Local West Auckland Plumber For Toilet Replacement Or Repair
Without doubt, one the main needs in a house is a working toilet. You may be living in an older home, the toilet keeps getting blocked, maybe it drips after it has been flushed, or perhaps it is a 1970s olive green. Maybe now is the time to replace a toilet in your bathroom.
Choosing A Replacement Toilet
There are three main steps in replacing a toilet. They are:
- Aesthetics
- Water usage
- Installation
Here are some thoughts on those three steps.
The Aesthetics Of A Replacement Toilet
As plumbers, we can’t really advise on the look or style of toilet you want. You know the colour scheme, and the style you are looking for. However, what we can do is advise on the type of toilet to suit your bathroom.
There are essentially three types of replacement toilet:
- Close coupled where the pan and cistern hide the flush pipe.
- Wall-hung toilets which are very modern in appearance and don’t have a floor mounted pedestal.
- Wall-faced toilets which take up less space.
We can advise on the type that will work for your bathroom.
Reducing Your Water Bill
The toilet in an average house consumes about 30% of the total water consumption. With the increasing cost of water in West Auckland, any increase in water efficiency will be welcome.
Modern replacement toilets have three- or four-star water efficiency ratings. The difference between their performance is considerable.
For example, a 3-star rating will consume 6 litres for a full flush or 3 litres for a half-flush. A 4-star toilet will consume four litres for a full flush.
In an average household that can be up to 50 litres less per person per day.
So, it makes sense to choose a replacement toilet wisely. If you are unsure, we can advise which toilet system will give you the best water efficiency to lower your water bills.
Installing A Replacement Toilet
The aspect we can help with most is installing a replacement toilet. We are the leading plumbers in West Auckland and have been providing plumbing service since 1961.
There have been horror stories about some plumbers ripping-off customers with exorbitant bills, unagreed items, inflated materials costs. That will never happen with our toilet replacement service.
We visit your home, look at your situation, and give you a written quote of the work and materials you will need. If there is any change, we will only carry-out the work with your agreement so that there are no nasty surprises in your final bill.
And of course, you are covered by the guarantee for our work.
If you want a replacement toilet, we can help. Whether you want to know the type of toilet to look for, the water efficiency of different models, and of course the installation with replacing a toilet, we can help.
Call Heron Plumbing on 0800 888287 to talk about replacing a toilet in the West Auckland area.
Save Thousands Of Dollars With Regular Hot Water Cylinder Maintenance
If your home is serviced by a hot water cylinder system as opposed to a combi-boiler or continuous flow boiler, the importance of regular maintenance cannot be overstated. If you hire a plumber for hot water cylinder maintenance, you can literally save yourself thousands of dollars.
Here’s how.
Extend The Life Of Your Hot Water Cylinder
A new hot water cylinder can cost upwards of $1,500 plus installation costs. It makes sense therefore to get as much economically usable life from your hot water cylinder as possible. Just like your car, regular servicing and maintenance will help you achieve that.
A hot water cylinder service call can help the plumber spot, and then fix any maintenance issues while they are relatively small and fixable. For example, there may be small spots of corrosion on the boiler surface. If these are caught early enough, the plumber can treat these so they don’t break down completely.
Similarly, the thermostat may suddenly stop working. That mean now hot water. A regular check means our plumbers can carry out often simple maintenance on the thermostat on your hot water cylinder ensuring you have continuous hot water in your home.
Household Damage From A Leaking Hot Water Cylinder
When a hot water cylinder bursts or develops a significant leak, this can cause a lot of damage to you home. This can be damaged ceilings, walls, floors or cabinetry. The amount of damage will vary depending on where your cylinder is located. For example, if your hot water cylinder is in the loft, imagine the damage that will cause to the lower floors of your home as water leaks out. Water flows a long way.
Even if the leaks or drips are found before they can cause too much damage, they will certainly create a mess, and plenty of unwanted stress.
Lower Your Electricity Bills With HWC Maintenance
A poorly maintained hot water cylinder will undoubtedly cost you more to run. Deposits can build up around the heating element making it less efficient meaning it will need to draw more electricity to heat your water.
