SE23 · Open 24 hours
Emergency plumber
in Forest Hill
We are the emergency plumber in Forest Hill, tracing leaks in cellars, converted flats and Victorian houses across SE23.
- Gas Safe registered 567789
- Open 24 hours, 7 days
- City & Guilds qualified
- Fully insured
Smell gas? Leave the plumber till later. Call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999.
Can't talk right now?
Tell us what’s happening
Tap through a few questions and a plumber calls you back. Photos help us bring the right parts.
What's happening?
Tap the closest. You can tell us more in a moment.
Lewisham · SE23
Plumbing emergencies in Forest Hill
Hilly streets of Victorian and Edwardian houses, many converted to flats, around the Horniman Museum.
Steep streets mean many houses have lower ground floors or cellars, where leaks collect.
Large Victorian houses here have often been split into flats, with shared or tangled pipework.
Lead supply pipes are still found in some older houses.
Homes we work on in Forest Hill
Including
Horniman Museum · London Road · Dartmouth Road · Honor Oak Park · Perry Vale · Devonshire Road
Before we get there
What to do right now
Five things that limit the damage in a Forest Hill home, in this order. Most take less than a minute.
- 01
Turn off the stopcock
Usually under the kitchen sink. Turn it clockwise until it stops. In a flat it may be in the airing cupboard or a communal cupboard outside your door.
- 02
Keep away from wet electrics
If water is near lights, sockets or the fuse box, switch off at the consumer unit, but only if you can reach it without standing in water.
- 03
Drain the system down
Turn off the boiler and any immersion heater. Open the cold taps, then flush the toilets, so the water left in the pipes runs away safely.
- 04
Catch it and clear the area
Buckets and towels under the leak, valuables out of the way. If a ceiling is bulging, keep everyone out from underneath it.
- 05
Call us, or send the details
Ring and we’ll talk you through it, or tap through the form with a few photos and we’ll call you back.
- 1
Stopcock. Shuts off all the cold water coming into your home. Turn it clockwise until it stops (detail A).
- 2
Rising main. The supply pipe from the street. It usually comes up through the floor, right below the stopcock.
- 3
Isolation valves. On the pipes to each tap. A quarter turn with a flat screwdriver shuts off just that tap (detail B).
- 4
Appliance valve. The lever valve for a washing machine or dishwasher. Lever across the pipe means off.
- 5
Drain-off valve. Not always fitted. Used to empty the pipes once the stopcock is off. Leave it closed.
- 6
To the rest of the house. Bathroom, toilets, loft tank and boiler all feed from here, so the stopcock stops them too.
The stopcock only stops cold water coming in. For hot water, also turn off the boiler or immersion heater.
Find it before you need it
Where’s the stopcock in Forest Hill?
In houses built on a slope the stopcock is sometimes in the cellar or lower ground floor rather than the kitchen. In converted flats check the kitchen and airing cupboard.
Victorian and Georgian terraces
Under the kitchen sink, or under the floorboards just inside the front door. In older houses check the cellar or the cupboard under the stairs.
Converted flats
In your kitchen or bathroom if the flat has its own supply. Some conversions share one stopcock, often in the ground-floor flat or the hallway.
Council and estate blocks
Often in the airing cupboard or by the front door. Many blocks also have a valve in the corridor or riser cupboard that the caretaker or housing office controls.
New-build flats
Usually in a utility or boiler cupboard, sometimes behind a panel by the kitchen sink. Your building’s home user guide should show it.
More help: what to do for each kind of plumbing emergency.
What we come out for
Plumbing emergencies in Forest Hill
Whatever’s gone wrong, the first job is the same: stop the water, make it safe, then fix the cause properly.
Burst and split pipes
Pipes split by frost, a nail through a pipe, failed joints and push-fit fittings that have let go. Made safe, cut out and replaced.
Report thisWater through the ceiling
From a bathroom, a loft tank or the flat upstairs. We find where it’s coming from, stop it, and tell you what got wet.
Report thisLeaks you can’t stop
Under sinks, behind toilets, at radiator valves, from cylinders and appliance hoses. Isolated first, then repaired.
Report thisBlocked and overflowing toilets
Toilets, sinks, baths and showers that won’t drain or are coming back up. We clear it and check what caused it.
Report thisTaps and toilets that won’t stop
A tap that won’t turn off, a cistern that keeps filling, an overflow pouring down the wall or a loft tank overflowing.
Report thisNo water or low pressure
We check whether it’s your stopcock, a frozen or split supply pipe, or a problem in the street for Thames Water.
Report thisNo heating or hot water
Boiler breakdowns, leaks and pressure loss. Gas work is done by a Gas Safe registered engineer (567789).
Report thisFrozen pipes
Thawed gently, checked for splits before the water goes back on, and lagged so it doesn’t happen again.
Report thisNot sure?
Is it an emergency?
If it’s on the red list, call. If it can wait, send the details and we’ll fit you in.
- Water you can’t stop, even with the stopcock off
- Water coming through a ceiling or light fitting
- A ceiling that is bulging or sagging
- A toilet or drain overflowing with waste
- No water at all, and the neighbours have water
- No heating or hot water with someone vulnerable at home
- A leak you’ve stopped by isolating it
- The only toilet in the house is blocked
- Boiler losing pressure or showing a fault code
- A tap or cistern that keeps running
- A slow drip into a bucket that isn’t getting worse
- A slow-draining sink or bath
- A dripping outside overflow pipe
- Low pressure on one tap only
How a callout works
From your call to fixed
No call centre. You talk to the people who do the work.
- 1
You call, or send the details
Ring any time, day or night. Or tap through the form: what’s happening, your number, your postcode, a few photos.
- 2
We call back and make a plan
A plumber talks you through making it safe while we’re on the way, and asks what we need to bring.
- 3
We make it safe first
Water off, the leak stopped, the electrics kept clear. Then we find the cause.
- 4
Then we fix it
We explain what’s gone wrong and what the repair involves before we start, so there are no surprises.
FAQ
Emergency plumber Forest Hill: your questions
Water is pooling in my cellar. What should I do?
If it is clean and gets worse with the water on, it is likely a pipe; turn off the stopcock and call us. If it rises after rain, it could be groundwater.
Do you cover Honor Oak?
Yes, around Honor Oak Park and the rest of SE23.
I can smell gas. Should I call you?
No. Call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999, any time. Turn the gas off at the meter if you can, open windows and don’t use switches or flames. Once they’ve made it safe, we can repair the appliance: our engineers are Gas Safe registered (567789).
I rent. Who pays for an emergency plumber?
Repairs to the water supply, drainage, heating and hot water are normally your landlord’s responsibility. Tell your landlord or letting agent straight away. If water is pouring in and you can’t reach them, make it safe first; many agents have an out-of-hours number for exactly this.
Emergency in Forest Hill?
Call now, day or night. Or send the details and photos and we’ll call you back.