Gas Safe registered plumbing and heating contractors serving Alresford and surrounding villages. Boiler installations, system design, underfloor heating and more.
Alresford is a Georgian market town where most of the interesting heating work is a question of getting a modern system into a building that was never designed for one.
Broad Street's colour-washed Georgian frontages sit within a conservation area that covers most of the old town, and a significant number of the buildings are listed. That imposes real constraints. You generally cannot chase solid walls, flue terminals on principal elevations are restricted, and floorboards have to be lifted and relaid with care rather than ripped up. We design around the building instead of through it.
The practical answer in a period property is usually low-temperature design: larger emitters running cooler water, pipework routed through cupboards, voids and existing chases rather than new ones, and controls that let you heat the rooms you actually use. It costs more in design time and less in damage to the house.
Outside the town, Bighton, Old Alresford, Ropley, Cheriton and Tichborne are largely off the gas grid, so oil and LPG are the norm. Air source heat pumps are a genuine alternative where the property has been insulated and there is a sensible position for the outdoor unit, though on an unimproved period cottage they will disappoint and we will say so.
The water here is very hard. The chalk downland that feeds the watercress beds gives the same mineral content that furs up kettles, showers and combi heat exchangers.
Supply, installation and replacement with up to 10-year warranty
Full heating system design, layout and conversion
Modern radiators with precision soldered pipework
Wet systems for new builds, extensions and renovations
Renewable heating for energy-efficient homes
Frost-safe fittings with neat concealed pipework
"Joe is the most reliable, competent and dedicated plumber and heating engineer that we have used. His attention to detail with pipework and heating system installation is impressive."
"We were so impressed by the pipework that we decided to expose it as a feature. The great thing about Joe is the support he provides after the job."
"Joe works meticulously and always does a fantastic job. He offers reliable and sensible advice for your budget and we trust him wholeheartedly."
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Yes, and a lot of Alresford's old town is either listed or in the conservation area. The constraints are genuine - solid walls cannot be chased, flue positions on principal elevations are restricted, and floors need careful lifting and relaying. It is slower work, and we quote it as such rather than pretending otherwise.
Bighton, Old Alresford, Ropley, Cheriton and Tichborne are largely off grid, so oil and LPG are the usual options. A heat pump can work well in a property that has been insulated and has room for larger radiators, but it is not a straight swap and we would survey first.
Alresford sits on chalk. The same geology that feeds the watercress beds gives very hard mains water, which scales kettles, shower heads and, more expensively, combi boiler heat exchangers. Scale reduction fitted with a new boiler is worth the money here.