T. Cosgrove - Plumbing and Heating Services

Finding A Reliable Plumber In Glasgow

Easier than finding a needle in a haystack so try to narrow the search down by,

• Asking your friends and neighbours
• Looking in local newspapers
• Check trade bodies such as Gas Safe Register, SNIPEF,IOP,Corgi etc
• Yellow Pages and Yell.Com
• On-line directories such as Google Local
• The local newsagent's window.

Ensure that the plumber you select has plenty of experience in your type of plumbing installation and more importantly that they know your particular house set up.

One of the most important things to consider however when employing a plumbers is how quickly can they get back to you in the event of some problem?

Unfortunately,given the very nature of the work,plumbing problems can and do occur when having plumbing work carried out and sometimes that means leaks. All plumbers get them from time to time for varying reasons,a bad fitting,awkward place,distracted whilst working and so but when leaks happen they can cause significant damage to your property and time is crucial in minimizing that damage so if your plumber is from miles out of your area and can't get back to you within a reasonable time then you may have a major problem on your hands so try to select someone relatively local to you if you are planning on having major plumbing works done in your house.

Of course other trades have problems and things can and do go wrong with work carried out by those trades but however water unfortunately can cause lots of damage very quickly. A joiner can make a mistake of fitting a kitchen cabinet or hanging a door or a decorator can inadvertently paint a ceiling the wrong colour but these mistakes,whilst annoying,won't potentially cause significant damage to your home. A small water leak undetected for two or three days could ruin a house and something such as this could easily happen if the house is un-occupied whilst the work is being done.

Not every plumbing system is identical and with more and more new build houses and flats containing the very latest plumbing technology you have to make sure that your plumber is familiar with those technologies, un-vented hot water cylinders for example  require your plumber to have a G3 unvented system certificate to be able to install and work on.

These types of hot water systems are to be found all over Glasgow but particularly in new flats and houses in the likes of Newton Mearns,Shawlands,Netherlee,Mearnskirk and in The West End around Anniesland and Partick.

There are however still lots of traditional plumbing systems in Glasgow and the surrounding area,many still with cold water storage tanks and vented hot water cylinders and believe it or not lead supply pipes and wastes.

In recent years though, most properties in areas particularly like Shawlands,Langside and Queens Park,Pollockshields & Cathcart have had gas combination central heating boilers installed which means that the cold water storage tanks have been removed along with the hot water cylinders so that all of the plumbing in the property is fed from the water main in the street.

Most of these areas contain large amounts of tenement flats and it is crucial that the plumber you employ has a good working knowledge of these flats otherwise you may face delays and problems in getting your work completed.

Some younger plumbers may have spent the previous few years working exclusively on the new developments along the river at Finnieston and Partick and may have no experience working in older properties such as tenement flats or the Victorian terrace houses which are prevalent in areas such as Newlands,Giffnock,Cathcart,Jordanhill,Netherlee & Hyndland.

Do want your plumber spending your time learning how your plumbing system works in your home?

Obviously the opposite may be true with regard to new builds with some plumbers having absolutely no experience working in those sorts of properties but most experienced older plumbers have a very good grasp of plumbing fundamentals and the basics of the trade so most properties' plumbing systems shouldn't provide too much of a challenge to them.

Also when selecting your plumber ensure that you can contact them in an emergency. Most reputable plumbers will advertise their address a telephone land line along with their mobile numbers however there are an increasing number of plumbers operating only with either a mobile number a 0800 number or an 0845 number and some of these plumbers ,unfortunately,are extremely difficult to contact when you need them if something goes wrong so beware of plumbers who are not prepared to give you proper contact details and written quotes for the work you want done.

Finally you should always ensure your plumber has adequate public liability insurance in place and that their work is guaranteed. Also,always ask for references and remember to obtain three quotes for major works.

Do you know where your water turns off?

Don't expect the plumber to know the answer to this question when he attends to your house because it's more than likely, upon arrival, he won't.

Almost every house plumbing system these days is different in some way and the location of the mains water stop-cock is often in an in-accessible place, behind kitchen units for example or under a floor or in the basement or in the garage.

There is always the option of turning off your water from the street if the valve's 'Toby cover' is accessible. It may have been tarmaced over, which is very common indeed, by one of the utility companies. It may even simply not exist it may even be full of rubbish or soil which means having to call out Scottish Water who will locate it for you however this can take days!

Not exactly the thing you, the customer, wants to be hear when your home is flooding at two in the morning. So, do yourself a favour and make sure you know exactly where your water turns off in order that the above scenario doesn't happen to you!

You can find out where your water stop-cock is by looking in the most obvious places:

kitchen cupboard, hall cupboard, cloak-room, basement, garage (always on the ground floor or basement or cellar), pavement at the front of your house or by asking your neighbours or the previous owner if you've just recently bought the house.

Once you have located the valve turn it off to check that it works properly:

Turn the handle clockwise for off or anti-clockwise for on.
Or, a quarter of a turn if the valve is on the pavement (these valves are a little bit tricky to locate and to operate) you will require a 'water key' for this type of valve which can be bought from any good plumbers merchant for approximately £15 and could literally be a lifesaver in an emergency, particularly if you live in a tenement flat!

Make sure that the valve actually works and that it does in fact turn off all of the cold mains water supply in your house not just, for example, the cold water supply to your kitchen sink. Check this by running another cold tap in your house or if you have an outside tap turn this on for a few minutes to ensure that the water is indeed off. You may have to check that the cold water tank in the loft (if you have one)is not filling up by flushing the toilet for example.

In the event that you are unable to locate the valve or turn it off then you are best advised to turn on all of the taps in the house on and then call a plumber but remember to keep a check on the taps that are running in case sinks, baths etc over-flow and, keep flushing the toilets!

These simple steps could ,at the very least, save you the expense of having to call out an emergency plumber during the night and they could assist you in minimising damage to your property.

A question we are asked often is 'can I put on my heating if the water has been turned off?' Yes, is the simple answer unless of course your heating system pipe-work is burst in which case no.

However for most cases whenever the water is turned off you can have your heating on but again if you are not sure ask a plumber/heating engineer.

This advice is general and is for information purposes only.

Always contact a qualified plumber if you are in any doubt about how to follow the above advice or call us on these numbers:
0141 638 1543 or 07957 542 569 and we will be happy to help.

T Cosgrove, at your service!