Repairs, repipes & drains
Your water, handled
from the main in.
Leaks, blocked drains, water heaters and pipework that has gone quietly wrong behind a wall. We find the cause, show you what we found before we cover it, and fix that — not a bigger job.
- Free leak check
- Itemised written estimate
- Workmanship warranty
Behind the wall
What’s actually
behind the tiles.
A shower is a wall with eight things hidden in it. Pick one to see what it does — and what it costs when it fails quietly.
The only part you see
Tile over a waterproof backer board. The board is the part that matters: the tile is decoration, and a cracked grout line is just an early warning that water is already behind it.
Two valves, one room
Isolating valves on the hot and cold so this bathroom can be worked on without turning the whole house off. They seize when nobody touches them for years — ours get exercised at every visit.
The pipes themselves
Hot and cold stubs feeding the valve. Copper or PEX, running in the stud bay with a little slack so nothing is under tension. Every joint here is one we made, and it gets pressure-tested before the wall closes.
A 1.5 mm insurance policy
Steel plates over the notches where pipe sits close to the surface, so a tile screw or a picture hook can’t find it. Cheap, invisible, and the reason a lot of walls don’t get opened twice.
Where hot meets cold
The cartridge blends the two lines to the temperature you set and keeps it there when someone flushes downstairs. When it fails it usually shows up as no hot water on one side, or a shower that swings hot and cold.
The exit
The drain body and grate sit in the floor with a seal under them. Hair and soap bind to the grate before the trap; that is a five-minute job, not a reason to break the floor.
The water you never see move
A U-shaped bend that holds a plug of water, which is what stops sewer gas coming back into the room. Empty traps in unused bathrooms are the usual cause of “something smells”.
Why it glugs
The stack above lets air in behind the water going out. Without it the drain pulls against a vacuum, empties the trap as it goes and gurgles for hours. A blocked vent looks exactly like a blocked drain.
Follow the water
Four moves.
One drop of water.
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01
Find the main
The street main runs under the ground outside. The curb stop is the valve that belongs to this house — we find it and prove it shuts before anything is opened.
-
02
Pressure
Through the foundation, past the meter and the regulator, which drops street pressure to something the house can hold. Split hoses and tired washers usually start here.
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03
Hot & cold
Cold splits to the fixtures and fills the tank. Hot leaves the top of the tank and runs back along the wall to the same taps, on its own line.
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04
Drain
Everything that came in leaves through a trap, down the stack and out to the sewer. The vent above keeps it moving instead of pulling a vacuum.
What we do
Six kinds of job,
one standard.
A washer, a whole-house repipe or a drain that backs up every winter — same approach: find the cause, fix it properly, leave the room dry.
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Leaks & bursts
Water where it shouldn’t be. We isolate it, tell you what actually failed, and give you a straight answer on repair or replace.
- Isolation & repair
- Burst pipe work
- Make-safe
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Repipes
Copper or PEX, run in the wall properly — protected, clipped, pressure-tested, with shutoffs you can actually reach.
- Whole-house repipe
- Partial runs
- Copper & PEX
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Water heaters
Repair, replacement, and the parts that get skipped: the pan, the drain line, the expansion tank and the valve on the cold side.
- Tank & tankless
- Expansion tanks
- Pan & drain line
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Drains & blockages
Cleared, and then explained. A camera survey on the ones that keep coming back so you know what you’re dealing with.
- Drain clearing
- Camera survey
- Jetting
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Fixtures & bathrooms
Taps, toilets, showers, vanities. Old pipework brought up to standard while the wall is open, not after the tiles go back on.
- Taps & toilets
- Shower valves
- Vanity rough-in
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Leak detection
For pipes you can’t see: pressure testing, moisture readings and a proper listen before anyone starts cutting plasterboard.
- Hidden leaks
- Pressure testing
- Before-you-buy checks
The job, start to finish
Five steps,
and you know all of them.
Nobody likes a plumber who disappears into the ceiling. Here is the whole sequence, including the parts where you get to say no.
-
01
Call
Tell us what’s happening: a drip, a ceiling stain, a drain that gurgles, or no hot water since Tuesday. A phone photo of the pipework saves us both a visit.
-
02
Look
We find the actual failure — the joint, the valve, the blocked section — and check the things around it that are about to fail the same way.
-
03
Quote
A written, itemised number: the parts, the labour, the access, and putting the wall back. No number over the phone, and no surprises added later.
-
04
Fix
Dust sheets down, water off, the smallest opening that does the job. Tested under pressure before anything gets closed up again.
-
05
Clean up
Floor dried, cabinet wiped, old parts left with you if you want them, and a walk-round to prove every tap and drain works before we go.
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Free leak check
We come out, find it properly and tell you the truth — including when the answer is “that’s a five-minute washer”.
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Written estimate
Itemised, with the access and the making-good already in it. The number doesn’t move because a job took longer than expected.
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Warranty in writing
Parts carry the manufacturer’s warranty. Our workmanship warranty is on the estimate, not a verbal promise on the doorstep.
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Dry when we leave
Sheets down before tools come out, floors dried, and the water back on with every tap run before we pack up.
Straight answers
The questions
we get asked most.
Water is coming through the ceiling right now. What do I do?
Turn the water off at the main, then open a tap downstairs to take the pressure out of the pipes. Put a bucket under the drip and move anything electric out from underneath. Then call. Don’t put a ladder up into a wet ceiling on your own.
What does a repair cost?
The number comes from what failed, how much has to be opened to reach it, and what has to be put back afterwards. We look first, then give you a written itemised estimate. Nobody can price a leak honestly over the phone.
Will you have to cut my wall?
Sometimes, and only where it genuinely has to open. We tell you where before we start, and we leave it at a sandable finish rather than a hole with a rag in it.
Can I just shut the water off myself?
If you can find the main valve, yes: turn it clockwise until it stops and open a tap to drain the pressure. If it won’t turn, don’t force it — a seized valve that snaps is a much worse afternoon.
Copper or PEX?
Both work. Copper lasts, is repairable and doesn’t mind heat; PEX is quicker to run around corners and copes with a freeze that would split copper. We’ll tell you what suits the house rather than what happens to be on the van.
Do you work on old houses?
Yes — galvanised, lead joints, no access and forty years of other people’s repairs. We’ll tell you what is safe to leave alone and what is worth replacing while the wall is already open.
Are you licensed and insured?
Ask for the licence number and the insurance certificate when we quote, and we’ll email both before any work is scheduled. It should be the first thing you ask any plumber, including us.
Free leak check
Tell us what
the water is doing.
One form, one visit. We look, show you what we found, and send a written estimate — whether or not you hire us.
- (555) 010-0211Water moving now? Call instead of typing.
- hello@yourfavoriteplumbing.examplePhotos welcome.
- Your city and the towns around itAsk if you’re on the edge of the map.