HERTFORDSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Emergency Plumber in Dunstable
Dunstable’s homes run from Victorian streets off Victoria Street to council estates of the 1930s to 1950s, and each hides its stopcock somewhere different. Call 01462 506 374 at any hour and a person answers.
Water off first, questions later
Close the main stopcock by turning it clockwise as far as it goes, then open a cold tap to empty the pipes. If only one toilet, basin or washing machine is leaking, the small isolation valve on its feed will do and the rest of the house keeps its water.
Where water is reaching sockets, light fittings or the consumer unit, switch off the power at the consumer unit, but only from somewhere dry. A leak on the hot side means turning the boiler or immersion heater off as well.
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.
Where to look for the stopcock
Victorian streets
Around Victoria Street and the roads the British Land Company laid out in the north west of town, it sits wherever the mains first came in: under the sink, in a front room or under the floor.
Northfields and Beecroft
In the council houses of the 1930s and after, start under the kitchen sink, then the hall cupboard. Later kitchen refits often box it behind a base unit.
Downside, Jeans Way, Poynters and Hadrian
The post-war estates follow the same pattern: kitchen sink first, then under the stairs.
The Lake District Estate
Look under the kitchen sink, then in any utility room, and find it before the night you need it.
Tonight, or at 8am
Some jobs justify the out of hours charge and some do not:
Tonight: a burst you cannot isolate, or water through a ceiling
Tonight: water in a light fitting or near the fuse board
8am: a cistern that keeps running into the overflow
8am: a drip under a sink with its valve shut off
Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm there is no call-out fee, so anything that can safely wait is cheaper then.
Stiff valves in very hard water
Affinity Water’s own report for its Dunstable zone gives a mean hardness of 310 mg/l, which it classes as very hard. Scale from water like that builds up inside stopcocks and isolation valves that are never turned, until they seize.
If yours will not move, do not force it, because an old valve can snap and make things worse. Use the outside stop tap under the small cover near your boundary instead, and ask us to replace the seized one while we are there.
The pipe from the pavement is yours
The supply pipe running from the outside stop valve into your house belongs to the owner, not the water company, so a leak on it in the front garden is yours to fix. The Drinking Water Inspectorate also advises that homes built before 1970 may still have lead supply pipes.
That covers the 1935 Northfields houses and much of the housing that followed in the 1950s. If we find lead while repairing a leak, we will tell you and price replacing it separately.
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.
What we deal with
Burst, split and leaking pipes, above floors and below them
No water at all when the rest of the street still has a supply
Cisterns and tanks overflowing, and cylinders leaking into the airing cupboard
Blocked toilets and drains backing up, cleared with the jetting kit on the van
Shower and heating pumps that have stopped
If the whole road has lost its water, the problem is in the main and it is a call for Affinity Water rather than us.
The call itself, and the charges
A person picks up 01462 506 374 at any hour. They will ask what is leaking, whether it has stopped and whereabouts in Dunstable you are, then give you the charges before an engineer leaves.
On weekdays from 8am to 5pm, plumbing is £140 + VAT (£168 including VAT) for the first hour with no call-out fee, then £60 + VAT for each half hour. At any other time every attendance adds a £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) call-out on top of the out of hours rate, which you are given on the phone.
The first hour is the minimum and 50% of it is paid up front. Should the job grow beyond what you described, work pauses while the engineer prices the extra. More on this is on our emergency plumbing page.
Leaks you cannot see
A damp patch that spreads, a meter that moves with every tap closed or a floor that feels warm can all mean a pipe leaking out of sight. We trace the pipe’s route and isolate sections to narrow it down before cutting anything, so only the right patch of floor comes up.
While you wait, turn off the stopcock and watch the meter. If it stops moving, the leak is on your side of it, which is useful for the engineer to know.
Gas, drains and the clear-up
If you smell gas, get out, leave switches alone and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 before anyone else. Once they have made it safe, our Gas Safe engineers can repair the fault.
Most shared drains and lateral pipes outside your boundary have been the sewerage company’s responsibility since 2011. A CCTV drain survey comes with a recording and a written report that insurers accept, which settles whose pipe the problem is in.
For a water leak, we can leave a written note of what failed and what we did for your insurer. Our engineers are our own staff, and the work has a 12 month labour guarantee.
★★★★★
Rated 4.9 on Google by the people we work for
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
A pipe has burst in my Dunstable home. What do I do first?
Turn off the stopcock, keep away from wet electrics and open the cold taps. Then ring 01462 506 374.
Where is the stopcock in a Northfields or Beecroft house?
Usually under the kitchen sink or in the hall cupboard, often boxed in behind a kitchen unit after a refit.
My stopcock has seized. Can I force it?
No. Old valves in very hard water can snap. Use the outside stop tap and we will replace the seized valve.
How much is a Sunday call-out?
Each attendance outside weekday hours carries a £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) call-out, plus the out of hours rate we quote first.
Is a running overflow worth a night visit?
Rarely. Shut the small valve on the pipe feeding the cistern and let us come on a weekday, when no call-out fee applies.
Who owns the pipe under my front garden?
The supply pipe from the outside stop valve into the house is the owner’s responsibility.
Can you clear a blocked drain out of hours?
Yes, we carry high pressure jetting on the van. If the blockage is in a shared drain beyond your boundary, it is usually the sewerage company’s.
Can you put what you found in writing for the insurance claim?
Yes, we can give you a written note of what we found and repaired.
Areas we cover around Dunstable
We cover both Dunstable postcode districts, LU5 and LU6, from the Victorian roads around Victoria Street and the older centre by West Street and Church Street to Northfields, Beecroft, Downside, Jeans Way, the Poynters and Hadrian estates and the Lake District Estate.
We work in neighbouring Houghton Regis too. For everything else we do in town, see our Dunstable page.
Leak in Dunstable right now
Ring 01462 506 374. A person answers day and night, helps you shut the water off and tells you the cost before we leave.
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