Boiler, Heating and Plumbing Services in Stockport
Boiler repair, boiler servicing and new boilers for homes in Stockport, along with central heating, gas safety certificates and plumbing repairs.
One local firm for the boiler and everything connected to it
Heating problems are rarely in one place. A boiler that keeps losing pressure may have a leaking radiator valve. A cold house may be a failed thermostat and not the boiler at all. Greater Manchester Gas Services works on the whole system, so the real cause is found and put right.
The 9 services below cover the work we are asked for most in Stockport. Each one starts the same way: you tell us what is wrong, and we tell you what it needs and what it will cost.
Boiler repair in Stockport
A boiler breakdown rarely comes with a warning. One morning there is no hot water, the radiators are cold or the display is showing a fault code. Greater Manchester Gas Services carries out boiler repair in Stockport for exactly these calls, on combi, system and regular gas boilers.
We start by finding out why the boiler has stopped, not by swapping parts until it works. Once we know the cause, we tell you what has failed, what the repair involves and what it will cost before we go any further. If the boiler is not worth repairing, we will say so and explain why.
Boiler faults we repair
- No heating, no hot water, or neither
- Low pressure, and pressure that keeps dropping
- Boilers that lock out or show a fault code
- Leaks and drips from the boiler or the pipes below it
- Banging, whistling and gurgling noises
- Pilot lights and burners that will not stay lit
- Frozen or blocked condensate pipes
- Worn pumps, fans, valves, sensors and controls
How a boiler repair works
- Tell us the make of the boiler and what it is doing
- We find the fault and explain it in plain English
- You get the price of the repair before it is carried out
- The boiler is tested and left working safely
Boiler servicing in Stockport
A boiler service is a yearly health check. The boiler is inspected, the parts that wear or collect dirt are checked and cleaned, and the way it burns gas is measured with a flue gas analyser. It is the best way to catch a small problem before it becomes a boiler breakdown in January.
Most boiler manufacturers ask for a boiler service every year as a condition of the warranty, so skipping one can cost far more than the service itself. We carry out boiler servicing in Stockport all year round. Late summer and early autumn are the best time to book, before the heating goes back on.
What a boiler service covers
- A visual check of the boiler, the flue and the pipework
- The casing taken off and the main parts inspected
- The burner, the gas pressure and the gas rate checked
- Flue gases measured with an analyser
- Safety devices tested
- The condensate trap and pipe checked
- The system pressure checked
- A record of what was checked and what was found
Signs a boiler service is overdue
- It is more than 12 months since the last one
- Soot or dark staining around the boiler
- The pressure needs topping up more often than it did
- The boiler is noisier than it used to be
- Your gas bills have risen for no clear reason
Boiler installation in Stockport
A new boiler is one of the bigger jobs in a home, and the fitting matters as much as the boiler itself. Before we recommend anything we look at the size of the property, the number of bathrooms, your water pressure and where the boiler and its flue can go. That decides whether a combi, a system or a regular boiler is the right choice.
The boiler installation itself covers the gas supply, the flue, the condensate pipe and the controls, and ends with the boiler being commissioned and tested. Every new gas boiler also has to be notified to the local authority, which a Gas Safe registered installer does on your behalf, and registered with its manufacturer so that the warranty starts.
Boilers we fit
- Combi boilers, for heating and hot water with no cylinder
- System boilers, for homes with more than one bathroom
- Regular (heat only) boilers, where the existing system suits one
- Like-for-like swaps in the same position
- New programmers, room thermostats and smart controls
What a boiler installation involves
- A visit to look at your home and the existing system
- A clear quote for the boiler and the fitting
- The old boiler removed and taken away
- The new boiler fitted, flued and connected
- The system cleaned and treated with inhibitor
- Commissioning, registration and a run-through of the controls
Boiler replacement in Stockport
No boiler lasts for ever, but not every boiler breakdown means a new one. We will always tell you when a repair is the sensible answer. Boiler replacement starts to make more sense when the same boiler keeps failing, when parts are hard to find or when the repair costs a large share of the price of a new boiler.
