radiator replacement
recs for person who will replace radiator
terryhoppy
in General Discussion 5 years and 10 months ago
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19 replies
stevecym | 5 years and 10 months ago
@urbandad: true, worker’s comp does protect the contractor, but it is required by law where as liability is not.
in so far as the radiator, a licensed plumber is not needed to change “fixtures” and I would think the radiator is a fixture. but i have lifted those radiators (we used to refinish them) and knew that if we let one go on a customer’s stairs, there would be problems, and big ones. i doubt a licensed person is needed for the other things you suggest.
it may sound like over kill and unfortunately i began this conversation in terryhoppy’s post (my apologies) by asking something of someone else who replied. I have lived in different areas of the country and have seen the quality of the work and i work in this and realized that there were a lot of people doing things here that they are not qualified for and they turn out crappy work and there is nothing to stop them, even though what they are doing might be illegal. in smaller cities, these guys cannot survive because their name will precede them. In this city people suffer at the hands of these p eople; homeowners and the workers alike (and there are a lot of workers being mistreated out there; we can throw progressive era labor reforms out the window; that’s not who we are).
my suggestion is to try to use people who have “skin in the game”. I think once you ask for something such as liability insurance, you will find that the cut of person you have at your door will rise a little and you will find that the person you have is worried a little (and that’s a good thing), about his reputation, his family, and you and your family.
Guest User | 5 years and 10 months ago
Carmen feel free to call email me I could be really helpful when it comes to fireplaces …..specially in Brooklyn Jesusediaz23@gmail.com
Guest User | 5 years and 10 months ago
Carmen feel free to call email me I could be really helpful when it comes to fireplaces …..specially in Brooklyn Jesusediaz23@gmail.com
GreenThinker | 5 years and 10 months ago
Urbandad has a point. I personally know of two instances. In one a woman hired a reputable electric company to rewire her building. Worker ended up falling down her stairs, sued the homeowner claiming the area wasn’t kept clear and he tripped on her belongings; court decided owner was 40% liable and the worker 60%. In another instance, an art dealer hired to reputable contractor to renovate her upper east side co-op, million dollar renovation. Worker that was subcontracted by the contractor fell off a old wooden ladder while painting, included the homeowner in the lawsuit, claiming she was aware this old ladder was on the job site and didn’t say anything about it. While i don’t know how much he won, he bought a house afterwards. In both situations, homeowners had to deal with the stress and burden of a multi year court case, plus the expense of hiring lawyers to represent them.
Of course you want someone to know what they are doing, but saying someone is licensed and insured won’t make your life any easier if something does go wrong. If anything, i would want to see so meone has a 30 hour OSHA safety card, which the dob mandates now, so a worker can’t claim he wasn’t properly trained. And this was really put in for insurance reasons, if a worker uses a broken ladder, the lawyers will say, but you were trained and know not to use one if broken. Or don’t work in an area thats not clear of trip hazards.
America was pretty much built by uninsured, licenseless men. And it still is for the most part. Half of the city would still have bathtubs in the middle of kitchens if people weren’t able to get the guys that did the work on a handshake.
hkapstein | 5 years and 10 months ago
What I’m saying is that workers comp protects the contractor from being sued by his own injured workers, but does not cover the homeowner, who, if liable, cannot generally tender the claim to the contractors insurer anyway due to exclusions. I do think agree it’s good idea to use insured contractors in general. But should you hire a licensed electrician to change a lightbulb? What about to rewire a lamp? Should you hire a licensed plumber to change a faucet washer? At some point it is overkill, and with plumbers in NYC the cost to get and maintain the license is so high that it will be very expensive to get a real plumber to do a simple job, and the license holder won’t usually do the work anyway, or even check it.
stevecym | 5 years and 10 months ago
urbandad: in invoking worker’s comp in this discussion, i hope you and other readers would understand that worker’s comp is a basic worker protection and would not try to work around it in the selection of contractors. i work alone now, so i no longer carry it, but i almost consider it on the level of a civil right kind of on the level with a free compulsory education, health care, and social security.
and i bet that insurance costs plumbers half a fortune and that is why their costs are so high. must be 25% of payroll and that is a big nut.
all this is about responsibility and contractors who invest in these protections understand where the responsibility lies; not on the customer, but on them even when the radiator bangs in the middle of the night.
hkapstein | 5 years and 10 months ago
Workers comp is for injuries so usually commercial general liability would probably exclude that, and the third party action over is usually excluded anyway. I stand by my rant, but if you can introduce me to that competent 20% plumber I’d like to meet him.
Master Plvmber | 5 years and 10 months ago
A contractor’s insurance policy isn’t about recourse for a banging radiator. It’s about who pays if the contractor’s technician (plumber, electrician, etc) hurts himself on the job, drops the radiator and damages your floor or walls, starts a fire using a torch, damages your property or the piping with his tools, and any of the other things that go wrong on the very regular. Urbanded, you defer to the pros for something as simple as what type of lubricant to use on the threads of a radiator installation but you scoff at the value of using a trained career plumber who is working with insurance which holds you harmless in the event anything goes wrong. As for the labor markup, you’re just plain wrong. There isn’t a plumber on this board or in this city that is seeing a profit of more than 20% over what it costs to move trucks around town filled with costly labor and tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools and materials. All of that said, I agree that you might know someone who works for no money and is worth rolling the dice to have them install something as simple as a 1-pipe radiator. Just know the difference between hiring that guy and hiring someone doing business legitimately with all the licenses and protection for both of you in place.
