Gas Safe registered plumbing and heating contractors serving Stockbridge and the Test Valley. Boiler installations, system design, underfloor heating and more.
Stockbridge is essentially one long High Street of period property in the Test Valley, with almost nothing on mains gas - which makes it one of the more technically interesting places we work.
The High Street is largely listed, mostly 18th and 19th century, some of it thatched, and the whole of it sits within a conservation area. The surrounding hamlets are much the same in character. Solid walls with no cavity, floors that need lifting and relaying properly, and very little scope for running new pipework where it would be most convenient.
Almost all of it is off the gas grid, so oil and LPG dominate. With oil costs where they are, we are asked about heat pump conversions regularly. Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it is no. A heat pump needs low flow temperatures to work economically, which requires either good insulation or considerably larger emitters, and a period cottage with solid walls may not get there. Siting an outdoor unit beside a listed or thatched building takes care as well. We would rather run the numbers and tell you it does not stack up than install one that disappoints.
A number of properties around Stockbridge are second homes or holiday lets standing empty over the winter, which brings a different set of priorities: reliable frost protection, sensible advice on draining down, and a system check before the property is left.
We cover Stockbridge and the surrounding Test Valley villages including Houghton, Longstock, Leckford, King's Somborne, Broughton and Wherwell.
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."
"Fantastic company! Friendly as well as doing a great job. Good to see a company happy to do the little jobs as well as the big ones."
Sometimes, but honestly not always, and we will tell you which. A heat pump needs low flow temperatures, which means either good insulation or much larger emitters. A solid-walled period cottage with no fabric improvements often cannot get there, and siting an outdoor unit near a listed or thatched building adds a further constraint.
Oil and LPG, since Stockbridge and the surrounding hamlets are largely off the grid. Oil to heat pump conversions are increasingly worth assessing, but they need a proper heat loss survey rather than a like-for-like swap.
Yes. A number of properties around Stockbridge are second homes or holiday lets. We can set up frost protection, advise on draining down correctly and check the system over before the property is left unoccupied.