Case Studies

Real jobs we have completed across London

A selection of recent plumbing, boiler and heating jobs our engineers have carried out, with what we found, what we did and how long it took. Every write-up is a genuine local job. Call us on 0203 504 4000 and we will do the same for you.

Plumbing

Leaks, taps, toilets, blocked drains and emergency repairs.

Leaking stopcock replaced in Acton, W3

The stopcock under the kitchen sink on Birkbeck Road had been dripping for a few weeks and a damp patch was spreading across the base of the unit. Ryan found the gland packing had gone and the old brass body was too far gone to repack. The outside stop tap was stiff, so he freed it off with a key before turning the supply off. He drained down from the cold tap, cut out the old stopcock and fitted a new 15mm one, with a drain off just above it so the system can be emptied easily next time. After turning the main back on he left a piece of kitchen roll under the joints for ten minutes and it stayed dry. He also told the customer the cupboard base would need replacing once it had dried out.

See our plumbing in Acton

Leaking back to wall toilet repaired in Bromley, BR1

The flooring around the toilet on Sundridge Avenue had started to lift and smell. It was a back to wall pan with the cistern hidden behind a panel. Jamie took the panel off and eased the pan forward. The pan connector had split, so a bit of water was escaping onto the floor behind with every flush. He fitted a new flexible pan connector and resealed the base. He checked the cistern fittings while the panel was off, and they were fine. With the panel back on he flushed the toilet several times and nothing showed. The customer was told the floor underneath needed to dry out properly before any new flooring went down.

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Leaking close coupled toilet fixed in Croydon, CR0

The customer on Chatsworth Road had noticed a drip behind the toilet that only seemed to appear after flushing. Kevin found water weeping between the cistern and the pan, a classic failed doughnut washer. The bolts holding the cistern had corroded, and one sheared as he loosened it. He drained the cistern and cut off the remaining bolt. A new doughnut washer with stainless bolts and rubber washers went on in its place. While the cistern was off he swapped the old float valve for a quieter bottom entry fill valve, as the old one hissed for ages after each flush. The joint stayed dry after a run of test flushes.

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Manhole benching rebuilt in Finchley, N3

Steve had already cleared the same chamber twice on Lichfield Grove before deciding the real problem was inside it. The benching had broken away on one side, leaving a hollow where solids settled and built up until the channel choked. On this visit he cleaned the chamber out completely, broke off the loose concrete and rebuilt the benching in sand and cement, shaping it to fall towards the half channel. The cover frame was rocking as well, so he bedded it back down on mortar. On a check a fortnight later the chamber was running clean.

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Frozen loft pipe burst repaired, Hillingdon UB10

Water was coming through a bedroom light fitting on Long Lane after a hard frost. Jamie shut off the stopcock and the lighting circuit, then went up into the loft. A 15mm cold feed to the cistern had split where it ran under the eaves with no lagging at all. He cut out the split length and soldered in a new piece. While he was up there he lagged every pipe in the loft, including the cistern lid and the overflow. The light fitting was left disconnected for an electrician to look at once it had dried.

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Radiators removed and rehung for decorators, Lewisham SE13

Decorators were due on Ermine Road and the customer wanted three radiators off the wall. Kevin drained the heating down at the lowest point and took the radiators off. He capped the valves and refilled so the rest of the heating stayed usable. Once the walls were painted he came back, rehung them on new brackets at the same height and bled each one. The lockshield on the hall radiator was leaking at the gland, so he swapped it while the system was down.

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Gurgling sink and drain smells, Poplar E14

The kitchen sink gurgled every time the bath emptied, and there was a sewer smell in the bathroom on Grundy Street. Steve found the soil pipe ended inside the boxing with an air admittance valve on top that had stuck shut. Without air getting in, the waste was sucking the water out of the traps as it ran. He fitted a new valve and cut a vent grille into the boxing so it could breathe, then refilled the traps and ran the bath and the sink together. No more gurgling and no more smell.

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Dripping overflow pipe sorted in Southwark, SE1

An overflow pipe was dripping onto the yard below on Lant Street and the neighbours had started complaining. Jamie followed it back to the bathroom and found it came from the toilet cistern rather than a tank. The float had been set too high and the valve washer was worn, so water was creeping over into the overflow. He replaced the washer, lowered the water level and checked the internal overflow on the flush valve was seated properly. Ten minutes later the pipe outside was dry.

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Utility sink plumbed into a garden room, Walthamstow E17

Kevin was asked to put a sink into a garden room at the back of a property on Hoe Street, so the owner could wash brushes and pots without coming into the kitchen. The nearest supply was the outside tap, so he teed off inside before it with a new isolation valve and ran insulated pipe in a shallow trench across to the room. The waste was the harder part. There was no drain close by, so he ran 40mm waste at a steady fall along the fence line and into the back gully that serves the kitchen, which goes to the foul drain. A small electric water heater under the sink gives hot water on demand. Everything was lagged ready for winter.

