HERTFORDSHIRE, BEDFORDSHIRE & CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Emergency Plumber in Potters Bar
Potters Bar nearly doubled in size between 1939 and 1971, so most homes here are 1930s or post-war, each with its own plumbing habits. A person answers 01462 506 374 at any hour and helps you get the water off first.
Can it wait until the morning
Plenty of leaks can, and waiting saves money. These are the ones that cannot:
Water still running after you have closed the stopcock
Water through a ceiling or into a light fitting
Water near sockets or the consumer unit
No water at all, with someone vulnerable at home
A dripping tap, a running overflow or a leak that stopped when you shut a valve can wait. Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm there is no call-out fee, so a weekday visit is the cheaper choice.
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.
Shutting the water off
Turn the internal stopcock clockwise until it stops, then open the cold taps to drain the pipes. If just one toilet, tap or appliance is leaking, close the small isolation valve on its feed instead and keep the rest of the house running.
Where water is dripping near lights, sockets or the consumer unit, switch off at the consumer unit only if you can reach it from somewhere dry. If you cannot, leave it and tell us when you ring.
A leak on the hot side also means switching off the boiler or immersion heater.
Stopcocks around EN6
The Avenue, Heath Drive, Manor Way and Mountway
In the 1930s houses of the Darkes Lane (West) estate, look under the kitchen sink first, then in a hall cupboard near where the supply enters at the front.
The Royds
On Oakroyd and Elmroyd Avenue and part of Baker Street, the valve sits wherever the mains first came in, and in a house that has been replumbed it may have moved.
Oakmere and Ashwood
In the 1950s estate houses it is usually under the kitchen sink or in the airing cupboard.
Flats and later infill
Expect one valve inside your flat and a communal valve elsewhere in the block. Find out where both are now.
Long runs and loft cylinders
Some of the larger houses west of Darkes Lane sit well back from the road, so the supply pipe from the boundary is long, and the hot water cylinder may be in the loft or on the top floor.
A cylinder leak up there comes down through every floor, so shut the supply fast and turn off electrics below it if it is safe to reach them. On a long underground run, water can surface a long way from the split.
Imperial copper and push-fit joints
Imperial sized copper is common in housing from the 1950s and 1960s and needs adaptors to meet modern metric fittings. We carry both on the van, so a night repair does not have to wait for parts.
In newer homes and extensions, the usual failure is a push-fit joint that was never pushed fully home. The Drinking Water Inspectorate also advises that homes built before 1970 may still have lead supply pipes, which we point out if we find them.
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.
Call-outs we handle
Most out of hours calls in the town are one of these:
Burst, split and leaking pipes
No water in the house when the street still has a supply
Cisterns and tanks overflowing
Hot water cylinders leaking
Blocked toilets and drains, cleared with jetting kit on the van
Shower and heating pumps that have failed
If the whole road has no water, it is a fault in the main and a call for Affinity Water, which supplies the town.
What it costs outside office hours
Every attendance outside Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, adds a call-out of £50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) to the hourly rate. The out of hours plumbing rate is given to you on the phone, before anyone sets off from Stevenage.
In weekday hours there is no call-out fee. Plumbing is £140 + VAT (£168 including VAT) for the first hour, which is the minimum charge, then £60 + VAT for every half hour after.
We take 50% of the first hour up front on reactive work. If the job proves different from what was described, the engineer stops and prices it before carrying on. There is more detail on our emergency plumbing page.
Hidden leaks and damp patches
A meter that keeps turning with every tap off, a stain spreading on a ceiling or a patch of lawn that stays wet in dry weather can all point to a leak you cannot see.
We work out where the pipe runs and isolate sections to narrow it down before anything is opened up, so a drive or a floor is not dug up on a guess.
Gas, insurance and making good
If you smell gas, get out, do not use switches, keep flames away and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. When the emergency service has made it safe, our engineers, Gas Safe registered under 956889, can put the fault right.
With the leak repaired, we can give you a written note of what failed and what we did, which your insurer will want. Our engineers are our own staff, and every job carries 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
Where is the stopcock in a 1930s Potters Bar house?
Usually under the kitchen sink or in a hall cupboard at the front, though a replumbed house may have it somewhere else.
How much is a night call-out in Potters Bar?
£50 + VAT (£60 including VAT) per attendance on top of the hourly rate, which is quoted before we set off.
Is the supply pipe from the pavement mine?
Yes. The pipe from the outside stop valve into the house belongs to the owner.
What if the loft cylinder is leaking?
Close the stopcock, turn off the boiler or immersion heater, keep clear of wet electrics and ring us. It is worth a night visit if it will not stop.
My flat has no water. Who do I call?
Check with neighbours first. If the whole block is off, it may be the communal supply or the main; if it is only you, ring us.
Can a running overflow wait until morning?
Yes. Turn off the valve feeding the cistern and we can come in weekday hours, with no call-out fee.
What will you ask when I ring?
What is leaking, whether it has stopped and where in EN6 you are. Then you are told the charges.
Will I get a written note for my insurer?
Yes, we can write down what we found and what we repaired.
Areas we cover around Potters Bar
We cover all of EN6, from the Darkes Lane (West) estate and The Royds to Oakmere, Ashwood, Cedar Close and the closes built into old gardens, and out towards South Mimms.
For planned work and everything else we do in the town, see our Potters Bar page, and for a boiler that has stopped, boiler repair in Potters Bar.
Burst pipe in Potters Bar
Ring 01462 506 374 at any hour. A person helps you shut the water off and tells you what it will cost before anyone leaves.
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