Plumbing repairs and installations in Stevenage

Why are Stevenage homes so alike?

Under the 1946 New Towns Act, Stevenage became the first designated new town, and most of it was planned and built after the war. Its planners divided it into neighbourhoods, among them Bedwell, Shephall, Broadwater, Chells and Pin Green, each with its own shops and streets of houses built to a set of standard designs. The Old Town around the High Street is much older, and later estates such as Great Ashby were added towards the end of the twentieth century.

Because so many houses were built to the same plans, the same plumbing quirks tend to appear along whole roads.

What plumbing do post-war new town houses usually have?

Many were built with a cold water tank in the loft and a hot water cylinder in a cupboard on the landing. A good number have since been converted to a combination boiler, with the tanks removed, but some still run on the original arrangement. Common enquiries include:

• cisterns and loft tanks with tired fill valves
• weak flow from upstairs taps and showers fed by gravity
• leaks where old copper has been joined to newer plastic pipe
• pipework boxed into kitchens and bathrooms during later refits

What if I live in a flat or maisonette?

The new town includes many blocks of flats and maisonettes. In these, supply pipes and waste stacks can be shared, and a leak may come from the home above rather than your own. Check your lease or tenancy for who is responsible for which pipes. Anyone renting from the council or a housing association needs to tell their landlord about a repair before booking a plumber.

Does it matter if my house used to be a council house?

It can. Stevenage Borough Council still manages around 8,000 homes, and many more of the town's original council houses were bought by their tenants under the right to buy and are now privately owned. If you own a former council house, its plumbing is yours to look after, whatever was fitted before you bought it, and the council will not repair it.

This means two houses side by side on the same road can now be looked after in quite different ways. A fault that the council put right next door is still one for you to arrange in your own home. If you own a leasehold flat or maisonette in a block the council still runs, the pipes inside your home are usually your responsibility, while the shared supply and waste stacks normally stay with the council as freeholder. Your lease sets out which is which.

Is the Old Town any different?

Yes. The High Street has older buildings, some listed, and the streets around it are a conservation area. Plumbing in these properties can be more varied, with older pipe runs and less predictable layouts, so a leak can take longer to trace.

Does the hard water matter here?

Stevenage's water is very hard. Limescale builds up in shower heads, tap cartridges, cistern valves and the hot water cylinder, and it is one of the most common reasons for a slow-filling cistern or a tap that drips no matter how hard you turn it.

How do I send an enquiry from Stevenage?

Give us your SG1 or SG2 postcode and describe the fault. Once you agree, a plumber who works in your postcode is handed the enquiry, and only that plumber. If nobody works there yet, we explain that to you and your details are not shared.