always PB, have a great weekend mate
Hi Tom -- credit to you stopping the water pouring through the guys ceiling -- your a credit to the trade Tom , iv'e also been in houses just like that --it's a mental illness were the people hoard junk + all the rooms are packed with everthing + there's no room to move in the house except from passge ways between the junk piled high to the ceiling ! -- your right it makes you realise how lucky we are not to be like that -- - i'm like you and it bothers me when i see that kind of house too -- hope social services do try and help the guy trouble is when it's their own property sometimes they won't except the help ! really the only way your going to be able to install a combi is if he's moved out too tempoary accomodation+ the house is cleared so you can work safely -- take care Tom your a good man -- Jim
Thanks for the support as always Jim, they are never nice jobs to deal with but all you can do is your best, hopefully things are going to get better on this one now, they have a clean team going in and then I can sort a price out to get some heating and hot water back on, thanks for watching as always mate
Great video, it's interesting seeing other trades coming across the same things while on site too.
I've worked in a couple of hoarders houses myself and its mind boggling to see in person. 'Stuff' piled floor to ceiling in every room with a walk way of 2' at best. I had to leave a box of cat5 for one guy to cable himself as it would have taken all day just to shift it all to gain access.
It's tough out there mate, when you walk into a place like that you can't quite believe how someone can actually live, it can't be a pleasant existence, hopefully now things are moving in the right direction, the toughest part can be just asking for help
Excellent video mate feel bad for matey
Thanks for the support as always Tom, I felt bad as well to mate, hopefully things are looking better now, fingers crossed he can get things sorted
Great video mate, good on you sorting that leak out in that state! ❤
Thanks for the support as always mate, it certainly was a bit of a mess, hopefully things will start to get better for him now, have a great weekend mate
@@PlumbLikeTom you too mate
Top work mate have been to a few jobs like this you never know what your going to be facing going into customers houses and it geos to show you how people's life's are being lived a d never know what there going through but chin up bud hopefully he gets the the help he needs 😎👍😎😎👍😎👍😎👍
Thanks for the support as always mate, I think he is getting some help now mate which is great, hopefully things are going to get much better for him
Still watching but good on you for at least stopping the poor guys leak. Like you say makes you realise just how lucky you are. Mental health is often a big factor when people get into such a mess. Hopefully he can get whatever help he needs and get back on his feet.
I think things are moving in the right direction for him now, there are some cleaners going in so we can then look at get some heating and hot water sorted, thanks for watching as always mate, it is greatly appreciated 👍
@@PlumbLikeTom you're very welcome I appreciate the videos 😊
Well done tom👍🏿👍🏿 it's a terrible situation to see a person who is on there knees and less and and less community support and help let alone government help
It's always tough mate, hopefully things will get better for him, thanks for watching as always Paul 👍
How the hell are you ment work safely in a job like that? You can’t until he’s cleared that lot up…best bit of plumbing advice I’ve ever heard….don’t let their problem become your problem
I didn't realise it was that bad when I got asked to price the job, I felt I needed to stop the water leaking as it was the right thing to do, there is a clean team going in and then I can look to sort a price out, hopefully everything works out Ok for him
Don't let it get to you mate, their are literally hundreds of homes like this, if not more. Over the last few decades I've dealt with loads.
Thanks for the support as always mate, it's a tough world out there, jobs like this put life into perspective for me
I'm retired plumber and once whilst on an asbestos course was informed that that boiler pipe lagging which looks/feels like fibre glass is in-fact asbestos, so do take care with that stuff Tom.
I can well relate to that scruffy house situation too.
You do have to be extremely careful with asbestos, all jobs like this have a full report, my local authority have spent millions removing it so the majority of boilers rooms are now asbestos free, pipe lagging is particularly dangerous as the fibres are loose and the age of it now will mean it's probably in an unstable condition, I did a job last week in a school where the floor tiles below the vinyl were all asbestos, we are not allowed to enter until we have a clean air certificate, thanks for the support as always mate
@@PlumbLikeTom
Good to hear that.
