Kwik Fix Plumbers

The Blog

February 7th, 2008

Plumber Finds Gold

Every now and then we plumbers do have some really good storie’s to tell some good and some bad, but this one really does have a happy ending.

A plumbing contractor from Mr Rooter was called out to a client in New Richmond,Wis,for what he thought was a minor blockage to a pipe.

Little did he know that what should have been a simple operation would turn out to be so complex.

The plumber called at the home of Carey and Charlotte Moe’s house to sort a blockage to a waste pipe. The plumber used drain rods to unblock the pipe before giochi on line roulettecasino venezia onlinegioco keno gratis inlineabaccarat downloadroulette da scaricare gratisall slotscasino poker gratisgioco video poker gratisvideo poker pci casino onlinecasino bonus no depositoil gioco della rouletteroulette game downloadcasino virtuale,giochi casino denaro virtuale,casino virtuale per giocare senza soldicasino pokercasinos gamesno deposit casino on linela roulettegiochi casino onlinecraps gratisgiocare a roulette,come giocare alla roulette,giocare rouletteforum casino on linecasino bonus no depositroulette systemgioco gratuitocasino on line italiaenquete casino on netvideo poker da scaricare gratisgiochi on line video poker,video poker on line gratis,video poker on linerisposte casino on netgiochi da casino gratisaprire casino onlinecasino online bonus,casino online con bonus,casino online con bonus senza depositoroulette russagioco kenogioco roulette gratisstrategie roulettejack black in lineacasino sanremo on linecasino online italianicasino on line roulette,roulette on line,roulette on line gratiscasino per pcslots casinocasino bonus senza depositovideo poker per pc gratismetodi per vincere alla roulettecasino no depositcasino bonus gratisvideo poker gametexas holdem poker game,texas holdem tv poker game,download game holdem poker texas flushing free alltel music ringtones download free nokia ringtones complimentary right ringtones us cellular ringtones free ctu ringtones free ringtones for motorola phone us cellular ringtones phone ringtones sprint free ringtones sprint free suncom ringtones free sony ericsson ringtones cellular download free phone ringtones free lg ringtones crazy frog listen ringtones ringtones for verizon phone free samsung x427 ringtones download free mobile ringtones virgin free ringtones for nextel phone free ringtones for cingular phone free ringtones and wallpaper for cell phone it with water.

To check to see that the pipe wasn’t broken the plumber used a camera to take a closer look at the affected pipe, The plumber Mr Lewere said “I always send the video camera down to check the pipe”.

Mr Carey Moe was watching carefully over the plumber’s shoulder, then something shiny caught his eye. The plumber thought that the bright object may have been a bottle top.

Mr Moe a maintenance technician said “It couldn’t be”.

As it turned out the object was infact Mr Moe’s wedding ring which he had lost 12 years ago while washing the dishes.

Mr Moe said “after all this time i thought it was gone”.

The plumber had made several trips to his van, to get things that he may be able to use to get to the ring, finally he used a hook and guided it down the pipe using his camera which he hooked on to the ring.

After the ordeal Mr Moe was overjoyed and could not believe he had been reunited with his wedding ring after such a long time, he also praised the effort of the plumber who went out of his way to get the ring back for him.

February 5th, 2008

Are We Being Ripped Off?

Are you paying way over the odds on your heating bills?  Well, according to a survey carried out by Save The Children UK at least a fifth of families cannot heat there homes.

Around 19% of people with children under 17 admitted they were unable to keep their homes warm because of the rising costs of gas and electricity.

They survey found that a further 15% of households had been forced to cut back on food, while the same proportion spent less on essential clothing in order to be able to pay their fuel bills.

The problem was twice as acute among the UK’s poorest families, with 44% of households living off less than £15,000 a year saying they could not afford to heat their homes.

The charity said one of the reasons low-income families were hit hardest was because they often relied on pre-pay meters to heat their homes, which are significantly more expensive than paying for fuel bills by direct debit.

It found that paying for gas and electricity in this way was on average 26% more expensive than paying by direct debit, leaving the country’s poorest families paying an extra £215 a year on average.

It said British Gas had the biggest price difference, charging 58% more for electricity to pre-pay customers and 47% more for gas than those who paid by direct debit.

The charity is calling on energy companies to bring their pre-pay charges down so that people using the meters are charged the same as those who pay by direct debit.

We at Kwik Fix agree that people throughout the uk pay too much for gas and electricity and that the government should reduce the cost to every householder.

Tell us what you think by posting your comments below.

January 25th, 2008

Champ Put’s Darts On Back Burner

Britain’s latest world champion is to turn his back on a lucrative sporting future – in favour of student life and county battles in social clubs.

Mark Webster came into the sporting limelight last week when he became Wales’ first world darts champion for 13 years.
But the 24-year-old has turned his back on a move to rivals PDC, instead he will stay with the British Darts Organization and complete his studies to become a plumber.

So, instead of lining up against the likes of Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and fellow world champion in the PDC – whose schedule for the next year offers a prize pool of £4m – Webster will begin his reign as world champion today in a county match in the Forest of Dean.

“I don’t want to move to the PDC,” said Webster, who lines up alongside women’s world champion Anastasia Dobromyslova for Clwyd against Gloucestershire at the Oaklands Club in Cinderford – the first time both BDO world champions have lined up in the same county team.

“It’s very attractive with all the money they are pumping in, but I want to finish my plumbing course and get my qualification first.

“I’m three years into it and it would be a waste not to finish that. I’ve only got a year and a half left. I just want to carry on enjoying the sport because that’s what matters to me.”

I think playing darts is boring anyway and think he made the right decision, but do you? tell us what you think he should have done and will he regret it?

