In today’s society of rented houses and managed properties, all you need to do when something goes wrong is phone the landlord or the property management service and they fix everything. However once you buy your own property, you are suddenly responsible for everything that happens and it can be confusing to know where to turn. In this article we look at some of the typical services offered by a plumber.
Burst or Cracked Pipes
Imagine this scenario, you wake up one morning and go to fill the kettle but all that comes out is a splutter of water and then nothing, or worse still, the water starts to come out brown and dirty. This is usually the result of a burst or cracked pipe. This typically occurs during cold weather when standing water in pipes freezes overnight. As the water turns to ice, it expands and cracks or even bursts the pipe. A plumber will usually be able to locate the pipe affected and replace the damaged section of it. Most plumbers will also be able to insulate your pipes for you to prevent this situation from happening in the first place.
Blocked Toilet
Another common scenario is that you flush the toilet and suddenly instead of the water going down, it begins to slowly rise up the bowl and if you’re really unlucky, spills all over the floor. This is caused by a blockage in the piping that leads away from the toilet and stops the water flowing out into the sewer. In this instance, a plumber will either try to dislodge the blockage with a plunger or will have to locate the blockage and manually remove it.
Hot Water Tank Problems
If you turn on your hot water tap to have a shower, run a bath or just to do the washing up and nothing but cold water comes out, it generally means that there is a problem with your hot water tank. If its gas powered, the pilot light might have gone out so the cylinder doesn’t fire up when minimum temperature is reached. If your hot water is electric, perhaps the fuse has gone. In either of these scenarios, a good plumper will be able to rectify the problem, especially if they are gas registered.
Refitting a Bathroom or Replacing a Kitchen Sink
If you buy a new kitchen sink or a new bathroom suite, you will need a plumber to be able to plumb everything in for you. A plumber will be able to simply fit a straight forward replacement or they can re-plumb the whole bathroom if you would like it laid out in a different way to how it used to be.
Flooding
A plumber will also be able to help you if your home is flooded as this is usually the result of a burst pipe or a broken plumbing fitting. In this instance, the plumber will be able to turn the water supply to your house off whilst they locate and fix the problem.
Emergency Call Outs
The majority of plumbers offer an emergency call out service where by you can call them at any time of the day or night and they will come out to fix your plumbing problem.
The issues listed above are just a few of the typical services you can expect a plumper to be able to fix in a residential property. Most plumbers will also be able to fix commercial plumbing too. When thinking of plumbing work in St Albans, England we recommend DIS Plumbing St Albans.
Image Credits: Nick Busse and dbrooker1.
