Plumbing in Kingsdown

Kingsdown sits on the steep slope between the city centre and Cotham, with St Michael’s Hill along one side and Stokes Croft below it to the east. Its narrow streets and pedestrian lanes are lined with Georgian and Victorian houses, many divided into flats, alongside post-war council blocks. Being so close to the university and the hospital precinct, it has plenty of rented homes and shared houses. The area is compact, and from its higher streets you look straight out over the city. We’re based at Hamilton House on Stokes Croft, just down the hill, so Kingsdown is one of the closest areas we cover. That makes same-day visits straightforward for most jobs.

The age of the houses matters here. Supply pipework has often been altered by several owners over the years, and it’s common to find a newer bathroom fed by an older run of pipe that was never replaced. Clay drains under back yards and passageways can crack or shift, and tree roots find their way in. Where a house was split into flats, pipes from one unit sometimes pass through another, which makes tracing a leak slower than in a single home. Bristol’s hard water adds to the wear, leaving limescale in taps, cistern valves and shower heads, particularly in houses where several people share one bathroom.

Common Kingsdown jobs

• Leaks from altered or extended pipework
• Blocked toilets and sinks in shared houses
• Cracked clay drains under yards and lanes
• Shower pressure in top-floor rooms
• Replacing worn taps and cistern valves

Landlords and shared houses

Lots of Kingsdown homes are let to students and hospital staff, and a house full of people puts real strain on taps, toilets and showers. If you’re a landlord, small jobs like a dripping tap or a running cistern are worth fixing between tenancies before they turn into bigger bills. Make sure tenants know where the stop tap is and who to call. We can work with tenants on the day, then report back to you on what we found and what we did. For blocked toilets and slow drains, see our blocked drains service. Tenants can help too: no wipes, fat or food down the drains, and a quick call as soon as a leak appears rather than at the end of term. A note on the fridge showing where the stop tap is and who to call helps a lot.

Plumbing services in Kingsdown

• 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