HERTFORDSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Emergency Plumber in Cambourne
Every Cambourne home dates from 1998 or later, so finding the stopcock is usually easy. Ring 01462 506 374 at any hour and a person will help you isolate the leak and tell you the cost first.
Is it urgent? A two question test
Ask yourself whether you can stop the water, and whether anything is unsafe. If the answer to the first is no, or to the second is yes, ring us now. That covers water you cannot isolate, water near sockets or lights, a ceiling that is sagging, and a home with no water where someone vulnerable lives.
If you can stop it and nothing is at risk, it can nearly always wait. A dripping tap, a cistern that keeps filling or a leak that ended when you shut a valve costs less on a weekday, because between 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday there is no call-out fee.
Get a fixed price before we start
Call and talk to an engineer, or send us the details and we will come back to you with a price.
The first few minutes
Shut off the supply
Turn the main stopcock clockwise until it stops, then open a cold tap or two so the pipework drains. That takes the pressure off whatever has split.
Try the small valve first
Toilets, basins, washing machines and dishwashers usually have their own isolation valve, a slotted screw on the pipe. A quarter turn with a coin or screwdriver stops that one leak and leaves the rest of the house with water.
Keep clear of electrics
If water has reached a light fitting or socket, switch off at the consumer unit, but only from somewhere dry. If you cannot reach it safely, leave it and tell us when you ring.
Where to look for the stopcock
Every home in Cambourne has gone up since building began in June 1998, so the stopcock was fitted where modern builders put it: most often under the kitchen sink, otherwise in a utility room or a ground floor cupboard where the supply rises through the floor.
In a flat, check inside your own front door first, then ask the managing agent where the communal isolation point is. It is worth finding both now rather than while water is running through the ceiling of the flat below.
What we are called out for
Most out of hours calls in CB23 fall into a short list:
Burst or leaking supply and heating pipes
No water coming into the house at all
Toilets overflowing through the warning pipe
Leaking hot water cylinders
Blocked toilets, sinks and outside drains
Failed heating or shower pumps
Our engineers are directly employed and work from fully stocked vans, so common fittings are on board when they arrive.
Sewage backing up, and who to call
Anglian Water took over all of Cambourne’s sewage pumping stations on 8 October 2016. If foul water is rising in gullies or several neighbours are affected, report it to them as well as calling us, because the fault may be on their network.
Past your boundary, a shared drain or lateral is normally the sewerage company’s responsibility, and has been since 2011. On your side of it, our vans carry high pressure jetting, and a CCTV drain survey gives you the recording and a written report that insurers accept.
Answered by a person, day or night
A genuine 24 hour line, the charges explained before anyone sets off, and the common parts on the van.
Charges after 5pm and at weekends
Each out of hours attendance, meaning anything outside 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday, has a call-out charge of £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT). It is added to the hourly rate, and the out of hours plumbing rate is £198 + VAT for the first hour on weekday evenings until 8pm and weekends from 8am to 8pm, or £250 + VAT overnight from 8pm to 8am.
On weekdays there is no call-out, and plumbing is £140 + VAT (£168 including VAT) for the first hour and £60 + VAT for each half hour after it. The first hour is always the minimum.
On reactive jobs, half of the first hour is paid up front. If the problem is bigger than it sounded, the engineer stops and gives you a price before going further. See our pricing for the full list.
What you hear before anyone leaves Stevenage
A person picks up at any hour. They will ask whether the water is stopped, where it is coming from and whether anyone in the house needs particular care, then tell you the call-out charge, the rate and the deposit.
You decide with those figures in front of you. If it sounds like something that can wait for a weekday, we will say so, even though it means no visit tonight.
Leaks you cannot see, and afterwards
Water spreading across a ceiling or up through a floor may be coming from somewhere else entirely. The aim is to trace the source before anything is lifted, and to agree with you exactly what has to be opened. If a ceiling or floor does have to be opened, you know where and why beforehand.
Once the leak is fixed, ask for a written note of what was found and what was done. Insurers usually want one, and it saves arguing later about the cause.
One thing you should not meet here: the Drinking Water Inspectorate links lead supply pipes to homes built before 1970, and nothing in Cambourne is that old.
A smell of gas
Get out of the house, do not operate switches or anything electrical, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 before anyone else.
After they have made it safe, the repair to the boiler or pipework is Gas Safe work, which our engineers carry out under registration 956889.
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Why choose Vantage
Rated 4.9 on Google from more than 700 reviews across Google, Checkatrade and Trustatrader. Qualified, accredited engineers, a fixed price before any work begins and a labour guarantee on every job, from an established local company with an office team you can actually reach. No job too small.
Gas Safe registered
Company registration 956889. Every gas engineer carries their own Gas Safe ID card, and you can ask to see it.
Refcom F-Gas certified
REF1024550. Legally required for air conditioning installation and servicing, and we hold it.
CHAS Elite accredited
Veriforce CHAS assessed for health and safety, which is why commercial clients and landlords use us.
City & Guilds and BPEC qualified
Qualified, insured engineers on every job. No subcontracted strangers.
700+ reviews, 4.9 on Google
Across Google, Checkatrade and Trustatrader. Read them before you book.
Labour guarantee on every job
12 months on repairs, installations and everything else. Two years on a full bathroom refit. If anything we did develops a fault, we come back and put it right.
Fixed price before we start
The price is agreed with you before any work begins. No hidden extras on the invoice.
24/7, answered by a person
The emergency line is answered every day of the year by someone who can send an engineer, not a call centre.
Fully stocked vans
Five vans carrying the parts that fail most often, so most jobs are fixed on the first visit.
An office team behind every job
An established local business with multiple engineers and a dedicated office team to keep you informed.
Vaillant myREWARDS and Ideal Max accredited
Accredited installer status means extended manufacturer warranties on the boilers we fit.
Emergency response within the hour
Our average response to an emergency call is under an hour across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Trusted & Accredited Professionals
Frequently asked questions
What will I be told when I ring at night?
The call-out charge, the hourly rate for that time and the deposit, which is half of the first hour. Nobody sets off until you have agreed.
Where is the stopcock in a Cambourne house?
Usually under the kitchen sink, otherwise in the utility room or a downstairs cupboard. Flats may also have a communal valve.
Is a running overflow worth a night call-out?
Usually not, if the cistern has an isolation valve you can turn off. A weekday visit then costs no call-out fee.
Sewage is coming up outside. Is that Anglian Water or me?
If it is on a shared drain or linked to a pumping station, report it to Anglian Water. If it is your own drain, we can clear it.
How much is the out of hours call-out?
It is £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) per attendance, on top of the hourly rate.
Could my home have lead pipes?
Very unlikely. Lead is associated with homes built before 1970, and Cambourne was started in 1998.
What should I do if water reaches the lights?
Switch off at the consumer unit if you can do it from somewhere dry, keep away from the fitting, and call us.
Are your engineers subcontracted?
No. They are employed by us, and our work carries a 12 month labour guarantee.
Areas we cover around Cambourne
We cover the whole town: Great Cambourne, Lower Cambourne, Upper Cambourne and West Cambourne, including the newest homes going up west of Lower Cambourne.
Routine jobs that do not need an out of hours visit are on our plumbers in Cambourne page. Every repair we carry out has a 12 month labour guarantee.
A leak you cannot stop in Cambourne
Ring 01462 506 374. A person answers day and night, helps you turn the water off and explains the charges before we set off.
Related services
Repairs, leaks and installations
Found without the digging
Kitchen, bathroom and outside
Cleared the same day
All makes, Gas Safe engineers
Every rate, published