Plumbers

[jane k]

Two of my ancestors were plumbers in the 1840s - as most of the jobs we associate with plumbing now didn`t exist then, what would they have been doing?

 

[mike-g]

The word plumber dates from the Roman Empire. In Roman times, pipes were made of lead, or plumbum in Latin (hence the periodic table of the elements symbol of Pb for lead). Thus, a person with expertise in working with pipes was known as a Plumbarius, which was eventually shortened to plumber.

 

[Frothblower]

The word plumber dates from the Roman Empire. In Roman times, pipes were made of lead, or plumbum in Latin (hence the periodic table of the elements symbol of Pb for lead). Thus, a person with expertise in working with pipes was known as a Plumbarius, which was eventually shortened to plumber.

Nice answer MG

 

[Lloyd]

As said above, early pipes were lead and joints were joined by 'wiping' the just molten metal, heated with a blowlamp.
I suppose they would have done other jobs working with lead, rather than water supply as now, joining and sealing lead sheets for roofs, etc.

[ame="https://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cLywD77KBT0"]YouTube - TEC- The Plumber[/ame]

 

[mikejee]

Jane
Lloyds comments are suppoorted by this site
https://www.muswell-hill.com/foxandco/pages/history.htm
mike

 

[jane k]

Thanks very much for that information. One of them was also a glazier so maybe his expertise in working with lead extended to leaded lights.

 

[Smudger]

I`m having to get rid of our bath because my wife can`t get her leg over { no sniggering please ] I `ve bought a nice walk in shower & decided to get a couple of quotes for the fitting. The first quote i got was for £ 1,575 ! Is this a case of a old geezer being taken advantage of or is this a reasonable quote? I know plumbers are expensive but crikey that`s way too much.

 

[Richard Dye]

I`m having to get rid of our bath because my wife can`t get her leg over { no sniggering please ] I `ve bought a nice walk in shower & decided to get a couple of quotes for the fitting. The first quote i got was for £ 1,575 ! Is this a case of a old geezer being taken advantage of or is this a reasonable quote? I know plumbers are expensive but crikey that`s way too much.

We have walk-ins in our house for pretty much the same reason. We refinished our kitchen counters a few months ago with new sink and stuff. We asked around a little starting with the big stores then the specialty stores. We ended up saving some money but more importantly get exactly what we wanted and a better job. I'm in the old geezer category and was born at night but not last night! Good Luck!

 

[Morturn]

I`m having to get rid of our bath because my wife can`t get her leg over { no sniggering please ] I `ve bought a nice walk in shower & decided to get a couple of quotes for the fitting. The first quote i got was for £ 1,575 ! Is this a case of a old geezer being taken advantage of or is this a reasonable quote? I know plumbers are expensive but crikey that`s way too much.

Is this just fit or supply and fit?

 

[izzy eckerslike]

Many church roofs have been covered in lead sheets for centuries, an important job for a plumber, My fathers house ( built 1930) in Bromsgrove where he lived 1968 - 2016 had lead cold water pipes to the kitchen and bathroom, copper hot water pipes were added in the 1950's
It had no effect on his health and he died aged 96 after a fall

 

[Smudger]

Is this just fit or supply and fit?

It`s just for a fit. I've bought everything else, shower enclosure, wall panels, tray, silicone. It`s so difficult getting a plumber these days.

 

[Morturn]

It`s just for a fit. I've bought everything else, shower enclosure, wall panels, tray, silicone. It`s so difficult getting a plumber these days.

On the face of it, it sounds on the high side. it would be worth asking them how long the job will take and how many people to do it. A decent tradesperson should cost around £300/£350 a day for labour only.