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.
Emergency Plumber in Kensington
Burst pipe in a stucco terrace or a leak in a mansion flat near Gloucester Road? Ring our emergency plumber in Kensington. It is a 24 hour plumber service with a real person answering, no call-out fee, and arrival in W8 and SW7 usually within 60 minutes.
Kensington at a glance
- Postcodes
- W8, SW7
- Arrival
- Usually within 60 minutes
- Homes
- Stucco terraces and mansion flats
- Most common
- Listed-building pipe routing and scaled unvented cylinders
- Also covering
- Holland Park, Earls Court, South Kensington
Go down to the basement valve
Kensington terraces normally have their stopcock down in the basement, close to the front vaults. Mansion flats keep one in a kitchen or hall cupboard, with the block's main valve below. Keep clear of electrics. Smelt gas? Call 0800 111 999 before you phone us on 020 3674 8514.
Emergency plumbing problems we fix in Kensington
Listed terraces with routed pipework, basement pumps and scaled unvented cylinders sit behind these six Kensington emergencies:
- 01
Blocked drain or sink in Kensington
Kensington basements and lower-ground kitchens often sit below the level of the sewer, so their waste is pumped up, and a failed pump or grease in the sump causes the backup.
Kensington: usually £140 – £240. Blocked drain or sink: first steps →
- 02
Blocked or overflowing toilet in Kensington
In the tall terraces off Kensington Church Street a top-floor toilet can be four storeys above the drain, and old cast-iron stacks with rough joints snag what passes down them.
Kensington: usually £95 – £150. Blocked or overflowing toilet: first steps →
- 03
Water leak or leak through the ceiling in Kensington
Leaks in Kensington mansion flats near Gloucester Road often come from the flat above or the shared riser, and finding the source can mean getting into two or three flats.
Kensington: usually £280 – £600. Water leak or leak through the ceiling: first steps →
- 04
Leaking radiator in Kensington
Many W8 houses still run cast-iron column radiators on old pipework, and their valves and joints are where weeping usually starts when the heating comes back on in autumn.
Kensington: usually £110 – £170. Leaking radiator: first steps →
- 05
No hot water or no heating in Kensington
Many Kensington flats rely on unvented cylinders, and hard water scales the pressure and temperature relief valves, which can leave a steady drip at the tundish or no hot water.
Kensington: usually £130 – £420. No hot water or no heating: first steps →
- 06
Burst or frozen pipe in Kensington
In older Kensington terraces pipes often run through cold roof spaces and along the back walls of closet wings, and those hidden runs are the ones that split in a hard frost.
Kensington: usually £150 – £280. Burst or frozen pipe: first steps →
How fast we get to you in Kensington
Tell us the square or street, the flat number and whether we should use the main door or the lower-ground entrance under the steps. For mansion flats near South Kensington, give the porter's name or entry code. Normally we are with you within 60 minutes.
Streets and places we cover in Kensington
Kensington High StreetKensington Church StreetKensington SquareCampden Hill RoadPhillimore GardensHolland StreetEdwardes SquareAbingdon RoadVictoria RoadLaunceston PlaceGloucester RoadCornwall GardensQueen's GateCromwell Road
We also cover Holland Park, Earls Court, South Kensington, Brompton, Campden Hill, West Kensington, Olympia, Knightsbridge.
Emergency plumber prices in Kensington
Many W8 houses still run cast-iron column radiators, and replacing a weeping radiator valve typically costs £110 to £170. Beyond that, labour is an initial hour at £110 and then £45 a half hour, never with a call-out fee, identical at any hour, with the fixed price agreed in writing.
Plumbing in Kensington: what goes wrong and why
Behind the stucco fronts of W8 the pipework is often a century older than the kitchen it feeds. Much of Kensington sits inside conservation areas and many of the garden-square terraces off Kensington High Street and around Holland Park are listed, so new pipe runs cannot simply be clipped to a front elevation; they have to be routed internally and made good. Hard water from Thames Water is tough on unvented cylinders and shower valves, and the marble and joinery around them makes leaks expensive rather than merely annoying. Mansion flats near Gloucester Road and South Kensington run shared risers, and lower-ground floors converted into kitchens and utility rooms often depend on a pump that needs regular servicing.
Most common here: listed-building pipe routing and scaled unvented cylinders.
What customers near Kensington say
I contacted Emergency Plumbing on a Sunday evening and Danny was very responsive and helpful. He and his colleague came over the next morning and fixed the issue professionally (unblock with vacuum and chemical deep clean). Excellent.
Danny came very promptly on a Saturday to cap the gas supply to an old gas oven, which was being replaced by an electric oven. Very pleased with job as he did not charge extra for this second visit.
Danny and his colleague were polite and professional, helping us solve a plumbing issue after a week of not getting a hold of any other plumbers, he arrived within 2 hours and fixed the problem quickly and efficiently.
We reproduce these Checkatrade reviews for Kensington readers exactly as the customers typed them. Read all 147 reviews or our Google reviews.
Emergency plumber in Kensington: your questions
How long does it take a plumber to reach Kensington?
Usually within 60 minutes. In Kensington the time inside the building can matter as much as the journey: a porter's desk, a locked basement or a lower-ground entrance under the front steps. Tell us which entrance to use and who can let us in, and if the leak is from the flat above, whether that owner is home.
Do you charge to come out to Kensington?
Never. Turning up is free. Our labour rate starts with £110 for hour one, with £45 for each half hour that follows, and it is the same overnight and at weekends. Nothing is touched until you hold a written fixed price, and parts are approved by you before we buy them. Repairs carry a 12-month workmanship guarantee.
Do you work in Kensington through the night and on holidays?
Yes. Nobody gets an answering machine, at 4am or on a bank holiday; the phone is staffed round the clock all year, Christmas too. There is no surcharge for nights or holidays. Given what water can do to marble and joinery in a Kensington flat, ringing straight away rather than waiting for office hours makes sense.
Which leaks count as urgent in a Kensington flat or house?
Any leak you cannot isolate, water through a ceiling, a burst pipe, a basement pump that has stopped with waste backing up, or a house without heat in midwinter. A steady drip from an unvented cylinder's tundish is also worth a prompt call, because it means a relief valve may be failing.
Can pipes run on the outside of a listed Kensington house?
Usually not. In listed terraces and conservation areas, new pipework on a front elevation is generally not allowed without consent, so repairs and new runs are routed inside and the finishes made good afterwards. A like-for-like repair to an existing pipe does not normally need consent. Speak to the council's conservation officer before changing anything visible.
Where is the stopcock in a Kensington home?
In a Kensington terrace it is usually in the basement or lower-ground floor, near the front vaults where the supply comes in from the street. In a mansion flat look in the kitchen or hall cupboard; the block may also have its own main valve in the basement.
Which streets in Kensington do you cover?
All of them. That includes Kensington High Street, Kensington Church Street, Kensington Square, Campden Hill Road, Phillimore Gardens and Holland Street, and nearby Holland Park, Earls Court, South Kensington, Brompton and Campden Hill.
What goes wrong most often in Kensington homes?
Listed-building pipe routing and scaled unvented cylinders. Most homes in Kensington are stucco terraces and mansion flats, and that is where it comes from.