Leatmere
Home plumbing guides
What to check, what to buy, and when to stop and call someone qualified.
Where UK stopcocks usually are, which way to turn them, what to do if one is seized, how isolating valves work, and simple ways to find a hidden leak.
ShowersShower pump sizing: positive or negative head, single or twinHow to tell whether a gravity-fed shower needs a positive head or a negative head pump, single or twin ended, and why combis and unvented cylinders are usually the wrong system for one.
Water supplyLow water pressure at home: common UK causes and what to checkHow to tell a gravity-fed system from a mains-pressure one, and the usual reasons UK homes get weak taps and showers, from a half-shut stopcock to limescale and peak-time demand.
OutdoorsFrost-free outdoor taps: what they are and how to protect a garden tapThe difference between a true frost-free tap and an ordinary garden tap with lagging, a cover and an indoor isolating valve, plus the backflow rules for hose union taps in England and Wales.
ToiletsWhy your toilet keeps running, and how to stop itUK cisterns use a siphon or a drop valve to flush and a fill valve to refill. Here is how to find which part is letting water run, from a high float to a worn seal.
HeatingBleeding and balancing radiatorsHow to bleed a radiator with a key, what to watch on a sealed system's pressure gauge, how lockshield balancing evens out the heat, and when cold spots mean sludge rather than air.
SafetyWhen to call a Gas Safe registered engineerThe signs that mean stop and call: a smell of gas, soot, yellow or orange flames, fumes, a boiler that will not light. What to do in a gas emergency, and how to check an engineer is registered.