Guides

Worth reading before you call

Written by the engineers who do the work. No sales, no jargon, and we’ll tell you when you don’t need us.

How to use these guides

These guides are written for the ten minutes before an engineer arrives, and for the evening before you decide what to book. Each one says what to do now, what not to do, when to stop and call, and what the engineer will do on arrival, in plain English and without a sales pitch. The emergency guides come first: burst pipe and find your stopcock are worth reading once now, so you know where the water shuts off before you need it.

The drainage guides explain who is responsible for a blocked drain, jetting vs rodding, what a CCTV survey report shows and how relining works, so a quote makes sense when it arrives. If your question is not covered by these guides, call 07426 476786 any hour and the on-call engineer will answer it on the phone.

Emergency first, then everything else. If water is where it should not be right now, do not read; call 07426 476786 and the on-call engineer will talk you through the stopcock while another engineer drives. For everything else, the guides are grouped by trade: the plumbing guides cover burst pipes and stopcocks, the drainage guides cover blockages, surveys, responsibility and repairs. New guides are added when the same question comes up on the phone more than a few times, so if yours is not here, ask; it may be the next of the guides written.

While you wait. Turn off the stopcock if water is escaping, keep it away from sockets and light fittings, and send a photo or a ten-second video on WhatsApp so the engineer loads the right kit before leaving the depot. The on-call engineer answers the phone, not a call centre, so ask anything: how long, how much, and whether it can safely wait until morning. Nothing is charged for the call, the advice or a visit that cannot help.

Guide · Plumbing

Burst pipe: what to do in the first ten minutes

Read this while you dial, or before it ever happens.

Guide · Drainage

Blocked drain? Five things to try before you call, and three you shouldn't

Some blockages you can clear in ten minutes. Some you’ll make worse. Here’s how to tell.

Guide · Drainage

What a CCTV drain survey shows and when you need one

A camera down the line answers questions nothing else can. Here’s what it finds, what the report looks like, and when it’s worth it.

Guide · Drainage

Who is responsible for a blocked drain

You, your neighbour, or the sewerage undertaker. The rule is simpler than people think, and the manhole tells you.

Guide · Drainage

Why drains block in London's Victorian terraces

Same houses, same drains, same four problems. If you live in a terrace built before 1914, this is your drain.

Guide · Drainage

Jetting or rodding: which clears a blockage for good

Both clear the drain today. Only one of them clears it next month.

Guide · Drainage

Drain relining explained: no-dig repair without the garden coming up

A new pipe inside the old one, cured in place, in a day. Here’s how it works and when it’s the right fix.

Guide · Plumbing

How to find and turn off your stopcock

Find it now, before you need it. It takes five minutes and it’s the most useful five minutes in this guide.

Water rising or coming through the ceiling right now?

Don’t fill in a form. Call, and an engineer will be on the road in minutes. We’ll talk you through the stopcock while they drive.

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