Guide
How long common plumbing jobs take
A tap change is an hour. A boiler swap is a day. A bathroom is two weeks. Knowing which of those you are booking changes how you plan around it.
Jobs measured in hours
Changing a tap, fitting a new WC on the same soil connection, replacing a radiator on matching pipe centres, clearing an internal blockage, fitting an outside tap, replacing a shower valve: all of these are one to three hours for somebody with the right parts on the van.
What turns an hour into three is nearly always the same thing: no isolation valves, or valves that no longer shut off. In an older house, assume the plumber will spend some of the visit dealing with what is already there rather than what you asked for.
Jobs measured in days
A combi boiler swap in the same position is one day, occasionally two. A conversion from a cylinder system to a combi is two to three days, because tanks and cylinder come out and pipework changes. A full central heating system in a three-bedroom house is three to five days. A power flush is four to eight hours.
These are jobs where the house is disrupted but usable. Water and heating are off for part of the time, and a good installer will tell you which parts.
Jobs measured in weeks
A bathroom refit is seven to fourteen working days, and the room is out of use for all of it. That figure is not plumbing time. It is plumbing, tiling, plastering, electrics and second fix in sequence, with drying time between some of them, and the sequence is what sets the duration.
A wet room runs longer because the floor build-up, the tanking and the screed each need to be right before the next thing happens. An underfloor heating installation adds screed curing, which cannot be rushed without cracking it.
What makes a job overrun
Four things, in roughly this order. Parts that were not on the van and are not at the local merchant. Seized valves and corroded fittings on an older system. Discovering that what is behind the wall is not what the previous installer said it was. And a job that turns out to need a second trade, most often an electrician, who then has to be booked.
A plumber who asks questions on the phone before quoting is trying to eliminate the first three, which is a good sign rather than a delay.
Common questions
How long does it take to fit a new boiler?
One day for a straight swap in the same position, two to three days for a conversion from a cylinder system to a combi.
How long will my water be off?
For most jobs, an hour or two while the work is done. A full system replacement means water off for a working day and heating off until it is commissioned.
Can a plumber do several small jobs in one visit?
Yes, and it is much cheaper than booking them separately. Write the list out before the visit so the right parts come with them.