Hamish The Plumber

Hamish Erskine, Hamish the Plumber, Plumbers in Salisbury, Leaks

Repair of Leaking Pipes and Plumbing

I fix all kinds of leaks, whether from leaking pipes, toilets or showers, etc. Whether it's an obvious leak with water pouring through your ceiling, or you just have a niggling feeling that your water bill really shouldn't be quite that high, call me for a quick diagnosis and repair.

Cost
£75 for up to an hour + parts (Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm within 10 miles of Salisbury), then £60/hr to the nearest 0.1 hour. For jobs exceeding two hours it's simply £60 per hour, start to finish, plus parts. I am not VAT registered, so there is no additional VAT to pay on my labour. My rates are based on the Average UK Plumber day rate as published by Checkatrade.

Continuous Leaks
If you have a continuous leak, first turn the water off at the mains. In most cases, this will minimise further damage to your property before I can get to you. Alternatively, if you know where the leak is coming from, for example from the toilet, there may be an isolating valve on its supply pipe, allowing you to turn off the water just to the toilet so you can keep the mains on for the rest of the house.

Leaking Showers
If a leak is evident on the ceiling below, I first check that it is not from the shower's waste pipework (it rarely is but this needs to be eliminated as a possible cause first). The most common cause is that the silicon around the tray or bath has perished and needs replacing. This is typically a 1 to 1.5 hour job, most of which is the time taken to remove the old silicon and clean up the tiles. Another possible cause is that cracks have appeared in the grouting between the tiles and water has started to seep behind them. This loosens the tile adhesive, and also usually damages the plasterboard behind them. If this is the case, the lower two or three rows of your shower will need retiling and some of the plasterboard will probably need replacing. I am happy to do tiling and plasterboard repairs, but expect it to take something like 10 hours in total, spread over several visits. In the case of a leaking shower over a bath, other possible causes include the connection to the bath taps, loose bath taps allowing pooled water through and under the bath, and a leak through the bath overflow.

Leaking Toilets
There are lots of ways a toilet can leak. If there's a continuous puddle of water around the base of the toilet, it is probably leaking from the connection between the supply pipe and the fill valve. If it leaks only when you flush it, it may be leaking from the doughnut seal between the pan and cistern, or from the pan connector seal on the pan's outlet, or from the flush pipe seal, depending on the type of toilet. If it keeps running into the pan and wasting water, the seal around the flush valve may have failed, or it may need a new fill valve. Most toilet repairs are completed within an hour or so. See my toilets page for more details.

High Water Bills
If you have unusually high water bills, without an obvious leak, it is usually caused by one of your toilets. If the seal around the flush valve has perished, or if the fill valve is faulty, then you may have a small trickle into the pan. It is easy not to notice this and yet it wastes a significant amount of water over time. Another possibility is that there's a leak from your supply pipe. If water is leaking into the ground under your floorboards or driveway it might not be obvious.
Quotes
Because my focus is on small plumbing repairs and maintenance, I publish my hourly rate and charge accordingly for my time. Consequently, I don't normally get involved if expected to quote for my time. If you click on the buttons above you will find general guidance for various job types and roughly how long they usually take. For more specific guidance, please email me or WhatsApp me photos of what you need doing and I will happily discuss over the phone. For jobs where parts will need to be identified and ordered, as long as you are happy with my hourly rate, I am happy to make an inspection visit to work out what might be needed, to discuss the cost of different possible parts, and to give a rough estimate as to how long I think the job might take. But for larger installation jobs, or if you are just at the stage of gathering several quotes, I am probably not the right person for you. With my focus on small repairs and maintenance, I fill a very particular niche. Plumbing jobs that are my priority are often not a priority to other plumbers, and vice versa. Each to their own!

Salisbury's Best-Reviewed Local Plumber

Ian Kerry, December 2019
Great service to repair a troublesome leak. Turned up earlier than expected, quickly discovered the cause and effected a repair before any ceiling damage was caused. Also found a minor leaks and also fixed that within the minimum charge.
Very efficient and polite worker - our first choice should we suffer from another plumbing problem.
Great service from a professional person.
Robert Prowse, November 2019
If only all trades were as good as Hamish. Bang on time, quick and tidy and job done in a flash. Best part is I only messaged him on Sat night, it’s Monday night and problem of leaking stop tap fixed. Can’t recommend enough.
Robert Bennett, October 2019
Hamish was extremely helpful in fixing my leaking shower. He popped round 2 hours after I called him, ordered the part required and came back and fixed it in as soon as it arrived for a very reasonable price.
Sabrina Richardson, October 2019
We had a bad leak which was coming from our bathroom upstairs through to the kitchen ceiling and was dripping on the side. We called Hamish and he came the very next day. He quickly identified the issue which turned out to be due to shoddy workmanship from our builders, took the time to show me the problem and explain how it had occurred and gave me some advice on temporary measures (our tiling and plasterboard will need replacing). At all times Hamish was very professional, quick and very flexible even returning the following day when it was noted I had bought bath taps for a sink! He was quick, efficient, reliable and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone. Thanks so much for your help and support Hamish!
Joanna Murray, April 2019
Highly recommend Hamish. He responded quickly and helpfully to my text regarding leaking toilet and resolved the issue (and others) Well priced, clean work, efficient and a really nice man! Thanks Hamish.

Additional Services

Hamish the Plumber
16 Ashlands, Salisbury, SP4 6DY
Hamish the Plumber
16 Ashlands, Salisbury, SP4 6DY

Web design by Hamish? Och aye! That too.
© 2020 Hamish Erskine, h@htp

Web design by Hamish? Och aye! That too.
© 2020 Hamish Erskine, h@htp