Pb

A few weeks ago I saw a large sign on the common advertising an evening,  home plumbing course. It turned out to be my neighbour, Dave, who can only be described as a consulting plumber and all-round genius; there's nothing he can't turn his hand to. At £60 for 6 x 2 hr sessions, I signed up and the first session was on Wednesday evening.

Dave started with water regulations and I learned a few things.

1. The Statutory Instrument (Law) on domestic water installations comprises 13 pages and is very simple to understand; the guidance, written for the government by an independent organisation, comprises 79 pages.
2. If you have to replace a hot water tank heating element, ensure you get a titanium one.
3. The chances are that the fibre washer for that old element is made of asbestos.
4. If the new element comes with a fibre washer, the chances  are quite high that that also is made of asbestos - the law was never changed.
5. Don't buy a water softener as they're not good for you or the piping. Instead buy a water conditioner.
6. Whereas a plumber of old was a jack-of-all-trades, over-regulation and the cost of obtaining licences has fragmented the trade such that you need several different plumbers to accomplish a task, as a plumber rarely has enough money to obtain all the necessary licences. 
7. The old CORGI scheme was a bit of a rip-off. The new scheme that replaced it (Gas Safe) is run by Capita.
8. Standards setting and regulatory bodies concerned with plumbing are riddled with vested interests.