The first five minutes
Most of the damage from a leak happens while nobody can find the stopcock. What you do before the plumber arrives makes more difference to the bill than anything we do after.
1. Turn the water off
Find the internal stopcock and turn it clockwise until it stops. In most London flats it is under the kitchen sink; in houses, under the stairs or below the bath.
2. Keep water away from electrics
If water is near a consumer unit, socket, light fitting or extension lead, do not touch anything wet. Switch the power off only if you can reach the consumer unit safely and dry.
3. Contain what is already out
Buckets and towels under the leak. Move furniture, rugs and anything electrical clear. A bin bag taped into a funnel steers a ceiling drip into a bucket.
4. Turn the heating off, then call
If the leak is on a heating pipe or radiator, switch the boiler off at its own switch. Then call 020 4634 2681 and tell us what you can see.
If you can smell gas, call 0800 111 999 first
Open the windows, leave the electrical switches alone, get everyone out and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. That is the right first call, not us.
What counts as an emergency
Plenty of plumbing problems feel urgent at midnight and are cheaper to fix as a normal booking in the morning.
Call now
- A burst pipe, or a leak the stopcock will not stop
- Water near electrics, or coming through a ceiling
- An overflowing toilet where it is the only one in the property
- No water at all
- A drain backing up into a bath, shower or sink
- A leak running into the flat below
- A smell of gas — leave the building and call 0800 111 999 before anyone else
Can wait for a normal booking
- A dripping tap, however annoying
- A slow-filling or slightly running toilet cistern
- A shower with poor pressure that still works
- One cold radiator when the rest are warm
- A slow-draining sink that still drains
- A ceiling stain that is not growing
Book these in with our London plumbers.
The emergencies we get called to most
Knowing which one you have helps us bring the right parts.
Burst pipe
Usually a failed joint, a pipe that froze and split, or a nail through a pipe after shelves went up. Stopcock off, then we cut the damaged section out.
Leak under the sink
Often the trap, the flexible tap connectors or an appliance hose. Most kitchen sinks have isolation valves underneath, so the rest of the property stays on.
Overflowing toilet
Either a blockage in the pan or the cistern overfilling. Turn off the small isolation valve feeding the cistern.
No water
Check whether your neighbours have water. If they do not, it is one for your water supplier. If only you, it is usually a closed stopcock, a frozen pipe or a failed valve.
Blocked drain backing up
Waste coming back into a bath, shower or sink means the blockage sits downstream of the trap. We clear it with rods or a machine.
Water through a ceiling
In a flat this often starts upstairs, not with you. Contain it, turn your water off and tell the neighbour. We find the source before anything is cut open.
What we do when we arrive
- Stop the water going where it should not, before anything else
- Find the actual cause, not just the wet patch
- Tell you what we found and what it takes to fix
- Give you the price before the repair starts
- Repair it on the visit where the parts allow
- Make it safe and return with the part where they do not
- Test it, clear up, and flag anything worth watching
If the fault is the boiler rather than the pipework, see boiler repair.
Being straight about availability
A lot of London plumbing sites promise a plumber at the door within the hour, day or night. We will not write that, because we could not always do it. We work six days a week, not around the clock.
What we do have is priority booking through membership: next day on Bronze and Silver, same day on Gold and Platinum, morning and late slots held back for members, a two-hour arrival window, and no call-out fee on any plan.
Not a member? Call anyway. We will tell you what we can realistically do and when.
Fully insured
Including public liability. Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers we work with.
Inside the M25 and just outside
One number for the whole of London, either side of the river.
From £75 an hour for members
Against our standard rate of £120, with no call-out fee on any plan.
Questions people ask mid-leak
Can you come out right now?
Call 020 4634 2681 and we will tell you honestly what we can do today. We work six days a week rather than around the clock, so we would rather say so than leave you waiting. Members get priority booking: next day on Bronze and Silver, same day on Gold and Platinum, with morning and late slots held back for members and a two-hour arrival window.
Where is my stopcock?
In most London flats it is under the kitchen sink. In houses it can also be under the stairs, in a cloakroom, under the bath or near the front door. Turn it clockwise to close, and do not force a stiff one hard enough to snap it.
What if I cannot turn the water off?
There is usually a second stopcock outside, in a covered chamber near the boundary, which needs a stopcock key. If you cannot reach either, contain the water, keep it away from electrics and call us — say straight away that it is still running.
Is it an emergency or can it wait?
If water is running and you cannot stop it, if it is near electrics, if it is going into a neighbour's property, or if you have no water or no working toilet, treat it as an emergency. A drip into a bucket can wait.
What does it cost?
From £75 an hour for Gold and Platinum members and from £80 for Bronze and Silver, against our standard rate of £120. No plan carries a call-out fee. If you are not a member there is a £120 one-off trial visit.
Do you cover my area?
Everywhere inside the M25 and just outside it. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call 020 4634 2681 and we will tell you in a sentence.
I can smell gas. What do I do?
Do not call us first. Open the windows, leave the electrical switches alone, get out and call 0800 111 999. Once it is made safe, we can arrange the repair with the Gas Safe registered engineers we work with.
Will you need to cut into a wall or ceiling?
Sometimes, and we will tell you before we do it. A concealed pipe cannot always be reached another way. We open the smallest area we can.