The only difference that I could tell from your video was that the lagging that you were exposed to was wrapped in polythene whilst the stuff that I came across in the late 70s (also in a boiler house) that was asbestos was wrapped in cloth secured with metal clips.
Best wishes.
Hi Tom, well done and respect to you for helping that guy out. I have worked in houses like that and usually end up doing extra work etc. They should listen to your advise concerning that system and hot water. Are you going to the installer show at the NEC in June? I hope to be there on the Wednesday, all being well. Would be great to meet you, take care Tom and have a great weekend. 👍👍👍👍
Thanks for the support as always Chris, I am going to make a big effort to get to installer show this year, I don't like taking time off work but I think it would be a great day out, have a great weekend mate
Sometimes you wonder why people live in a certain way Tom, But thats just life bud.
Good for you for helping the guy out.
It always pulls my heart strings when elderly pull out a purse/wallet and you can see
clearly there's not even enough to cover the materials let alone labour!
Its at times like that when you just get your lunch money for the day and wish them
all the best, walking away knowing you've just lost money 😐
but i'll be old myself one day bud thats what I take from them jobs 👍
I know mate, the way I look at these situations is I look after people like they are my family. At the end of the day people are way more important than money, I don't mind doing a bit to help people out when you can see they need help, thanks for watching and have a great weekend 👍
some of them hoard money too. i know exactly what your saying though. old lady looked like a pauper, piles of rubbish in every room, when she died her next door neighbour who used to take food for her everyday was left everything. north of 4 million . and i felt guity charging her for materials.
I worked in a flat like that about 30 years ago.I have honestly never seen anything like it. Hoarders rubbish was about 4 ft deep in every room. I politely declined when she offered me a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich 😂
Thanks for the support as always Darren, you never forget them jobs, I think I would have had to politely decline a drink on this one as well
Look like the Pipe sizing on that secondary return is seriously Undersized, putting a second pump in series would cause a restriction leading to too high a suction lift on the suction side of the old pump leading to cavitation, and knackering that pump...you're correct about i pump with a higher flow spec, would help...
I wasn't happy with this job to be honest mate, the entire thing was a bad set up and asking for problems, it's been an issue for years with low temperatures and constant air locks, I did price for point of use water heaters as this would eliminate all dead legs and would probably be cheaper to run, thanks for watching as always
Lucky maybe, hard work is why you have what you have. I went to house last year detached, lovely location but heating system ( very old ideal Mexico) knackered. However had a very spiffy gaming room set up. Priorities, a real shame and neglect.
Thanks for the support mate, it is greatly appreciated
Tom good you stop that water leaking through the ceiling, but I would avoid trying to fit a Combi in there.
A combi would be perfect for him as there is only one bathroom, it's only a bungalow so I have allowed to repipe the heating and hot and colds with plastic in the roof, some of the pipes were crispy up there and I couldn't see what the rads were like, thanks for the support as always James
I have been in a few "hoarder" houses over the years, never good, you can only try to do the best with the hand you are dealt on the day................
One I remember well. Leak through plasterboard, went upstairs and found the general area and started moving all the crap to take a board up to find pipe.
Went to drag the wardrobe to one side and could not budge it, opened the door to see why it was so heavy and it was completely full of vintage porno mags!
At the end of the day you have to remember that these people have a mental illness, often live in squalor and you are probably the first person to be in their house for many years.
For the price of a couple of cheap ballofix, you did the right thing mate, even if it is unlikely you will ever get paid. Have a good weekend.
Thanks for the support as always mate, I think you might be right in the fact I might have been the first person to step foot in the house for a while, hopefully things are going to start to get better for him now, like you say these things are often a mental illness, it's not just a case of being dirty, have a great weekend mate
If it got to you Tom it's because you care. I see the same in social housing on a daily basis . In all age groups.
It's tough out there, sometimes it's hard to see people living in poor conditions, hopefully things are going to get better for him on this one, thanks for watching as always mate
Need to upgrade existing pump as leaving the smaller pump on could restrict the increased flow.