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Boiler Repairs & Servicing

Breakdowns, fault diagnostics and annual servicing.

Combi diverter valve repair, Acton W3

Kevin went out to a Worcester combi on Twyford Avenue. The radiators were getting warm whenever the hot tap was running, and the hot water itself was only lukewarm, which pointed straight at the diverter valve. He isolated the gas and power, drained the boiler down and took the valve out. The cartridge was sticking halfway, so the water was being split between the heating and the plate heat exchanger. He fitted a new diverter cartridge, refilled to 1.2 bar and bled the boiler through the auto air vent. With the heating off he ran the kitchen tap. The radiators stayed cold and the hot water came up to temperature in under a minute.

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Pilot light keeps going out, thermocouple fixed in Bromley, BR1

An old Ideal Mexico floor standing boiler on Widmore Road wouldn't keep its pilot lit. The customer could light it, but as soon as they let go of the button it went out. The flame was small and yellow, so Jamie cleaned the pilot assembly first, then tested the thermocouple. It wasn't putting out enough to hold the gas valve open. He fitted a new thermocouple and the pilot stayed lit. He then gave the boiler a service and checked the flue. These old boilers are reliable but parts are getting harder to find, so he talked the customer through the options for when it does need replacing.

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Boiler service and pump noise fixed in Croydon, CR0

The customer on Birdhurst Road booked an annual service and also mentioned a humming from the airing cupboard at night. Ryan did the service first. He cleaned the burner and condensate trap, checked the expansion vessel charge and took flue gas readings, all within the manufacturer’s figures. The noise was coming from the external pump. It was set to its highest speed, pushing water round faster than the system needed and making the pipes and radiator valves whine. He turned it down to speed two and bled air from the pump head and the top radiators. The hum stopped and the heating still came up to temperature without trouble.

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Blocked flue terminal cleared on a Potterton in Finchley, N12

A Potterton Promax on Woodside Park Road kept locking out on start up, usually first thing in the morning. Jamie found the air pressure switch wasn't making when the fan ran up. Following it back, he went outside and found the flue terminal, which sits high up under the eaves, packed with twigs from a nest. He took the old guard off from a ladder and cleared it out, then checked the switch tube and its connections were clear inside. Flue analysis afterwards was good and the switch made every time. He fitted a new terminal guard with a tighter mesh.

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Random boiler lockouts traced to the fused spur, Hillingdon UB10

The customer on Harlington Road said the Alpha combi would go out at random, sometimes twice a day, then work fine after a reset. Ryan checked flame signal and gas pressure, both within range. The condensate route was clear too. He could find nothing wrong inside the boiler. The fault was outside it. The fused spur feeding the boiler had a loose neutral terminal, browned with heat. The supply was dropping out for a split second when the fan started. He isolated the circuit, replaced the spur and remade the boiler flex into it. It has run without a lockout since.

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Baxi E160 fan fault traced to a chafed loom, Lewisham SE13

The Baxi on Algernon Road was throwing E160 and locking out. Jamie checked for fan voltage at the PCB, which was there. At the fan plug it was not. The loom had been rubbing on the edge of the casing and one wire had worn through its insulation and broken. He replaced the fan loom and tied it away from the edge, and the boiler fired normally. A full service was done while the case was off.

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Back boiler service, Poplar E14

There are not many back boilers left, but the Baxi behind the gas fire on Bazely Street is still going. Ryan took the fire out to get at the boiler, cleaned the burner and checked the flue with a smoke pellet. The draw was strong and there was no spillage at the fire or the boiler. He replaced the perished fibre seal on the closure plate, set the gas pressure and put it all back together. He also talked the owner through replacement options for when the time comes, without any pressure to decide.

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Gas tightness failure traced, Southwark SE1

Jamie went to Merrick Square to fit a new hob, and the gas tightness test failed before he even started. Nothing could be smelt, but the gauge kept creeping down. He tested each section and narrowed it to an old spur under the kitchen floor that once fed a gas fire. The cap on the end had been fitted with no jointing compound and was letting gas by slowly. He cut the spur back to the main run, capped it properly and the system passed. Then the hob went in.

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Zone valve motor replaced in Walthamstow, E17

Upstairs radiators came on, downstairs stayed cold. Ryan traced the wiring from the programmer to the two zone valves in the airing cupboard on Orford Road. The downstairs valve motor was humming but not opening, and the manual lever was loose. He swapped the motor head, which on that make clips straight onto the valve body without draining down. He checked the microswitch was bringing the boiler on. The programmer had also lost its settings after a power cut, so he set the times back up with the owner before leaving.

