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
I charge £60 per hour plus parts for Mon-Fri, 8am to 6pm, within 10 miles of Salisbury. Minimum 1 hour charge, then to the nearest 0.1 hour. I am not VAT registered, so there is no additional VAT to pay on my labour.

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
I don't normally offer a quoting service. I am happy to discuss the cost of possible replacement parts, but my labour is chargeable according to my published hourly rate. I like to prioritise small plumbing repairs, but in order to do so I have to prevent my schedule from getting filled up with larger jobs. Charging by the hour and not providing a quoting service is a natural way of achieving that. However, I do try to provide detailed guidance on how long various kinds of jobs usually take. Please see the buttons above, and feel free to call me if you need any further guidance or reassurance.

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

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© 2020 Hamish Erskine, h@htp

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