Plumbing
From a dripping tap to a full unvented cylinder replacement, our G3 qualified plumbers handle it safely and to standard — unvented systems run at higher pressure, so it is not a job for anyone unqualified.
Plumbing problems tend to arrive in two forms: the slow ones you have been ignoring, and the sudden ones that have you looking for the stopcock. We handle both, and we would rather look at the slow one before it becomes the sudden one.
The work that most needs a qualified pair of hands is hot water storage. An unvented cylinder holds water at mains pressure and relies on its safety devices being correctly specified and tested — which is why the G3 qualification exists and why we hold it.
Signs worth acting on
Water pressure has dropped
A gradual loss across every outlet usually sits in the incoming main or a failing pressure reducing valve, rather than in the taps themselves.
Damp with no obvious source
Leak detection finds the pipe before the plaster comes off. Tracing it properly is almost always cheaper than opening up walls to look.
Discharge from an outside pipe
Water running from the tundish or discharge pipe of an unvented cylinder means a safety device is operating. It needs investigating rather than ignoring.
Drains backing up repeatedly
A blockage that keeps returning after rodding is usually a defect in the run — a displaced joint, root ingress or a broken section — not simply debris.
How the job runs
Describe the symptom
Where the water is, when it started and what makes it worse tells us a great deal before anyone is on site.
Trace the cause
We find the actual source rather than treating the damp patch, so the repair holds.
Agree the fix
You see the options and the cost before we start cutting into anything.
Test and make good
The system is refilled, pressure tested and checked before we leave.
Plumbing across the region
Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey, plus the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and Bournemouth. Not sure if you are in range? Call and ask — it is usually a yes.
Common questions
G3 refers to the part of the Building Regulations covering unvented hot water storage. Those cylinders hold water at mains pressure, so they depend on expansion vessels, pressure relief and thermal cut-outs all being right. Installing or servicing one requires a G3 qualified operative — it is a competence requirement, not an optional extra.
If it comes from a small pipe discharging near an unvented cylinder, a safety valve has operated. Common causes are a failed expansion vessel or an over-heating control. It is not something to leave running — the system is telling you a protective device is doing its job.
Usually, yes. Leak detection works by narrowing the location down before anything is opened up, so the amount of floor or wall that has to come up is kept as small as possible.
Yes. Toilet and drain unblocking, drain cleaning and repair, manhole clearing and relining, and waste pipe installation are all part of what we cover.
Yes, including the wiring and controls. Because it crosses plumbing, heating and electrical work it is a good example of a job that is simpler when one team covers all three trades.
That normally points to a float valve that is no longer shutting off. It is a small part, but left alone it can put a lot of water through a ceiling, so it is worth dealing with promptly.
Related services
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Describe the problem and we will tell you straight — then quote for it.