A blog about the installations in your home

Blog

Short texts about the installations in a house or a flat: how things work, what can wait for an appointment and how the price of an intervention is formed.

TopicWhat the text coversSection

A damaged cast iron pipe under the ceiling, paint cracked at the joint

How does a storage water heater work?What happens inside a water heater during normal operation: the tank, the heating element, the thermostat, the thermal cut-out and the safety valve, explained in order.Water heater · 01.09.2026. · 6 min read

The pipework inside a stud partition, lines run through the metal frame

How does the safety valve of a water heater work and what is it for?What the safety valve does, why it drips, why it is not the same as a non-return valve and when it stops protecting the tank.Water heater · 02.09.2026. · 6 min read

The corner opened and damp at the joint of the old waste pipe and fitting

How does a storage water heater explode?Everything that has to fail before a water heater can explode, and why that is practically impossible in a sound system.Water heater · 03.09.2026. · 6 min read

A section of pipe and the whole valve replaced, the wall opened around it

Scale in a water heater: what it really does, and what are myths?What scale really does to the element and the tank, which of the things said about it do not hold, and when cleaning makes sense.Water heater · 04.09.2026. · 10 min read

The bathroom as found before the search, concealed cistern and basin

A water heater that does not heat: how is the fault traced step by step?From the switch and the breaker to the thermostats, the element and a hidden leak on the hot water: how the fault is traced step by step.Water heater · 05.09.2026. · 7 min read

A perished flexible hose taken off the tap, its braid rusted through

Flexible hoses: why they burst and when they should be replacedWhy connection hoses burst, what wears them out faster and when to replace them, before they cause damage.Plumbing · 07.09.2026. · 6 min read

The cistern lifted off, the flush opening rusted right around its rim

Why does a cistern run water non-stop?The inlet and the flush valve are two different faults: how they differ, how much water they waste and what actually gets replaced.Plumbing · 08.09.2026. · 6 min read

The tiles that will come off marked out before the work even begins

Why does a tap have a weak flow even though the pressure in the flat is good?Pressure and flow are not the same. The aerator, the filters, the hose, the angle valve and the old pipework, in order, from the nearest to the furthest.Plumbing · 09.09.2026. · 6 min read

The problem on the level below, water broken through the ceiling there

Why can a valve that has not been moved for years often not shut the water off?Why a valve that stands in the same position for years often fails to shut the water off exactly when it is needed, and how to check that in time.Plumbing · 11.09.2026. · 5 min read

The damaged spot on the galvanised pipe, rust built up around the breach

Galvanised and black steel pipes: what is the difference?What the difference is, why a pipe can look good on the outside and be bad on the inside, and why old threaded joints are risky.Plumbing · 12.09.2026. · 6 min read

The wall opened where the leak was, the green pipe left at full length

Joining a galvanised pipe to copper: the problem of galvanic corrosionWhy a direct joint between copper and galvanised steel corrodes, what affects it and how the transition is made properly.Plumbing · 13.09.2026. · 7 min read

Finding the fault, the wall opened in a narrow chase down to the pipe

Why does the place where a thread has been cut become sensitive to corrosion?Thread cutting removes the zinc and thins the pipe wall: why an old pipe cracks right at the fitting and what to assess before cutting a new thread.Plumbing · 14.09.2026. · 6 min read

The unit seen in the room, its place above the door and the feed on the wall

Extension leads and heavy loads: where does the problem arise?A heater, a hotplate or a fan heater on an extension lead: where overheating starts and how the conductor cross-section and a coiled lead turn into a risk.Electrical installation · 15.09.2026. · 6 min read

What is behind the old fuses once they come out, a tangle of old wiring

Why does a circuit breaker trip, and why should you not simply fit a bigger one?Overload and a short circuit are not the same thing, and a bigger breaker solves nothing: it protects the conductor, not the appliance.Electrical installation · 16.09.2026. · 6 min read

The wall hung toilet and bidet on the finished wall with the flush plate

Why is a fridge door hard to open right after it has been closed?Why a fridge door opens with more effort shortly after it is closed, and why that is not a fault of the latch or the seal.Household appliances · 17.09.2026. · 4 min read

A damp stain on the ceiling of the flat below, spread out in a wide ring

Why is the call-out charged separately from the work?Everything that goes into coming to an address, why it is shown separately from the work, and why a free call-out does not mean that coming out costs nothing.Prices and charging · 18.09.2026. · 4 min read

The floor as found around the gully, the covering stripped to the screed

What makes up the price of a tradesman's intervention?The call-out, the work, diagnostics, materials and the conditions on site: how the final amount is formed and what is known in advance.Prices and charging · 19.09.2026. · 5 min read

The shower floor with a round gully, the tiling stopping at the glass

A bathroom paid four times over, and the water ended up at the neighbour'sThe client did not call us because of the look of the new bathroom, but because water appeared on the ceiling of the flat below. What was found under the tiles.From the trade practice · 06.09.2026. · 3 min read

The old heater taken out into a basin, thick limescale and a spent anode

Replacing a boiler heating element, step by stepReplacing the heating element and the magnesium anode on a vertical boiler, with photographs of one job and an explanation of why the steps come in this order.Do it yourself · 10.09.2026. · 7 min read

A question from the field

If something that is not described here is troubling you, ask by phone. The answer to a frequent question often becomes the next text.

Emergency interventions

A fault that cannot wait for morning

A burst pipe, sewage backing up, water that cannot be shut off, a dangerous electrical fault, water reaching the electrical installation, a faulty lock or door. Everything carrying a risk of flood, fire or major damage. We come out at night, on Sundays and on holidays too.

Call 063 33 66 99 More about emergency interventions

The emergency call-out price is in the price list; labour is billed separately, according to the job established on site.