Many homes in Stockport still have an older boiler with a hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard and tanks in the loft. Replacing that with a modern condensing boiler can free up space and cut the gas the heating uses. We will talk you through the options, including keeping a cylinder if your home needs one.
When to think about boiler replacement
- The boiler has broken down more than once in a year
- Parts are obsolete or slow to get
- It is a non-condensing boiler, usually fitted before 2005
- Your gas bills keep climbing
- You are adding a bathroom or changing the layout of the house
- The repair would cost close to the price of a new boiler
What changes with a new boiler
- A condensing boiler wastes far less heat up the flue
- The new boiler comes with a manufacturer’s warranty
- Modern controls are easier to set and to live with
- A combi can do away with the tanks and the cylinder
Central heating engineer in Stockport
The boiler is only one part of your heating. Radiators, valves, the pump, the pipework and the controls all have to work together, and a fault in any of them can look like a boiler problem. As a central heating engineer we look at the whole system, so the real cause is found.
A radiator that is cold at the bottom, a room that never warms up and a thermostat the boiler ignores are all common calls for a central heating engineer in Stockport. Many are fixed without touching the boiler at all.
Central heating work we carry out
- Radiators replaced, added and moved
- Thermostatic radiator valves fitted and freed
- Room thermostats and programmers fitted and wired
- Wireless and smart heating controls set up
- Pumps and motorised valves replaced
- Radiators bled and systems balanced
Signs of a central heating fault
- Radiators cold at the top or at the bottom
- Some rooms hot while others stay cold
- Banging or gurgling from the pipes
- Heating that will not come on, or will not go off
- Boiler pressure that keeps falling
More central heating work
A radiator valve with its head removed. A stuck pin here is a common reason for a cold radiator. 
A new wireless room thermostat and receiver, ready to fit. 
The wiring behind a heating control.
Gas safety certificate in Stockport
If you let a property with a gas supply, the law requires a gas safety check every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The result is written up on a Landlord Gas Safety Record, which most people still call a CP12 or a gas safety certificate. A copy has to go to your tenants within 28 days of the check, and to new tenants before they move in.
We carry out gas safety checks for landlords and letting agents across Stockport. Homeowners can book one too, for peace of mind or when buying or selling a house. Booking the check and a boiler service for the same visit saves a second appointment.
What the gas safety check covers
- Each gas appliance the landlord provides, starting with the boiler
- The flue or chimney serving each appliance
- A tightness test on the gas pipework
- The ventilation and air supply to each appliance
- Safety devices, checked for correct operation
- Any defect found, recorded with the action it needs
What landlords have to do
- Have the check carried out every 12 months
- Give tenants a copy of the record within 28 days
- Give new tenants a copy before they move in
- Keep each record for at least two years
- Have any fault put right by a Gas Safe registered engineer
Gas Safe engineer in Stockport
By law, anyone who works on a gas boiler, a gas pipe or any other gas appliance in your home must be on the Gas Safe Register. It replaced CORGI in 2009 and is the only official list of engineers who are qualified to work safely with gas. At Greater Manchester Gas Services all gas work is carried out by a Gas Safe engineer.
If you have searched for a gas engineer near me, the most useful thing you can do is ask to see the engineer’s Gas Safe ID card before any work starts. The back of the card lists the kinds of gas work that engineer is qualified to do. You are welcome to ask to see ours.
Gas work we carry out
- Boiler repair, boiler servicing and boiler installation
- Boiler replacement and upgrades
- Landlord and homeowner gas safety checks
- Gas supplies to boilers checked and altered
- For any other gas appliance, ask when you call
If you smell gas
- Open the doors and windows
- Turn the gas off at the meter, unless the meter is in a cellar or basement
- Do not use light switches, naked flames or anything that could spark
- Leave the property
- Call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999
A plumber near you in Stockport
Heating and plumbing share the same pipes, tools and skills. Alongside boiler work we carry out everyday plumbing repairs in homes across Stockport, which is handy if you have searched for a plumber near me and would rather have one firm for both.