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Boiler Installation

New boilers, like-for-like swaps and system upgrades.

Back boiler swapped for a combi in Acton, W3

A Baxi back boiler was still running behind the gas fire on Churchfield Road, with tanks in the loft and a cylinder in the airing cupboard. It was over 30 years old and kept cutting out. Josh capped the gas to the fire, took the back boiler and fire out and boarded the opening ready for the plasterer. The cylinder and both tanks came out too, which freed up the whole cupboard. He fitted a Worcester Greenstar 4000 on the kitchen wall with the flue straight out the back, ran a new 22mm gas supply from the meter and piped the condensate into the sink waste. The system was flushed before the boiler went on and a MagnaClean was fitted on the return. Before leaving he set up the app on the customer's phone and showed them where to check the pressure.

See our boiler installation in Acton

Unvented cylinder replaced in Bromley, BR1

The unvented cylinder on Plaistow Lane had been dripping from the tundish for weeks, and then the hot water went lukewarm. Ryan found the expansion relief valve letting by and the immersion element had failed too. The cylinder was over 15 years old and had never been serviced, so he recommended replacing it. The system boiler was only a few years old and working fine, so that stayed. He fitted a new 250 litre unvented cylinder with a new inlet control group and expansion vessel, and ran the discharge pipe outside. Once it was filled he checked the vessel charge and tested the temperature and pressure relief valve. He ran all the hot taps to check flow. The cylinder was registered for the warranty.

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Old Glow-worm replaced with Intergas combi in Croydon, CR0

The Glow-worm on Canning Road was eighteen years old, and the customer had spent more on repairs recently than they wanted to. Jamie took it out and fitted an Intergas Xtreme 30 combi, which the customer chose for its simple heat exchanger and long warranty. The radiators were flushed through with cleaner before connection, and a magnetic filter went on the return. The old 15mm gas pipe couldn’t supply the higher output, so he upsized it to 22mm. He mounted the new boiler a little higher than the old one to clear the worktop, fitted a Tado thermostat and linked it to the customer’s phone. Commissioning figures went on the benchmark, and the boiler was registered for warranty.

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New combi and microbore pipework replaced in Finchley, N3

The radiators on Dollis Avenue had always been slow to heat, and when the old boiler failed the customer decided to sort the pipework at the same time. Ryan fitted a Vaillant ecoTEC pro 30 and stripped out the 8mm microbore that fed most of the rooms, much of it partly blocked with sludge. New 15mm tails were run to each radiator from 22mm flow and return circuits under the floor. Three radiators were swapped for larger ones while the boards were up. The system now heats evenly and much faster than before, and the boiler no longer struggles for flow.

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Bigger combi and resized radiators, Hillingdon UB10

A kitchen extension on Swakeleys Road had added a large open plan room and the existing combi could not keep up. Jamie did a room by room heat loss and found the old 24kW boiler was short on heating output. He fitted a Viessmann Vitodens 100-W 30kW combi and changed the undersized radiators in the extension for double panel convectors sized to the calculation. A new 22mm flow and return was taken into the extension in place of the old 15mm spur. Thermostatic valves went on throughout, with a wireless room stat in the hall.

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Combi on a system with cast iron radiators, Lewisham SE13

Courthill Road still had its big old cast iron column radiators, which the customer wanted to keep. Ryan replaced the floor-standing boiler with an Ideal Logic Max Combi 35. The radiators hold a lot of water and sludge, so he powerflushed them one at a time and fitted a magnetic filter. An external expansion vessel was added because the boiler's internal one is too small for that volume of water. Each column radiator got new thermostatic valves.

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Replacement combi installed, Poplar E14

The old Ideal combi on Upper North Street was 16 years old and had been patched up too many times. Jamie fitted a Glow-worm Energy 30 in its place, using the same flue route through the outside wall and running a new condensate pipe internally. The gas supply passed the pressure test without needing changes. Radiators were flushed through first because the old system water was dark and cloudy. A new thermostat and filter finished the job.

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Main combi replaced, Southwark SE1

Ryan replaced a Main Eco Compact on Copperfield Street with the newer Main Eco Elite in the same cupboard. Being the same make, the flue and pipe connections lined up closely. That kept the job tidy and quick. The system was flushed and a magnetic filter added under the boiler. A new wireless thermostat went into the living room. The customer said the old boiler had been noisy for years and the new one is barely audible.

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Navien combi installed in Walthamstow, E17

Jamie fitted a Navien combi on Pretoria Avenue to replace a boiler that had been condemned at its last service. The kitchen wall faced a narrow side passage, so a plume management kit was used to direct the flue gases up and away from the neighbour's fence. The gas supply was upgraded to 22mm from the meter, as the old 15mm would not have fed the new boiler properly at full output. He finished with a powerflush and fitted a magnetic filter.

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