Plumber in Willen
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The most expensive plumbing job we ever attend is a burst in an empty house. Not because the repair is dear, but because nobody was there to turn the water off, and it ran for a week.
Willen has a good number of households who travel, and this page is about the five minutes that prevent that.
Based in Two Mile Ash, around fifteen minutes away. Gas Safe registered, registration number 981362.
- Gas Safe registered 981362
- Around fifteen minutes from Two Mile Ash
- A seized stopcock is a small job before you travel
- Booked work Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm
Last updated
Before you go away
- Short trips, any season. Know where your stopcock is and check it turns before you need it. That is genuinely the whole job for a long weekend.
- A week or more, in winter. Do not turn the heating off. Leave it on a low frost setting, which costs very little and keeps the fabric of the house above freezing. A cold empty house is where pipes split.
- A week or more, and you want to be certain. Turn the stopcock off and open the lowest cold tap to drain the pipework down. There is then very little water in the system to escape. Remember the heating system holds its own water separately, so leave the heating running on frost protection regardless.
- Any absence, in autumn or winter. Deal with the outside tap. Close its internal isolating valve, open the tap, let the external section drain, and leave the tap open. If there is no internal valve, that is a small job worth doing before you travel. See outdoor tap installation.
- Whoever holds your spare key should know where the stopcock is. A neighbour who can get in and turn the water off is worth more than any device.
The insurance point most people miss
Most home insurance policies contain an unoccupancy clause. Leave a property empty beyond a stated period, often around thirty to sixty days depending on the policy, and cover can change or lapse, particularly for escape of water.
Some policies also require the water to be turned off, or the heating maintained at a minimum temperature, during a winter absence. Worth reading yours before a long trip rather than after a claim, because this is exactly the situation where a policy detail becomes expensive.
We are a plumbing firm rather than a broker, so check the wording with your insurer
But it is worth checking.
When you get back
- Open the stopcock slowly rather than all at once
- Run the cold taps first, then the hot
- Close the outside tap and open its internal valve
- Check under sinks and around the boiler for anything that has started weeping while the system was still
- If the boiler has been off entirely, expect it to need a few minutes to settle
The housing in Willen
Willen has an old hamlet at its core, considerably older than the new town, with 1980s estate housing at Willen Park alongside. Two different sorts of property.
Older buildings mean solid walls, higher heat loss and larger radiators, more so under the 55°C flow temperature requirement.
The 1980s housing is where the second generation of boilers is running out and where gravity hot water systems are the obvious candidates for conversion to an unvented cylinder.
Hard water
Same Anglian Water supply as the rest of Milton Keynes, around 300 mg/l of calcium carbonate against a UK average of 207. See our hard water guide.
Getting to Willen
Around fifteen minutes from Two Mile Ash. Fine for booked work and out of hours.
Frequently asked questions
Should I turn the water off when I go away?
For a long absence, yes, and drain down afterwards by opening the lowest cold tap. For a long weekend, knowing where the stopcock is and that it turns is enough.
Should I turn the heating off?
Not in winter. Leave it on a low frost setting. An unheated empty house in a cold snap is the classic burst pipe.
Does my insurance care?
Very possibly. Most policies have an unoccupancy clause and some require the water off or the heating maintained during a winter absence. Worth checking the wording with your insurer.
My stopcock will not turn. What now?
Have it replaced before you travel rather than after. It is a small job and it is the one valve you need to work.
Do you cover Willen Park and Downhead Park?
Yes, along with Pennyland, Great Linford, Newlands and Tongwell.
What we do in Willen
Where we cover in Willen
- Willen
- Willen Park
- Downhead Park
- Pennyland
- Great Linford
- Newlands
- Tongwell
Get in touch
Call 07514 312117 or send a WhatsApp. Gas Safe registered 981362, CIPHE member, fully insured.