Plumbing in St George

St George lies in east Bristol, with Church Road running through it as the main high street and St George Park, with its lake and bandstand, at its heart. To the south the ground drops towards the River Avon, with Troopers Hill and its old chimney looking out over the valley. Most streets are lined with Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many of them two-up two-down homes with a kitchen and bathroom added at the back. Side streets climb and fall with the hills, so some rows sit well above the road while others step down towards the valley. It is a settled area with plenty of long-term residents alongside newer arrivals renovating older houses.

That layout shapes a lot of the work we do here. Bathrooms in rear extensions often have long waste runs to the soil stack, and the original clay drains behind the terraces are frequently shared between several houses. Supply pipes have usually been swapped in sections, so a single house can have lead, copper and plastic all joined together. Bristol Water’s hard water also leaves limescale in taps, shower heads and toilet valves, so those parts wear out sooner than you might expect. Many homes have also had their original cast iron soil pipes replaced with plastic, but the joint where new meets old at ground level is a common spot for leaks and smells. Older radiators on one-pipe or poorly balanced systems can leave back bedrooms cooler than the front.

Common St George jobs

• Blocked shared drains behind terraced rows
• Slow-draining baths and basins in back-extension bathrooms
• Dripping taps and running cisterns furred up with limescale
• Radiators that stay cold at the bottom
• Leaks on old joints under kitchen sinks

Shared drains on terraced streets

If your toilet backs up and your neighbour’s is fine, the blockage is probably in your own branch of pipe. If several houses on the row have problems at once, it is more likely to be in the shared section. Since October 2011, shared sewers and lateral drains have been the responsibility of Wessex Water, so it is worth knowing which part is which. We can clear the blocked drain, find where the problem sits and tell you honestly whether it is yours or one to report. Simple habits help keep shared drains flowing: no wipes or cotton buds down the toilet, and no cooking fat down the sink. A quick look at the outside gully after autumn leaves fall can save a messy callout later.

Plumbing services in St George

• 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