Heat and hot water back
The immediate goal on every call-out. Out-of-hours emergency attendance is available for no heat, no hot water and leaks when it genuinely cannot wait until the next working day.
Heating · Basingstoke & north Hampshire
Boiler Repairs InBasingstoke —Diagnosed Properly, Fixed Once
No heat, no hot water, or a boiler that keeps locking out. A Gas Safe registered engineer finds the actual cause rather than replacing parts hopefully, at £90 + VAT per hour, with out-of-hours emergency attendance when it cannot wait.
Gas Safe registered 593588 · 15 years qualified · one-year workmanship guarantee · out-of-hours emergency call-outs
At a glance
Fault diagnosis and repair on domestic gas boilers, including no-heat and no-hot-water call-outs.
- Free survey and a written price, fixed once given
- 8am–5pm, Monday to Friday
- Out-of-hours emergency call-outs available
- One-year workmanship guarantee on every job
15 years qualified
Apprenticeship completed 2011
Gas Safe 593588
Registered engineer
F-Gas certified
Refcom REF1025590
£2 million cover
Public liability insured
Fixed quotes
Free, and fixed once given
Overview
What a proper boiler repair looks like
Most boiler faults announce themselves the same way — no heating, no hot water, or an error code and a lockout — but a dozen different causes sit behind those symptoms. A repair that starts with a diagnosis finds the one that applies to your appliance. A repair that starts with a guess replaces a part, restores service for a fortnight, and leaves you paying twice for the same fault.
Sam has been on the tools for 15 years and works on domestic gas boilers across every common manufacturer. That volume matters because it turns error codes and behaviour patterns into a short list of likely causes rather than a process of elimination carried out at your expense.
Work is charged at £90 + VAT per hour for jobs that do not require a quote, so you know the basis of the bill before anyone starts. Where a repair turns out to be uneconomic against a replacement, we say so plainly and show you the numbers instead of running up hours on an appliance that has reached the end.
Who it is for
- Homeowners with no heating or no hot water and no obvious cause
- Anyone whose boiler keeps locking out, losing pressure or displaying a recurring fault code
- Landlords who need a tenant's heating restored quickly and compliantly
- Households where a previous repair did not hold and the fault has come back
- Anyone who has been told to replace the boiler and wants a second, honest opinion
When it is needed
- The boiler shows an error code or has locked out and will not reset
- Radiators stay cold while hot water still works, or the other way round
- System pressure keeps dropping and needs topping up repeatedly
- Banging, kettling or gurgling noises from the boiler or pipework
- A visible leak, or a persistent smell of gas — which means turning the gas off and calling immediately
The cost of leaving it
Why a small boiler fault rarely stays small
Boilers protect themselves by shutting down, so a lockout is usually a symptom rather than the problem. Repeatedly resetting a boiler to force it back into service means running an appliance that has already detected a condition it considers unsafe or damaging, and every cycle is doing more of that damage.
Pressure loss is the clearest example. A system that drops pressure every few days is losing water somewhere — a weeping joint, a failing expansion vessel, a corroded radiator. Topping it up keeps the heating running and simultaneously feeds fresh oxygenated water into the system, which accelerates internal corrosion and produces the sludge that blocks heat exchangers and kills pumps.
There is a straightforward cost escalation too. A failing pump or diverter valve caught early is a component swap. Left alone, the same fault can take the heat exchanger with it, and a heat exchanger failure on an older appliance frequently ends the argument in favour of a full replacement.
And gas faults carry a safety dimension that has nothing to do with money. Poor combustion, a damaged flue or a blocked condensate route can produce carbon monoxide, which is why gas work is legally restricted to Gas Safe registered engineers and why 'having a look at it yourself' is not a sensible option.