On the other hand, a well-maintained hot water cylinder system will be much more efficient, which means you can save money on your household’s annual energy bills.
The insulation of your hot water cylinder might be old too. That means that heat is escaping from the tank, which means the water has to be heated more than necessary. A simple check on the insulation and easy maintenance can pay for itself in one winter.
Hot Water Cylinder Maintenance
At Heron Plumbing we have been providing hot water cylinder maintenance in West Auckland for many years. Give us a call, and we will happily come and check your hot water cylinder to see what maintenance might need to be done.
0800 888287
Hot Water Cylinder Maintenance West Auckland
Don’t Delay Calling A Plumber To Repair Leaking Taps
If you have a leaking or dripping tap, it is all too easy just ignore it as a minor inconvenience. However, ignoring your leaking tap can, in time, cause significant damage that may well surpass the cost of hiring a local West Auckland plumber. Here’s why you need to hire a plumber for a leaking tap.
Why Is Your Tap Leaking?
There are several causes that can lead to your tap leaking. Corrosion, mineral deposits, and worn out gaskets are just some of the more common ones affecting the taps in an average household. Of course, unless you can diagnose the problem quickly and effectively, you may end up assuming your tap is leaking for all the wrong reasons. A professional eye is a must as a plumber has years of experience dealing with issues just like yours.
Is Your Tap Correctly Installed?
What if your tap wasn’t installed correctly in the first place? If washers aren’t placed in the correct order, or it is not fixed properly to the bathroom or kitchen bench-top, your tap may have constantly leaked from the start. Not only does this incur unnecessary water costs but it can lead to much bigger repair costs too. Only a professional plumber will be able to install your tap correctly, or find out where the installation went wrong and fix it for you.
How Much Is Your Time Worth?
People often say that time is money. So, consider how much time you would spend attempting to repair a leaky tap. Not to mention the stress, mess, and family upset. Further, you would be doing with without any guarantees whatsoever. A professional plumber will respond in a timely manner when you call them, be able to repair a leaking tap much quicker than you and most of the time, will give you a limited warranty on the work they carry out.
Will You Fix A Leaky Tap Or Make It Worse?
When you have a problem with a leaky tap, you may end up making the situation worse. There’s a good chance that you don’t have the necessary experience or the tools to ensure that the work is up to code. If work is carried out by unlicensed workers, your insurance can be invalidated. But there is also a good chance that you will not properly fix the leak. Will you tighten the tap properly? What about any damage to the counter-top? There is a host of other problems that often arise from a well-meaning amateur trying to fix a leaky tap.
Fixing A Leaking Tap – A Plumber Is Good Value For Money
You may believe that plumbers are expensive but planned plumbing work is very affordable. It is also a great return on investment. Minor fixes like a leaking tap only incur a nominal charge, and, it is usually a quick job for an experienced plumber. But the biggest value in hiring a plumber to fix a leaking tap, is the cost they can save you down the track if the tap continues to leak.
The sound of a leaking tap in your home can be irritating, especially at night but the potential damage will be more than irritating. The moment you see a leaky tap, call us. Our plumbers are friendly, fast, affordable, and knowledgeable.
Call us, Heron Plumbing on 0800 888287.
Five Key Reasons To Pick A Lazer Water Boiler
There are many ways to produce boiling water for workplaces ranging from a simple jug or kettle to over-bench water boilers. However, older heating systems are inefficient, consume too much power, leave a bigger carbon footprint, and not being too subtle, look tired, not in keeping with a modern working environment. There is one simple way to overcome all of those issues, by replacing your old water boiler with a new Lazer water boiler.
Why Choose A Lazer Water Boiler?
There are five key reasons to choose a Lazer water boiler.
A Hot Water Capacity To Suit Your Premises
Heating an unused amount of hot water is inefficient and expensive. So it’s important that you install a water heater that only produces enough water for your actual consumption. The Lazer range has a number of different sized water heaters ranging from 3 litres up to 40 lite capacity. There is one for any workplace from a small office to a commercial kitchen.
Easy To Use
A Lazer water heater is very simple to use. They come with timers, and controls to make sure you only heat water during the hours you want, up to the temperatures you want. This saves your energy bill.
