Plumbing in St Werburghs

St Werburghs is one of the closest neighbourhoods to our office at Hamilton House, sitting just north of St Pauls and Montpelier with the M32 on one side and the railway line on the other. It is a mix of Victorian terraced streets around Mina Road, the city farm and community gardens, and the old church that is now a climbing centre. Further up the hill there are newer self-built and eco homes, some of them quite unusual in how they were put together.

That mix means two very different kinds of plumbing. The older terraces have clay drains shared along the row, small back kitchens and bathrooms that have been rebuilt more than once. The self-build and eco houses can have less common set-ups, such as rainwater harvesting or underfloor heating, with pipe runs that are not always where you would expect. In both cases, Bristol’s hard water leaves limescale on taps, showerheads and in hot water cylinders over time. Small kitchens and bathrooms squeezed into back additions also mean pipes are often boxed in or run under floorboards, so a slow leak can go unnoticed for a while. If you see staining, hear water running when everything is off, or notice a musty smell under the sink, it’s worth getting it checked before it spreads.

Common St Werburghs jobs

• Blocked shared drains behind terraced rows, often after years of fat and wipes
• Leaking joints under sinks and baths in older kitchens, where washers and seals have worn
• Limescale build-up on taps and shower valves, common with Bristol’s hard water
• Low water pressure on upper floors in taller terraces and converted homes
• Running toilets and worn cistern parts, which also waste a lot of water

Old terraces, shared drains

Many terraced houses in St Werburghs share a single drain that runs behind or under several properties before it reaches the public sewer. Since October 2011 these shared sewers and lateral drains have been Wessex Water’s responsibility, but the pipework serving only your house is still yours. If a blockage affects more than one home, we can clear it, find where it sits and tell you whether it needs reporting to Wessex Water.

Being so close to our base, St Werburghs is somewhere we can usually reach quickly. That matters when a drain is backing up or a pipe has burst, because the sooner the water is off and the problem found, the less damage there is to floors and ceilings. For anything less urgent, we can normally give you a quote over the phone and agree a time that suits you the same day.

Plumbing services in St Werburghs

• Emergency plumbing: burst pipes and serious leaks, aiming to arrive within the hour
• Blocked drains: sinks, toilets, gullies and manholes
• Leak repair: pipes, joints and appliance connections
• Radiators and heating: valves, cold spots and system pressure (no gas work)
• Taps and toilets: drips, running cisterns and replacements
• Bathroom and kitchen plumbing