Common mistakes
- Resetting a locked-out boiler repeatedly instead of finding what triggered it
- Topping up pressure every week rather than tracing where the water is going
- Letting an unregistered handyman open a gas appliance, which is both unsafe and unlawful
- Replacing parts speculatively — often the PCB — without confirming the fault first
- Ignoring kettling noises, which usually mean scale or sludge is cooking against the heat exchanger
Our process
How a repair visit runs
Diagnosis first, so the part we fit is the part that failed.
01
Symptom check and safety isolation
We take the history — what the boiler is doing, what changed, what has been done before — then make the appliance safe to work on. Any immediate hazard is dealt with before anything else.
02
Diagnosis
Fault codes are read, and electrical, gas and water sides are tested in turn: supply pressures, gas rate, combustion, sensors, pump, valves, expansion vessel charge and system pressure behaviour. The aim is to establish the cause rather than the symptom.
03
Options and cost, before work starts
You are told what has failed, what it takes to fix it, and what it costs at £90 + VAT per hour plus parts. If the appliance is beyond economic repair, you get that opinion straight, with the replacement figure alongside it so you can decide with the numbers in front of you.
04
Repair
Common failures — pumps, diverter valves, expansion vessels, sensors, pressure relief valves, thermostats and controls — are replaced with correct parts. Where a part has to be ordered, we tell you the timescale rather than leaving you waiting for a call.
05
Test, verify and guarantee
The boiler is re-commissioned and tested under load: combustion checked, gas rate confirmed, pressures set, heating and hot water proved at the outlets. Our workmanship carries a one-year guarantee, and if the underlying cause was systemic — sludge, water quality, a failing component elsewhere — you are told what to do about it.
Benefits
What you get out of it
Restored service, with the cause dealt with rather than deferred.
You pay for the right part once
Charged at £90 + VAT per hour with the diagnosis explained before work starts. No speculative part-swapping billed to you as progress.
A straight answer on repair versus replace
If the economics favour a new boiler, you hear it — with installation from £1,900 + VAT — instead of paying for a repair that buys a few months.
The cause addressed, not just the symptom
Recurring pressure loss, sludge or scale gets identified as the underlying issue so the same fault does not return in six weeks.
Legally and safely carried out
Gas Safe registered 593588, with £2 million public liability insurance. Combustion and gas rate are checked before the appliance is signed back into service.
One-year workmanship guarantee
Every repair is backed by our workmanship guarantee, with longer cover where the part fitted carries its own manufacturer warranty.
In detail
Common boiler faults and what actually causes them
A guide to what your boiler is telling you — useful before you call, and a reasonable check on any quote you are given.
Lockouts and fault codes
A lockout is the boiler's own protection working. Ignition failures, flame supervision faults, overheat conditions and fan or air-pressure switch errors all present as a code and a dead appliance. The code narrows the field; testing confirms which cause applies.
The fault behind an ignition lockout might be a gas supply issue, a failed electrode, a dirty burner or a condensate blockage — four very different repairs with four very different costs. Replacing the electrode because it is cheap and hoping is not a diagnosis.
Pressure loss
If a sealed system loses pressure it is either leaking water or the expansion vessel has lost its charge. The first is found by tracing joints, radiator valves, the pressure relief discharge and the appliance itself; the second is confirmed by testing the vessel and re-charging or replacing it.
Continually topping up masks both and worsens the system's water quality. Establishing which of the two applies is a short job and it stops the cycle.
No hot water but heating works, or the reverse
On a combi, this pattern points hard at the diverter valve or its actuator, or at the domestic hot water sensor. On a system or regular boiler, it is more often the motorised valve, cylinder stat or wiring centre than the boiler at all.
This is exactly the kind of fault where knowing the system type saves an hour of labour, because the likely causes are entirely different depending on how the property is configured.
Kettling, banging and gurgling
Kettling — the sound of a kettle coming to boil — usually means limescale or sludge has built up on the heat exchanger, so water is overheating in localised spots. Left running, that scale keeps thickening and takes the exchanger with it eventually.
The repair addresses both the noise and the cause: cleaning or replacing the affected component, and treating the system water. Where the system is heavily contaminated, a powerflush is the correct answer and we will quote it plainly rather than pretending a chemical dose will do.
