Uponor floors plumbers with a mind bending masterclass

Around 200 tradesmen from all four corners of the UK visit the Uponor Training Academy in Lutterworth every year.

They usually arrive with scepticism, but they often leave with a long length of multi-layered pipe and a raft of new plumbing and heating solutions.

With toolkit in hand, <Ben Smallman> went along to the company’s latest two day course to flex his PEX.

A captive audience of plumbers and builders hang on Martin Allen’s every movement as he eulogises over a suspended timber floor underfloor heating solution as if he’s just discovered it.

Painting meander and bifilar patterns as he goes, Martin is more artist than advisor and his previously dubious plumbing pupils have warmed to him, just like the piece of multi-layer composite pipe in his hand.

Uponor’s Lutterworth based training academy attracts up to 200 tradesmen every year, as the company educates more and more people about the revolutionary heating and plumbing products.

The piping offers a credible alternative to copper – and plastic for that matter – as it can be shaped and pressed as easy as changing a lightbulb. And because the pipes retain their strength and capacity at all times, they offer the best of both materials. The plumbers in the room are certainly impressed.

As an outside observer, the Uponor Training Course is as meditating as it is mindboggling, as you watch once wary tradesmen cut, bevel and press multi-layer composite pipe like they’ve been doing it all their lives. They love it.

Martin is quick to praise the virtues of Uponor, but also keen to remain as impartial as possible when discussing the various products and fittings associated with the brand.

 He said: “I give each class an honest appraisal of every plumbing and underfloor component, as I am there to offer as much knowledge and guidance as possible.

“Uponor’s MLC pipe systems are quality products. They have been around for a number of years with a range of controls and features that can offer all sorts of solutions. It really is the best product out there.”

One class pupil, Terry Bedford, has taken a year out of work to completely renovate a 180-year-old former rectory in Whitchurch, Shropshire.

With original Victorian flooring, huge gaping windows and rooms the size of small apartments, the project should represent a major migraine when considering installing underfloor heating.

However, Terry’s vision of contemporary living, coupled with Uponor’s aftercare service, meant he was eventually able to ditch the radiators that he deemed to be so energy inefficient and ugly.

“A lot of companies wouldn’t touch me, or would just send back some general line drawings and tell me to take it or leave it.

“Nobody would go near me because they couldn’t guarantee that their systems would work.

“I was desperate for somebody to actually come to my house and see what I was trying to do. Uponor came three times and have given me detailed plans, and told me what I needed to do to make everything work.

“If I put radiators in, the hot air would radiate to the top of the room and would have to heat a huge area. Uponor saves me money and gives me a fantastic feature. The hot water that flows through the system is cooler, so it is really cost effective.

“It is also remarkably easy to use and install, so I can only describe it as the Rolls Royce of the market place.”

Another tradesman, James Hodgson, runs a plumbing and heating company in Halifax, Yorkshire, and was impressed with what he heard at the course.

“Funnily enough, I was called out to look at an underfloor heating system just days after the course. It wasn’t an Uponor one, and I initially thought ‘oh my God.’ There was so much wrong with it that I could immediately identify and fix.

“The course has already given me a big helping hand. Previously, I wouldn’t have been confident enough to offer them a solution, but I am in a position to do that now.”

All of this is music to Martin’s ears, who can reflect on an educating job well done – until the next batch of tradesmen come through the doors.

“I have been a trainer here for three-and-a-half years now, after working as a British Gas service engineer for 20 years.

“You do get all sorts here. You get tradesmen that come here to be as difficult as possible, because they don’t know the product and won’t entertain the idea of using it.

“But when they’ve actually listened and taken the time to learn, they leave with some invaluable lessons and their mindsets have changed. That’s satisfying.”

Martin even gives each component of the flooring system a title, to underline the close bond he has built up with the flooring systems over the year.

“I was dancing on one floor I was called out to. Mr Overheat Stat hadn’t been fitted and the Mr Water Temperature Controller had been overlooked as well. The floor was so hot I was hopping all over it.”

Do floors feel pain? If they do, they would definitely be screaming out for Uponor underfloor heating.