January 17th, 2008

Trainee Plumber On Top Of The World

New BDO world champion Mark Webster will decide whether to concentrate on darts full-time after his Lakeside win.

The 24-year-old beat Simon Whitlock in the final to become the first Welshman to win the title in 13 years.The trainee plumber from Denbigh earned £85,000, but is undecided about whether to dedicate his career full-time to the sport.

“I want to get a qualification in plumbing so that I have something to fall back on,” said Webster, who will return to college on Tuesday.

“Don’t get me wrong, I would love to make money out of darts and play darts full-time, but I am realistic and I want something to fall back on if it doesn’t work out.

If it was me i would carry on with my plumbing course get my qualifications then play darts as a professional, What do you think he should do and why?

January 13th, 2008

The Stupid Americans Think Our Plumbing Sucks

I just read an interesting article on CBS news. The author Larry Miller claims that whilst general standards of living in the UK have improved, our plumbing sucks.

Miller quotes blogger Ashtonian: “I’ve never understood English toilets, or the lack of pressure in showers, or that it takes 20 minutes to fill up a bathtub.”

I have to wonder if Ashtonian has very short legs, because often, when I’ve used loos in America, I’ve felt as though I was practically sitting on the floor. And last time I was in Florida, the bathtub filled up way slower than it does here in the UK.

Now the American’s do beat us on showers. They all seem to have power showers, and huge shower cubicles. But, then again, they probably need them as they seem to have far more huge people than we do in the UK.

And the average US citizen seems to be far more stupid than the people here in the UK too. Why not check out this hilarious video and find out just exactly how many citizens of the United States of America could name a country beginning with the letter U!

January 11th, 2008

Baby Killed In Plumbing Error

An inquest has reached the verdict that Rhianna Hardie of Penwith died due to a plumbing error.

Rhianna was fatally scalded in Autumn 2006 after a water tank in a room above her bed burst.  She was treated in hospital, but died of scepticimia three weeks later.

The inquest heard that Rhianna would never have died, had a new thermostat been fitted.  The old thermostat had failed, so the water simply carried on boiling.

According to family lawyer, Jason Squire - the council relied upon tenants to let them know when a thermostat failed, but did not tell them how to check, or what to look for.

A newer type failsafe thermostat has been required by law, in all newly built homes since 2004.  And coroner, Michael Rose suggests that if you still have the old type thermostat, you should replace it as a matter of urgency.

If you are concerned about potential plumbing problems in your home, we can carry out a free plumbing health check, which includes checking your thermostat.  Please feel free to give us a call on:  0845 630 5360.

December 29th, 2007

Are There Any Safe Places Left In Cumbria?

You only need to open the newspaper to see that we’re becoming a nation of violence.  The terrifying thing is, this violence has been spreading through Cumbria for a long time.  And even worse, nowhere seems to be safe.

I was shopping in Boots the Chemist in Carlisle a couple of days before Christmas, when I heard a massive clatter up.  This great big woman had hit a young girl, knocking her to the floor.  The girl who was maybe 17 or 18 was in a real state - her face was a mess and she struggled to walk.

Most disturbingly, her attacker - who was older - maybe late thirties, early forties, had two young children with her.

Attacks that occur in places you wouldn’t expect them are liable to have the worst effect on the victims.  Fourteen years ago, I suffered a serious attack whilst I was on a night out, and it took me a long long time to recover.

And recently, a school nurse at Keswick school was attacked by a pupil.  A school is the last place you’d expect to be attacked, but they seem to have become a breeding ground for violence.  And just before Christmas, the Evening News and Star featured a piece on violent attacks and fights in local schools.  Pupils had actually filmed the attacks on mobile phone and put them on You Tube.

Now, we all want to feel safe, but how can we stop this violence, and what is the cause?  It is video games, violent films, drugs or drink?  Or has the law simply been too lenient on violent families in the past and now they’ve bred another violent generation?

And should You Tube act responsibly and ban all videos of a violent nature?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

December 28th, 2007

Working Hours - Is The Construction Industry Behind The Times?

The majority of businesses in the UK construction industry have closed down for two weeks over Christmas. But Kwik Fix is also an emergency service business, so we don’t close down completely at any time of year.

And we were extremely busy dealing with emergencies over the weekend before Christmas - right through Christmas Eve. Luckily, we carry most parts needed for emergencies in our vans. But, the trouble is, most builders merchants close down over the festive period too, which is a nuisance if a major part is needed.

So, we are starting to wonder if the construction industry got left behind in the seventies. Two weeks is a long shutdown and many businesses in the industry continue to finish at lunchtime on a Friday for the weekend too.

Yet in the meantime shops, pubs and clubs are open all hours. So why hasn’t the construction industry moved on too?

What do you think? Should these businesses have more flexible working hours? Or should they carry on as normal?

Would you work for a business that didn’t stick to the old fashioned working hours? And would you use a business who closed for two weeks, meaning your customers were left in the lurch in emergencies?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

December 22nd, 2007

Plumbing Problems Over Christmas - A Free Service

If you have a plumbing emergency over Christmas, you don’t need to grin and bear it.  We are here to provide cover - even on Christmas Day.  So rest assured, if you have no heating, no hot water, or your own loo is blocked, we’ll still be here to help.

But, what about those non-emergencies?  Well, we’re operating a skeleton cover over the Christmas period.  But, we know that many of you have jobs that would be nice to have done for Christmas but not really essential.

So, if you fall into this category, here’s what we aim to do.  If it’s a fairly small job we’ll talk you through what to do on the phone.  This service is completely free of charge at all for this service, and if you really struggle, we’ll do our best to get out to you - although not on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, if it isn’t an emergency.