- Kettling — scale or sludge on the heat exchanger
- Banging on start-up — often air, poor circulation or an overheating condition
- Gurgling radiators — air in the system, or circulation restricted by debris
- Cold spots at the bottom of radiators — sludge settling in the panels
- Cold spots at the top — air, which is what bleeding is for
Frozen condensate — the January fault
During cold snaps, a large share of 'my boiler has died' calls come down to a frozen external condensate pipe. The boiler locks out because it cannot discharge, and it will happen again next freeze unless the run is corrected.
Thawing it restores service the same day. Upsizing and insulating the run, or re-routing it internally, is what stops it recurring — and that is the recommendation you should be getting alongside the fix.
When a repair stops making sense
There is no fixed rule, but the honest markers are: parts no longer supported by the manufacturer, a failed primary heat exchanger, repeated unrelated failures across a short period, or a non-condensing appliance that will keep costing you on efficiency regardless of what is fixed.
In those cases the sensible spend is a replacement, and the boiler installation service covers exactly that, with a free survey and a fixed written price from £1,900 + VAT.
Boiler repairs across Basingstoke and north Hampshire
Questions
Boiler repairs
answered straight
Anything not covered here, call 07825 758511 and ask. 8am–5pm, Monday to Friday, with out-of-hours emergency call-outs available.
How much does a boiler repair cost?
Work that does not require a quote is charged at £90 + VAT per hour, plus any parts needed. You are told what has failed and what the repair involves before work starts, so the bill is never a surprise.
Can you come out today?
Normal working hours are 8am–5pm, Monday to Friday, and out-of-hours emergency call-outs are available for no heat, no hot water and leaks. Call 07825 758511 and you will speak to someone rather than a call centre.
How long does a boiler repair take?
Most diagnoses and common component replacements are completed within a single visit. Where a part has to be ordered, we tell you the expected timescale at the visit rather than leaving it open-ended.
My boiler keeps losing pressure — what does that mean?
Either the system is leaking water or the expansion vessel has lost its charge. Both are straightforward to test for. Repeated topping up keeps the heating going but pushes fresh oxygenated water into the system, which accelerates corrosion and sludge, so it is worth diagnosing properly rather than living with.
Is it worth repairing an old boiler?
It depends on the fault and the appliance. If parts are available and the failure is isolated, repair is usually the cheaper route. If parts support has ended, the heat exchanger has gone, or failures are stacking up, we will tell you plainly and give you the replacement figure so you can compare.
Do you guarantee your repairs?
Yes. All work carries a one-year workmanship guarantee, and longer where the part fitted carries a longer manufacturer warranty.
Can you repair any make of boiler?
We work on domestic gas boilers across the common manufacturers. Where an appliance is genuinely obsolete and parts are no longer produced, we will tell you at the diagnosis stage rather than after chasing a part that does not exist.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Turn the gas off at the meter, open windows, avoid switches and naked flames, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 immediately. Once the supply is made safe, we can attend to diagnose and repair the appliance.
Which areas do you cover for boiler repairs?
Basingstoke and the surrounding north Hampshire area, including Hook, Hartley Wintney, Tadley, Andover, Kingsclere, Overton, Micheldever and Aldermaston.
Will a service prevent breakdowns?
It significantly reduces them. An annual boiler service catches worn components, poor combustion and pressure problems before they become a winter breakdown, and it keeps the manufacturer warranty valid on newer appliances.
Next step
Get your heating working again
Call and you will speak to someone who can tell you what is likely wrong before anyone is dispatched. £90 + VAT per hour, one-year workmanship guarantee, out-of-hours emergency attendance available.
- Gas Safe registered 593588 · F-Gas Refcom REF1025590
- £2 million public liability insurance
- One-year workmanship guarantee, up to 10 years on new boilers
- 3 Mansfield Road, Basingstoke, RG22 6DU