Real jobs

Small faults. Big bills. Bigger repairs.

These are the jobs I see again and again around Newmarket - quiet leaks, skipped servicing and rushed work that turns into water damage, high bills and expensive making-good.

Call Bob - 07730 269619 Before and after gallery

Typical yearly check from around £100

Catch worn valves, weak seals and cylinder issues early.

Flood / make-good repair £1,000+

Plaster, flooring, joinery and downtime after a preventable leak.

A service will not stop every failure - but it regularly stops the expensive ones that start with a drip nobody noticed.

Case files

What goes wrong when problems are left

Real examples of the faults I see around Newmarket - and why sorting them early usually costs a lot less.

Water bills

The toilet that never quite stops

A cistern that trickles overnight does not look dramatic. Over a month it can waste thousands of litres and push a metered water bill up hard - often without anyone spotting the cause.

Usually a worn float valve, siphon or overflow
Often fixed in a single visit
Cheaper than months of wasted water

Dripping taps

“It’s only a drip”

One drip a second is about 5,000 litres a year. On a hot tap you also waste energy heating water that never gets used. Left alone, washers and ceramic cartridges wear further and the drip becomes a stream.

Raises water and energy bills
Stains basins and worktops
Usually a washer, cartridge or seat - not a new tap

Ceiling opened after a water leak investigation

Flood damage

When a small leak becomes a renovation

Water under flooring, into ceilings or behind kitchen units rarely stays polite. By the time it shows as a stain, you may already be looking at drying, plaster, flooring and joinery - often £1,000 and upwards, before you count the disruption.

Common after failed valves, joints or cylinders
Worse when stop taps are seized or unknown
Prevention costs a fraction of the make-good

Leaking hot water cylinder with rust staining

Hot water systems

Cylinders and valves that were never checked

Expansion vessels, PRVs and immersion faults rarely announce themselves politely. Missed yearly checks - or a rushed install - can leave you with no hot water, discharge from a valve, or a failure that soaks the cupboard and floor below.

G3 work must be done properly and notified
Annual service spots pressure and vessel issues early
Hard water in this area accelerates scale damage

Workmanship

Corners cut on the install

Unsupported pipework, wrong fittings, missing isolation valves, or a “quick job” with no tidy finish catches up later. The repair bill is rarely just the pipe - it is access, making-good and doing it properly the second time.

I explain what failed and why
Fix once, leave it tidy
No pressure to replace whole systems needlessly

Pipe insulation in a loft and frost-prone areas

Frost protection

Uninsulated pipes that freeze and burst

Lofts, external taps and valves, and open discharge pipes from safety valves are easy to forget - until a cold snap freezes them. Ice expands, joints split, and when the thaw comes you can get flooding in the loft, walls or garden, plus a period with no water while the repair is done.