Plumbing advice · Costs & Choosing a Plumber
DIY vs Professional Plumbing: Where the Line Is
What you can safely do yourself, what is false economy, and what is actually illegal.
Genuinely DIY
Tap washers and cartridges, toilet cistern internals, trap cleaning, bleeding radiators, sealant renewal, repressurising a boiler. If it isolates with a valve and fails safe, it is learnable in an afternoon.
False economy
Anything buried, pressurised or structural: repiping, moving waste runs, unvented cylinder work. The failure mode is not inconvenience, it is a ceiling. The professional cost is buying the redo insurance, not just the labour.
Illegal without qualification
Gas work requires Gas Safe registration by law, and unvented cylinder work requires the G3 qualification. No exceptions for the handy, and your insurer agrees.
Need it done instead?