Emergency Plumber in Balham
A leaking soil pipe in a Hyde Farm terrace, a slow kitchen drain off Bedford Hill or water through the ceiling of a lower flat by Tooting Bec Common? Ring 07861 933265. We answer day and night, there is no call-out fee, and we normally reach SW12 and SW17 within 60 minutes.
Do this now: Close the stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink or below the floor inside the front door. In a house split into an upper and lower flat, one valve may serve both. Turn off electrics near the leak if it is safe to. Gas smell: ring 0800 111 999 first.
Terraces that all fail the same way
Balham is mostly late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and streets like the Hyde Farm estate and the roads off Bedford Hill were built in large, consistent runs. That means the same things wear out at the same time: clay drains under the back gardens let roots in, cast-iron soil stacks rust through at the joints, and the original supply pipes are now very old.
Upper and lower
Many of these houses were split into an upper and a lower flat. Two kitchens and two bathrooms now use one stack and one drain, and a leak from the upper bathroom comes straight through the lower ceiling. Rear and side extensions, especially towards Tooting Bec Common, often moved the kitchen a long way from the stack, and that shallow run blocks easily.
Hard water
Thames Water says all the water in its region is hard. In Balham that shows as scaled combi heat exchangers and cylinders, and shower valves that stick. When hot water flow drops but the heating still works, scale is the usual suspect.
Rate and nearby
£110 for the first hour and £45 for each half hour after it, plus parts, with no call-out fee. We also cover Tooting Bec and Nightingale Triangle, and nearby Clapham, Wandsworth and Battersea.
Balham at a glance
- Postcodes we cover
- SW12
- SW17
- Streets we often visit
- Balham High Road
- Bedford Hill
- Balham Park Road
- Nightingale Lane
- Ravenslea Road
- Boundaries Road
- Cathles Road
- Ramsden Road
- Hydethorpe Road
- Radbourne Road
- Telferscot Road
- Fernlea Road
- Old Devonshire Road
- Chestnut Grove
- Balham Grove
- Local landmarks
- Balham High Road
- Bedford Hill
- Hyde Farm
- Tooting Bec Common
- Nightingale Lane
Questions people ask
There is a brown stain spreading on the wall next to our soil pipe. What is it?
Often a leak from a cast-iron soil stack, which rusts from the inside and fails at the joints after many decades. When the toilets upstairs are flushed, dirty water seeps out and stains the wall. It should be repaired quickly; usually only the damaged section needs replacing.
Our kitchen extension drains slowly. Is it the extension or the main drain?
If only the kitchen sink is slow, it is most likely the long waste run from the extension to the drain, where fat settles. If the toilet and bath are slow too, the main drain or stack is partly blocked. A quick test of each outlet tells us where to start.
The drain under our garden serves us and next door. Who looks after it?
Thames Water says it is responsible for sewers shared with neighbours, even when they run under gardens. The part that serves only your house, up to where it joins, is yours.
How much is an emergency plumber in Balham?
There is no call-out fee. It is £110 for the first hour and £45 per half hour after, plus parts, at any hour.
Sources
- Sewer pipe responsibility, Thames Water
- Hard water, Thames Water