stevecym | 5 years and 10 months ago
urbanded: stuff can still go wrong with insured people, but the point i am trying to convey to the readers is that as you demand more in terms of license and insurance from contractors, you get contractors who show more commitment to their trade, are in it for the long haul, and have a name and reputation to protect and are willing to spend money to protect it. we read about nightmares on here from people who hired people who were not fully committed to what they are doing and basically wanted a fast buck and it shows in the end. if the radiator bangs in the middle of the night and you call the licensed plumber and yell at him, he will know why you are screaming at him; if you call the unlicensed guy in the middle of the night and yell at him, he will get mad at you; it comes down to responsibility.
in so far as a homeowner changing a radiator, those old ones weigh a lot and would be dangerous to carry down stairs (why the contractor doing it should be insured, if they drop it, there will be a lot of broken stair treads or worse and this will get expensive; peop le can get hurt here) and the new ones won’t line up with the valve which is ok, if you want your radiator sitting on little blocks of wood like the one in my bathroom (which i installed myself).
i am all for people working on their own houses (and when people call me, i tell them how to do things if i feel they can do it on their own). i just don’t see the benefit of hiring people who may be less committed to the customer, the public at large, and themselves than the customer might be.
hkapstein | 5 years and 10 months ago
I recomend Terry Hopper. He charges zero dollars per hour, and he’s on call 24/7 if there’s a problem. You could go the licensed and insured route. You could, but a plumbing license is basically a license to send an untrained employee and mark up the labor 900%. Then if it doesn’t work right, they can come back and work on it some more. For something like a radiator swap it may be more important that the guy knows what he’s doing than that he has insurance. If the radiator bangs all night, are you gonna sue the insurance? Yes something could go wrong, but from what I see people do much more risky stuff than change a radiator every day. Ever check if your insured pro has action over coverage?
That said, I would certainly try to push this job until may or at least spring if possible, even if done by a pro. If you get oil in the boiler, or can’t reassamble the fittings, or other damage occurs, you won’t be under the gun to resolve that before the temperature drops. I’d replace the radiator valve if I could, if not I’d take this chance to repack it. Also, after the new radiator is in, the system balance should be checked and adjusted. If it were me, I’d try to use a thick pipe tape instead of dope, but I’ll let the pros offer an opinion on that one. If you leave the old radiator on the sidewalk it will probably be gone in 24 hrs.
stevecym | 5 years and 10 months ago
@chris: insurance policies regulate contractors in ways a customer and the city agencies can not. here’s how it works: a contractor spends all that money over years carrying insurance, so why would they risk doing something wrong that the insurance might not cover and then put their house and/or their kid’s college education or retirement at risk?
Once a contractor has insurance, they will work to protect the insurance policy because it is protecting them and there is no point in paying for something that is useless.
lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 10 months ago
Great to hear someone who understands the importance of proper requiremments!
lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 10 months ago
Great to hear someone who understands the importance of proper requiremments!
stevecym | 5 years and 10 months ago
@chris: i used to have the responsibility of hiring contractors for commercial buildings. i brought them in for smaller projects. we would have never brought in anyone for anything who was uninsured nor unlicensed (if it were electric or plumbing). we had to get their insurance certificates and that was policy (someone like myself could have been fired for not following protocol on this, especially if something went wrong; it was a given). we still had some issues with contractors, but nothing serious and i find that by ensuring that someone has insurance we always got another level of professionalism. i should add something else here, even though a contractor carries insurance, it does not mean it will cover for something they are not licensed to do; the list of exclusions on these policies is as long as my arm.
lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 10 months ago
I would definitely agree and make sure you use someone Licensed and Insured for this work. Improper installed radiators are notorious for cauing issues; even when they are installed right you have the chance of a leaking lemon; the insurance is important for that case!
lkrshacmzcy | 5 years and 10 months ago
I would definitely agree and make sure you use someone Licensed and Insured for this work. Improper installed radiators are notorious for cauing issues; even when they are installed right you have the chance of a leaking lemon; the insurance is important for that case!
stevecym | 5 years and 10 months ago
jes, i have long advertised on the ‘net and i find it helps to let people know that you are licensed for all those things you do and that you carry insurance.
Guest User | 5 years and 10 months ago
HANDYMAN Services available.
0
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▪︎Electrical and light plumbing, ▪︎plastering and painting, flooring
▪︎Rebuilt, built fireplaces and any type of maisonary work ▪︎Relining or linen any venting for heating and dryers appliances. You named ,if is in my hand the job will be done.
Ev
My number is 305 6762768 or by email jesusediaz23@gmail.com. Feel free to call or email me at anytime .
Thanks,
Jes Diaz
Guest User | 5 years and 10 months ago
HANDYMAN Services available.
0
Hello , brownstoners my name is Jesus I am a Brooklyn handyman with plenty of experience in the construction field.
▪︎Electrical and light plumbing, ▪︎plastering and painting, flooring
▪︎Rebuilt, built fireplaces and any type of maisonary work ▪︎Relining or linen any venting for heating and dryers appliances. You named ,if is in my hand the job will be done.
Ev
My number is 305 6762768 or by email jesusediaz23@gmail.com. Feel free to call or email me at anytime .
Thanks,
Jes Diaz