HERTFORDSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Emergency Plumber in Hatfield
Burst pipe or flood in Hatfield? Call 01462 506 374 at any hour. A person answers, helps you isolate the water while you are still on the line, and gives you the cost before anyone leaves.
Living in a flat? Start here
Flats have been part of Hatfield since the New Town began, from the early Roe Green blocks, where Pondcroft opened in 1951, to the 13 floors of Queensway House. In a block, escaping water heads down through floors and service ducts faster than you would think.
Shut your supply off, then knock on the door below and ask whether their ceiling is wet. When you ring us, we ask about the flat underneath before anything else, because that is often where the real damage is.
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.
Urgent tonight, or fine for Monday
Waiting for weekday hours between 8am and 5pm means no call-out fee. The question is whether the water can be stopped.
Urgent: a leak no valve will stop, or water through a ceiling
Urgent: water near sockets, lights or the fuse board
Can wait: a drip that stops when its isolation valve is closed
Can wait: an overflow running or a cistern that will not stop filling
Tell us what you are looking at and we will be honest about which it is.
Shutting off the supply
Turn the internal stopcock clockwise until it stops. If it has not moved in years and resists, leave it, because a snapped spindle makes things worse. The outside stop tap in the path or pavement is the fallback.
A leak from one toilet, tap or appliance can usually be stopped at the small slotted valve on its pipe, leaving the rest of the house with water.
If water is anywhere near electrics, switch off at the consumer unit from a dry spot. Then open the cold taps to drain the pipes and switch off the boiler.
Stopcocks in New Town houses
Roe Green and the first neighbourhoods
The early 1950s houses here were among the first the New Town built. Look under the kitchen sink first, then in a hall or under stairs cupboard, and expect an original valve that may be stiff.
South Hatfield and Oxlease
South Hatfield had 957 houses by 1957, including 383 no-fines concrete houses in Hazel Grove. The stopcock is usually under the sink, occasionally in a cupboard, and often seized after decades of hard water.
Newer neighbourhoods
In Ellenbrook, Salisbury Village and De Havilland Grange, look under the sink or in a utility cupboard. These valves normally still turn, which is worth confirming on a quiet day.
Walls that are not what they seem
Records of the Roe Green build describe front and back walls that were lightweight insulated skins rather than brick, and Hazel Grove’s houses are poured no-fines concrete. Neither takes kindly to being chased open to reach a pipe.
So once the water is off, we plan the repair route rather than cutting into the nearest wall. National guidance is that homes built before 1970 may still have lead supply pipes, which covers most of the original New Town, so we check what the pipe is first.
The Ryde, flat roofs and underfloor heating
The Ryde’s courtyard houses, first lived in during 1966, were built with flat roofs and underfloor heating. Water through a ceiling there may be the roof rather than the plumbing, and we will say so rather than charge you to find a pipe that is not leaking.
A leak in an underfloor heating circuit shows as falling pressure and a warm damp patch. We trace it before lifting anything, as our leak detection in Hatfield page explains.
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 come out for
Burst pipes, including frozen loft and garage runs
Leaking joints, valves and tap connectors
No water in the property
Cisterns overflowing and toilets that will not stop filling
Leaking hot water cylinders
Blocked toilets and drains backing up
Failed shower and heating pumps
If the job is different from how it sounded on the phone, the engineer stops and prices it before carrying on.
Costs outside office hours
From Monday to Friday, 8am until 5pm, we charge no call-out. Plumbing is £140 + VAT (£168 including VAT) for the first hour, the minimum charge, then £60 + VAT per half hour.
Evenings, nights and weekends in AL10 and AL9, each attendance adds £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) to the hourly rate, and the out of hours plumbing rate is given to you on the call.
We take 50% of the first hour up front for a reactive job. Every one of our rates is set out on the pricing page.
If it is gas, not water
Get everyone out, do not use switches or anything that sparks, and phone the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 before you phone us.
Once the supply has been made safe, our Gas Safe engineers, registration 956889, can repair the appliance or pipework. Out of hours gas work is £225 + VAT for the first hour and £75 + VAT per half hour.
After the emergency
The emergency job is stopping the water and making the pipes sound. Ceilings and floors need to dry before making good, so photograph everything and call your insurer early, or the managing agent if you are in a block.
Get the engineer to write a short note of the failure and the fix. We are Vantage Plumbing and Heating Limited, with our own engineers and a 12 month guarantee on our labour.
★★★★★
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
Water is coming through into the flat below. What first?
Shut off your supply, then warn your neighbour. Water in a block travels down, so their ceiling may be wet before you see much in your own flat.
Is a running overflow worth an out of hours visit?
Rarely. Usually that is a tired fill valve, best fixed on a weekday without a call-out charge.
How much does a night call-out cost in Hatfield?
Each out of hours attendance is £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) on top of the hourly rate, which is quoted before we leave.
My South Hatfield stopcock is seized. What now?
Use the outside stop tap in the footpath. Once the emergency is over, we can replace the internal valve so it works next time.
Could the water in my ceiling at The Ryde be the roof?
It could. Those houses have flat roofs, and we will tell you if it is not a plumbing leak.
Do I pay anything before you come?
Yes, half of the first hour on reactive call-outs, after you have heard the full charges.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Leave, avoid switches and call 0800 111 999 first. Our engineers repair the cause after that.
Can you repair pipes in a listed building in Old Hatfield?
Yes. We make the leak safe first, then plan a permanent repair that avoids damaging historic fabric.
Areas we cover around Hatfield
We cover all of AL10 and AL9: Old Hatfield, Roe Green, South Hatfield, Oxlease, The Ryde and the town centre.
Ellenbrook, Salisbury Village and De Havilland Grange are covered on the same terms. For routine work, see our Hatfield page.
Water escaping in Hatfield
Call 01462 506 374 day or night. You reach a person, not a machine, who helps stop the water and quotes the charges before anyone drives over.
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