I agree, thanks for watching
Love your vids Tom there’s another you tuber plumber on here always talking about real world plumbing 🪠 that house you went to at the beginning now that’s real world plumbing m8t have been in council houses like that myself with dog crap all over the floor and the tenant has the cheek to say they haven’t hoovered up yet lol…real world plumbing m8t keep em coming Tom 👌👌👌
Thanks for the support as always Frankie, this one certainly was a real world job, the thing with my job I meet people from all walks of life, often it's those with nothing who are the nicest, hopefully things are going to improve for him, the hardest part can sometimes be asking for help
@@PlumbLikeTom yes I know what you mean m8t I was a heating engineer in the north of England for over 20years and it really opens your eyes at the conditions of these houses like you say some people have nothing and the council aren’t interested in helping them basically your left in a box to die….look after yourself m8t.👍
Have been in that situation myself mate with a local neighbour, its hard to walk away.
They are tough jobs Keith, sometimes there is only so much I can do, hopefully things will get better for him now, thanks for watching as always mate
If i had my time again i would never have gone near the building trade it sucks , super stress-full and and poorly paid for what you have to go through 😂
It's a tough job mate, nowhere to hide when it all goes wrong, not being paid sometimes and having to deal with the phone ringing all hours of the day as well as everything else, I'm sure there are easier ways of making a living but I do enjoy the job
That looks like a dump site mate. I feel sorry for you on this one. Take care.
Thanks for the support mate, it certainly was a bit of a mess
Like watching your videos Tom showing what's out there in the real world. Been to a few houses like that in my metering days and it's so hard to deal with sometimes especially when kids are involved. I'm a trainee at the moment installing boilers. Just a quick question was that an unvented cylinder? Also are you not allowed to have a lever valve on the hot side of an unvented? Thanks in advance. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the support mate, the cylinder on this job was a vented one, the problem with having a lever valve fitted on this pipe is that it blocks the vent, if it had been unvented cylinder a lever valve on the hot draw off would have been fine and is actually quite a good idea, thanks for watching 👍
Thats a job for socail services Tom they need to do their job as clearly theres mental health issues to be dealt with . Fair play for doing your bit
I did maintenance work in social housing on and off for six months. Binned it as I got fed up dealing with it. Good money though. The only way people would go in I guess.
Thanks for the support mate, it's tough to see people living in bad conditions and even harder to work in, I guess you never quite know what you are walking into all the time, I used to do emergency call outs out of hours, I once went to a job where a person had ripped a rad off the wall, the house was a total mess, when I got there, there was a police with a film crew filming for a cop show, jobs like stick with you a while
That hot water system needs a total remap Tom
You are not wrong there mate, I am pricing to sort the problems, I think oversink multipoint water heaters will be cheaper to run, the Andrews is coming towards end of life and there are only 3 sets of toilets and 4 other sinks, in the long run multipoints will be better as there will be no dead legs and less running costs
Great videos mate. I’m new to your channel so starting from the beginning of your videos. Do you work for yourself or DCTM. ? Keep doing what your doing. Kind hearted 👍🏻
Thanks for the support Stuart, I work for my family business, I look after the plumbing side if things but we do all aspects of construction
That’s great mate. Keep going. One of the best on CZcams for me as your so honest 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
🤘😎🤘
Thanks for watching as always Wayne
Good on yer Tom for helping the fella out,we’re all good to need help sometime in our life, that magna heating pump needs a AAV in the top also motors need turning but I know you can only do what’s been asked
Thanks for the support as always Danny, good spot on the heating pumps, I never actually paid to much attention to it at the time, I was just focused on getting the secondary working
Rothernberger grips are shit will never buy them again had a pair snap on me only a few weeks old always use Knipex simply the best
I've gone right off rothenburger, I snapped my bender in half, it wasn't very old, I bought a second hand record one off a carboot and it's been brilliant, my superfire 2 gas lamp has never been right either that I recently bought, the quality of their tools that are aimed at professionals in my opinion is quite poor compared to other brands, thanks for watching mate
@@PlumbLikeTom np mate i enjoy all the vids keep up the hard work
That’s a very disturbing experience, Tom. I hope all goes ok with the guy, but clearly a dreadful situation.
As you say, it makes us realise how lucky we are.
