HERTFORDSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Emergency Plumber in Knebworth
Water escaping in Knebworth at night or over the weekend? Call 01462 506 374, speak to a person, get help finding your stopcock, and hear the charges before anyone leaves Stevenage.
What cannot wait, and what can
Ring tonight
Water you cannot stop, water running near a light or socket, a ceiling that has started to sag, or a house with no water where someone frail, ill or very young lives.
Leave it for a weekday
A dripping tap, a cistern that keeps filling, or a leak that stopped once you closed its valve. Between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, there is no call-out fee, so waiting saves the out of hours charge altogether.
Not sure
Ring anyway. A person answers, and if it can safely wait until the morning we will say so.
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.
Five minutes, four jobs
Work through these before anything else:
Stop the water by turning the stopcock clockwise until it stops
Cut the power at the consumer unit if water has reached electrics and you can get there dry
Drain down by opening the cold taps
Contain it with towels and buckets, and move what you can
If one appliance is leaking, the isolation valve on its supply, usually behind a kitchen unit or under a basin, may be all you need to turn.
Stopcocks in each kind of Knebworth house
Old Knebworth has buildings from the 17th to the 20th centuries: timber-framed cottages and barns, 18th century red brick houses, almshouses from 1836 and a school from 1870. Mains water arrived long after most of them were built, so the stopcock may be under a stone or brick floor, in a low cupboard, or in a cellar if there is one.
The village around the station grew after the Great Northern Railway opened it in 1884, and Lord Lytton set up Knebworth Garden Villages to build the homes. In houses of that period, look near where the original scullery or kitchen stood, which after a century of extensions may now be a hall or dining room.
In later homes, it is usually under the kitchen sink or behind the plinth at the foot of the kitchen units.
Old pipe in a railway era village
The Drinking Water Inspectorate says homes built before 1970 may still have lead supply pipes, and much of Knebworth predates that by decades. Old iron and imperial copper turn up too. Imperial copper needs the right adaptors, not a modern fitting forced onto the wrong size.
Outside every property there is an Affinity Water stop tap under a small cover in the path or verge. Affinity looks after the pipe to your boundary; from there into the house it is yours, and a burst on that length is the owner’s to repair. If we find lead, we will make the leak safe and price renewing the pipe separately.
What we deal with
Burst and leaking pipes, in lofts, under floors and on outside walls
Hot water cylinders leaking from the tank or a joint
Toilet cisterns overflowing through the warning pipe
Blocked toilets and drains backing up
Heating and shower pumps that have failed
We also attend when the water has stopped altogether. For blocked drains the van carries high pressure jetting, and since 2011 most shared drains beyond your boundary belong to the sewerage company rather than you.
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 you pay out of hours
Evening, night and weekend attendance carries a £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) call-out on each visit, added to the hourly rate. The plumbing rate for that time is given to you on the phone, before an engineer sets off.
In weekday hours there is no call-out, and the rate is £140 + VAT (£168 including VAT) for the first hour, then £60 + VAT per half hour, with that first hour as the least you will pay.
Half of the first hour is paid up front on a reactive call-out. Beyond that nothing happens without a price, and if the problem is bigger than it sounded, the engineer stops and tells you the cost before going further.
The phone call
Expect to be asked what is leaking, whether it has stopped, and roughly how old the house is. A timber-framed cottage in Old Knebworth and a newer house by the station need different parts and different care.
You hear the call-out, the rate and the deposit before we commit, and nothing is booked until you say yes. For more on how we work, see emergency plumbing.
After the leak is stopped
A leak you cannot see is traced before anything is lifted, and the engineer agrees with you what has to be opened. Leak detection in Knebworth explains that process.
Ask for a written note of what was found and what was repaired, because an insurer will usually want one. In the conservation areas, where timber, lime and old brick are harder to repair than modern finishes, it also helps whoever does the making good afterwards.
Gas smells need a different number
Get everyone out, leave switches alone and phone the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
Once they have made it safe, our Gas Safe engineers, registered under 956889, can repair the boiler or pipework.
★★★★★
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
Is a boiler that stopped on a frosty morning an emergency?
Usually not. It is often a frozen condensate pipe, which you can thaw with warm water before resetting the boiler.
Who is responsible for the pipe from the pavement to my house?
You are. Affinity Water owns the stop tap in the path, but the supply pipe from your boundary into the house belongs to the homeowner.
Is there a call-out charge at weekends?
Yes, £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) per attendance outside Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, on top of the rate we give you on the phone.
My cottage in Old Knebworth has no obvious stopcock. Where should I look?
Under old floors, in low cupboards and in any cellar. Find it on a quiet afternoon rather than during a leak.
Could my house have lead pipes?
If it was built before 1970 it may, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate. We will tell you if we see one.
Do I pay anything before you come?
Half of the first hour is paid up front on reactive call-outs, and the first hour is the minimum.
Can a weeping joint wait until the morning?
If you can isolate it and it has stopped, yes. If it is still running, call.
Will I get anything for my insurer?
Ask the engineer for a written note of what was found and what was done.
Areas we cover around Knebworth
We cover the whole of Knebworth and SG3, from Old Knebworth and the Deards End Lane and Stockens Green conservation areas to the railway village and the newer homes around it.
Our vans are based in Stevenage, so the village is a short run for us. Our engineers are our own staff, and every repair has a 12 month labour guarantee.
Leak in Knebworth tonight
Ring 01462 506 374 whatever the hour. We help you find the stopcock first, then quote the call-out and rate 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