Super professional, polite, and friendly. Very flexible and got me in for an evening on very short notice. Was on time and got the job done in no time at all.
Emergency Plumber in Balham
For an emergency plumber in Balham, from the Hyde Farm streets to Nightingale Lane, call us at any hour. We work as a 24 hour plumber across SW12 and SW17, usually turn up within 60 minutes, and charge no call-out fee for coming out.
Balham at a glance
- Postcodes
- SW12, SW17
- Arrival
- Usually within 60 minutes
- Homes
- Edwardian terraces, many split into flats
- Most common
- Root intrusion in clay drains and scaled cylinders
- Also covering
- Tooting, Tooting Bec, Upper Tooting
Close the supply inside the front door
Balham's original supply often enters under the floor just inside the front door, so check there and under the kitchen sink for the stopcock. In a split house, one valve may serve both flats. Turn off electrics if water nears sockets. Gas? 0800 111 999. Plumbing: 020 3674 8514.
Emergency plumbing problems we fix in Balham
Edwardian terraces split into flats, clay drains under the gardens and furred cylinders lie behind these six Balham emergencies:
- 01
Blocked drain or sink in Balham
Clay drains under the back gardens of Balham's Edwardian terraces, especially in the Hyde Farm streets, are where root intrusion and repeat blockages most often start.
Balham: usually £140 – £240. Blocked drain or sink: first steps →
- 02
Blocked or overflowing toilet in Balham
Where a Balham house was split into an upper and a lower flat, both toilets drain into the original cast-iron stack, and corrosion at its joints can add to blockages and leaks.
Balham: usually £95 – £150. Blocked or overflowing toilet: first steps →
- 03
Water leak or leak through the ceiling in Balham
Rear kitchen extensions off Balham's terraces often have long, shallow waste runs and joints boxed into the floor, so a slow leak there can go unnoticed until boards or tiles lift.
Balham: usually £280 – £600. Water leak or leak through the ceiling: first steps →
- 04
Leaking radiator in Balham
Many Balham houses now have a loft conversion with a radiator or towel rail at the top of a long run, and air collecting there is a common reason it stays cold.
Balham: usually £110 – £170. Leaking radiator: first steps →
- 05
No hot water or no heating in Balham
Hard Thames Water furs the cylinders that many Balham houses still keep in an airing cupboard, and a scaled cylinder or immersion heater is a usual reason hot water runs out early.
Balham: usually £130 – £420. No hot water or no heating: first steps →
- 06
Burst or frozen pipe in Balham
Some Balham houses near Tooting Bec Common and Nightingale Lane still have their original lead supply pipe, which is soft and can split where it rises through a cold floor in a frost.
Balham: usually £150 – £280. Burst or frozen pipe: first steps →
How fast we get to you in Balham
Balham terraces are easy to find, but a split house may have two bells or a shared hall, so tell us which flat is yours. If the trouble is a drain under the garden, say whether there is a side gate. We aim to be with you within 60 minutes.
Streets and places we cover in Balham
Balham High RoadBedford HillBalham Park RoadNightingale LaneRavenslea RoadBoundaries RoadCathles RoadRamsden RoadHydethorpe RoadRadbourne RoadTelferscot RoadFernlea RoadOld Devonshire RoadChestnut GroveBalham Grove
We also cover Tooting, Tooting Bec, Upper Tooting, Streatham, Streatham Hill, Clapham Park, Nightingale Triangle.
Emergency plumber prices in Balham
Roots in an old clay drain are a classic Balham problem, and clearing a blocked outside drain usually comes to £140 to £240. Labour is £110 for hour one and £45 per further half hour, any time, without a call-out fee, and a written fixed price comes first.
Plumbing in Balham: what goes wrong and why
Balham is largely late Victorian and Edwardian terrace, and the Hyde Farm streets and the roads off Bedford Hill are remarkably consistent in what goes wrong. Original clay drains under the back gardens attract root intrusion, cast-iron stacks corrode at the joints, and rear extensions towards Tooting Bec Common have often moved kitchens away from the stack with marginal fall. Many of these houses were divided into upper and lower flats, which doubles the load on drainage that was never upsized. Thames Water supplies Balham with hard water, which furs cylinders and scales combi heat exchangers, and it is a common explanation when hot water flow drops off in a house near Nightingale Lane.
Most common here: root intrusion in clay drains and scaled cylinders.
What customers near Balham say
Came to our business to sort out leaks that we had found the night before - they also found a blockage which they also were able to clear. Great professional service
Called on a Sunday for a small emergency and had someone out by evening all fixed, will definitely be calling for any future plumbing issues! Good price, too!
Danny was great and very professional. Fixed both issues with the bathroom sink leak and valve replacement in the radiator a timely way, without over complicating and have had no issues since.
Every word below is the customer's own, copied from Checkatrade for anyone in Balham. Read all 147 reviews or our Google reviews.
Emergency plumber in Balham: your questions
How soon can you get to a house in Balham?
We normally get there within 60 minutes. Most Balham homes are terraces, so the biggest help is knowing which door to knock on: in a house divided into upper and lower flats, tell us your flat and whether the entrance is at the side. If the problem is a garden drain, have the gate unlocked.
What will an emergency plumber in Balham cost me?
No call-out charge applies. Your first hour costs £110, and after that it is £45 per half hour, at an identical rate through the night. You see the fixed price on paper before work begins, and any part is put to you for approval before it is bought. All work carries a 12-month workmanship guarantee.
Are you open on Christmas Day and bank holidays in Balham?
We are. Our line never closes: nights, weekends, every bank holiday and Christmas are covered, and a human voice answers. You will not pay extra for a Saturday night or a holiday morning: the price is the same at any hour.
When is a Balham plumbing problem an emergency?
If water is escaping and you cannot stop it, sewage is coming back up, or you are left without heating or hot water in the cold, call. In split Balham houses both flats drain into one old cast-iron stack, so a blockage can soon affect both homes. A cracked lead supply pipe in a frost also needs attention straight away.
Who is responsible for tree roots in a Balham clay drain?
If the drain serves only your house and runs inside your boundary, repairing it generally falls to the owner, whoever's tree caused the damage. Where the pipe serves more than one property or forms part of the public sewer, the water company normally takes it on. A drain camera survey shows which section the roots are in.
Where is the stopcock in a Balham home?
In a Balham terrace the stopcock is usually under the kitchen sink, or under the floor just inside the front door where the original supply comes in. In a split house the two flats may have separate valves, or one stopcock may still serve both.
Which streets in Balham do you cover?
All of them. That includes Balham High Road, Bedford Hill, Balham Park Road, Nightingale Lane, Ravenslea Road and Boundaries Road, and nearby Tooting, Tooting Bec, Upper Tooting, Streatham and Streatham Hill.
What goes wrong most often in Balham homes?
Root intrusion in clay drains and scaled cylinders. Most homes in Balham are edwardian terraces, many split into flats, and that is where it comes from.