Thanks for the support as always Steve, it was a bad one, I'm hoping things will get better for him now
Hi Tom just picked up your video did you do that job for that tip of a house the combi wondering if you you would get payed 😳
I did do the job, it is on my channel somewhere, I think it was called BBU to combi, I did get paid as well which is always a bonus, thanks for watching
had exactly the same social services wernt involved. he was sleeping in an armchair because he couldnt get up stairs, noone could it was that bad. phoned enviromental health and social services to try and get the guy some help. next day i had red spots up to my knees on both legs(flea bites) i was in the house max 2 mins. this was their explanation,,,,,,,,,,,,,, because he owned the house and had refused social services help in the past there was nothing they could do. basically that he could live how he wanted.
i had an army charity contact me on another. arguments due to leaking roof not being fixed by a landlord. he hadnt paid rent in years. head wound apparently. landlords beneficiaries sold house to some london development company. bakalight light fixings. 40?-50ies? then next job your fitting a quooker in marble worktops i feel you. try and help yes. keep records of who you spoke to or recordings etc. you cant report that to gas safe can you.
It is really tough sometimes mate, hopefully this job will have a happy ending, there is a clean team going in and then we can hopefully get a boiler sorted out, he wants help so I think that's a very good start, like you say people can live how they like and social services won't always get involved in the person is happy. thanks for the support, it is greatly appreciated
😅 what a headache is this one , could be many issues, or pump ain’t strong enough, or could be full of limescale , all the system , I don’t see there scale reducer . Unless is somewhere, before the boilers on a mains run . It’s definitely something is reducing the flow , the old pump you could pull it out completely and bang the new one in with a valves , it’s massive headache, specially when you got old fashion gate valves around the pipe work on a hot run .
I think half the issue is the hot keeps air locking, I have priced to remove the Andrews water heater as its coming towards end of life and put over sink unvented heaters in, there are 3 sets of toilets and 4 others sinks, this will work out way cheaper to run and cheaper than replacing the Andrews heater which will need replacing within the next couple of years, it will also do away with all the old hot pipework and all dead legs, I will have to wait and see what happens, it's just a very poor design as all the hot water is on the opposite side of the building to the boiler room
@@PlumbLikeTom It’s one of those fast jobs , as longs it looks pretty, but many mistakes done in calculations, usually they have to measure the height of the pipe work going upstream, the size of the pipe work they going to need , secondary return ain’t that simple , and they have to be on a similar pressure to balance it out if they have hot water booster pump , the resistance needs to be calculated , I don’t know how many storey this building is , once any works or new plumbing appliances have been installed inside the property , could mess it up whole system , they might not even install secondary return on a new hot water run , and it’s more further away the actual primary hot water run , what happens it will pickup a cool-down water on a circuit and creates the air bubbles , causing airlocks and restricting the flow , every new install should be branching off closes as it can from secondary return into primary hot water run closes as it can from any tap outlet .😅 Could be TRM valves if they have them pushing through a hot water pipe work or failed and picking up cool water that’s including showers in the house . There’s absolute headache … to sass everything out, but you’re knowledgeable guy , and I believe you know exactly what , I’m talking about 😂
Pumps in series won’t do much
better to up pump size like u say
That's what I think too mate, I still don't think it will fully resolve the issue but it would certainly improve it, thanks for watching as always
Tom you are not a social worker. Walk away from this one your own well being is more important. (I don’t expect you will though.)😇😇
I will do what I can do to help, like you say I'm no social worker but you can't help but feel sorry, thanks for watching as always mate, it is greatly appreciated 👍
Most likely boils down to mental illness. Hope the poor bugger gets the support they need.
I think you are right mate, hopefully now he can get some help, sometimes the hardest part can just be asking
You say it will mask the issue and not solve the problem. You say what you're told to do by whoever. Do they not trust you or can't you do what you think is right anyway?
On jobs like that there are task orders issued, I just act as a sub contractor so have to complete the job exactly as described, I can then do a report to enable further remedials actions, unfortunately I can't go against what has been put on the task order. It was a weird one because normally on jobs like this I get an order to investigate a problem and come up with a workable solution
@@PlumbLikeTom Fair play matey. I thought you were solely on your own.