The six calls we get most between the first frost and March. Each one has a safe first step you can take yourself, and what we do when we arrive.
No hot water
Cold taps only, or hot water that runs lukewarm and gives up. Common with cylinders, immersion heaters and boiler faults in a cold snap.
Do this now
- Check the boiler or immersion timer is actually calling for heat.
- If the boiler shows a fault code, note it down: it tells us a lot before we arrive.
- Do not keep resetting a boiler that locks out again straight away.
What we do
Cylinders, immersion heaters, motorised valves, pumps and the pipework side of a boiler fault. Anything on the gas appliance itself is handled by our Gas Safe registered partners.
Boiler lost pressure or no heating
Radiators cold, the pressure gauge sitting below 1 bar, or a boiler that fires then stops. Often a slow leak somewhere on the system.
Do this now
- If the gauge is low, you can top up using the filling loop to about 1 to 1.5 bar. Once. If it drops again, stop.
- Look for wet patches under radiators, around valves and below the boiler.
- Turn the heating off if you find water near anything electrical.
What we do
Find and fix the leak, replace failed valves or radiator tails, repressurise and bleed the system, and check the expansion vessel.
Frozen condensate pipe
The number one cold-snap fault. The boiler locks out with a gurgling noise or a fault code, usually on the first frosty morning, because the white plastic waste pipe outside has frozen.
Do this now
- Find the white plastic pipe running from the boiler to an outside drain.
- Pour warm, not boiling, water along it, or hold a hot water bottle against the frozen section.
- Reset the boiler once it has thawed. If it locks out again, call us.
What we do
Clear the blockage properly, re-route or insulate the pipe so it does not freeze again, and check the boiler is draining as it should.
Burst or frozen pipe
Water where it should not be, a pipe that has split after a freeze, or taps that have stopped running because the supply has frozen in a loft or outside wall.
Do this now
- Turn the water off at the stopcock. It is usually under the kitchen sink or where the mains pipe enters the house.
- Open the cold taps to drain the system and take the pressure off the split.
- Switch off electrics in the affected area at the consumer unit if water is anywhere near them.
What we do
Repair or replace the damaged section, thaw frozen runs safely, and lag the pipes that caught you out so it does not happen again.
Leaking radiator or valve
A drip or steady run from a radiator valve, a bleed point, or a pinhole in the radiator itself. Small, but it will not stop on its own.
Do this now
- Close both valves on the radiator: the one you turn by hand and the lockshield under the cap at the other end.
- Put a container and towels under the leak.
- Bleed the radiator if the leak is from the bleed screw, then tighten gently.
What we do
Replace the valve, tails or the radiator, refill and balance the system afterwards.
Overflow pipe dripping outside
Water dripping or running from a short pipe on an outside wall. That is the cold water tank or the boiler discharge telling you something has failed.
Do this now
- Note which pipe it is: a high one near the loft is usually the tank, a low one near the boiler is the boiler discharge.
- For a tank overflow, you can tie the float arm up temporarily to stop the flow.
- A boiler discharge pipe running hot water means switch the boiler off and call.
What we do
Replace the ballcock or float valve, sort the tank, or diagnose the pressure fault behind a boiler discharge.