Most plumbing jobs are small but annoying: a toilet that keeps running, a tap that drips, a stop tap that has seized or a waste that leaks into the cupboard under the sink. They are also the jobs that do real damage when they are left. The photographs here are from our own plumbing repairs.
Before
AfterPlumbing work we carry out
- Toilets that run, leak or will not flush
- Fill valves, flush valves and cistern parts replaced
- Dripping and seized taps repaired or replaced
- Stop taps and isolating valves replaced
- Sink, basin and bath wastes and traps
- Shower valves repaired
- Leaking pipes and joints
- Soil pipes and outside waste pipes
Worth knowing
- Find your stop tap before you need it. It is often under the kitchen sink
- A toilet that runs all the time can waste hundreds of litres of water a day
- A slow drip under a sink can rot the cupboard base before you notice it
- Turn a stop tap off and on again once or twice a year, so that it does not seize
More plumbing repairs
An older cistern with a worn ball valve, a common cause of a toilet that keeps running. 
A cistern with a new fill valve and flush valve fitted. 
The waste and trap under a kitchen sink. 
A concealed shower valve opened up for repair.
Emergency plumber in Stockport
Water does damage quickly. A burst pipe or a failed joint can put litres a minute into a ceiling or a floor, so the first job is always to stop the water. Turn off the stop tap, which is usually under the kitchen sink or where the water main comes into the house, then call 07497 805675.
As an emergency plumber in Stockport we deal with the leak itself and then with whatever caused it. If the leak is near anything electrical, switch the power off at the consumer unit as well, and stay out of any room where the ceiling is bulging.
Plumbing emergencies we deal with
- Burst and split pipes
- Leaks that cannot be isolated
- Water coming through a ceiling
- Leaking boilers, cylinders and tanks
- Overflowing cisterns and tanks
- Toilets and wastes leaking onto the floor
What to do straight away
- Turn the water off at the stop tap
- Open the cold taps to drain the pipes
- Turn off the boiler or the immersion heater
- Switch off the electrics if water is near them
- Catch what you can and move belongings out of the way
- Take photos for your insurer
Boiler and heating questions, answered
If your question is not here, call or send us a message.
What is the difference between a combi, a system and a regular boiler?
A combi boiler heats water as you use it, so it needs no cylinder and no tanks. A system boiler heats a hot water cylinder and suits homes with more than one bathroom. A regular boiler, also called heat only or conventional, works with a cylinder and with tanks in the loft, and is usually fitted where that system is already in place.
How long does a boiler installation take?
A like-for-like swap in the same position is usually done in a day. Moving the boiler, changing from a regular boiler to a combi or upgrading the gas pipe can take two days or more. We tell you how long to expect when we give you the price.
What is a CP12?
CP12 is the old name for the Landlord Gas Safety Record, the form a Gas Safe registered engineer fills in after the yearly gas safety check on a rented property. The name comes from the CORGI form it replaced. Most landlords and letting agents still call it a CP12 or a gas safety certificate.
Will a new boiler lower my gas bills?
It can, if your present boiler is an older non-condensing model, because a modern condensing boiler turns more of the gas it burns into heat. How much you save depends on the boiler being replaced, the controls and how well the house is insulated, so we do not promise a figure.
Do you only work on boilers?
No. As a central heating engineer we also look after radiators, valves, pumps, thermostats and controls, and as a plumber we repair taps, toilets, stop taps, wastes and leaking pipes.
Get in touch about your boiler
Tell us what the boiler or the heating is doing and where you are. We will get back to you to talk it through and arrange a visit.
07497 805675- lucasheatingandgas@hotmail.com
- Gas Safe registered engineer
- Covering Stockport and the surrounding area