It also has built-in controls to ensure it never runs dry. This not only saves energy costs but also potential repair bills too.
Efficient Heating Water
With the most up-to-date construction materials, combined with the latest control technologies, a new, smart-operating Lazer will produce hot water up to 40% lower energy cost than other systems. With these sort of gains, it won’t take long to recover your new Lazer office water heater system cost.
Lower Carbon Footprint
More and more companies are taking heed of their carbon foot-print, and looking at how they can reduce their environmental impact. A Lazer water heater is a simple hey highly effective way to reduce your company’s carbon foot-print. Better yet, it can make the process of producing hot water simpler, cheaper, and easier than with an old water heating method.
A Lazer Water Heater Looks Good
The range of Lazer water heaters are not just technologically smart but visually so too. If a Lazer needs to be installed in view of the general public it can be an attractive addition to your kitchen, serving area or office. While being robust, they are not “industrial” in appearance.
Installing a New Lazer in West Auckland
If your workplace needs to replace on old water heater, seriously consider installing a new Lazer water heater. There is one to tick all your boxes. And as approved agents for Rheem Lazer water heaters, we can give you the sound advice on which one will be best for your workplace. Call us on 0800 888287
Save Money, Minimise Disruption, Call a Plumber for Commercial Plumbing Maintenance
Business owners don’t often think of plumbing maintenance as a way to save significant amounts of money, but it is. They usually think of plumbing maintenance as an unnecessary expense Instead, think of the disruption to your business from a burst pipe, leaking toilets, or any one of a whole range of plumbing systems in your workplace. Commercial plumbing maintenance can certainly save you a lot of time, money, and stress. And plenty more – read on.
Plumbing Problems Can Affect Your Customers
At face value, the plumbing of the building shouldn’t have too much influence on the customer experience, but it does. Depending on the type of business you have, blocked toilets, or other plumbing problems can affect your customers. For instance, do you have customers that use the bathroom? Who wants to go to a flooded toilet? This can soon turn away your customers. Similarly, if your business is reliant on a continuous water supply to service your customers such as a café, restaurant, or hotel, you absolutely do not want any disruption to your water supply.
With commercial plumbing maintenance in West Auckland, we can come to check your services, provide any necessary maintenance with minimum disruption. This way you shouldn’t have to worry about the customer bathrooms not being functional, or a loss of water supply.
Bad Plumbing Influences Employee Work Conditions
There are many ways plumbing problems can cause problems for your staff. Obvious ones such as blocked toilets, or a burst pipe with water all over the floor will clearly affect your staff. But others include counter-top water heaters like a Zenith for drinks. Imagine the grumpy staff if they can’t make a coffee. Planned plumbing maintenance can save these problems.
Plumbing Problems Can Interfere With Productivity
A burst pipe can cause a lot of damage and be expensive to fix, although your insurance might cover and damage or emergency plumber costs. But perhaps an even bigger cost is the unseen one from the loss of productivity.
For instance, a pipe burst can make it difficult for people to work, but there is also the “news” factor with people talking about the problem. While they are talking, they are not working. An experienced plumber can check your pipes, toilets, and other plumbing appliances to test joints, controllers, and the infrastructure making sure they are healthy, nothing is blocked, and the water stays where it should – in the pipes. Commercial plumbing maintenance can prevent these disruptions expensive losses of productivity.
Plumbing Problems Can Cause Health and Safety Problems
Plumbing problems can build up, often unseen, over time. A burst waste pipe from a toilet is something you definitely don’t want at work. What if the water heater decides to explode?
You want to think about the health and safety hazards that might come from plumbing problems.
It’s bad enough if your staff are affected but what about customers? Think of the bad press and damage to your reputation if your plumbing has caused a water-based infection to your customers.
Getting your water appliances, pipes etc tested regularly can avoid big potential problems like these.
Commercial Plumbing Maintenance Is Not An Expense
Commercial plumbing maintenance isn’t just a nice idea, or an unnecessary expense. Consider it an insurance policy.
If you have the plumbing in your business or commercial premises maintained you can:-
- Keep your customers satisfied
- Reduce health and safety problems
- Avoid expensive bad press
- Look after staff welfare
- Preserve staff productivity
- Minimise business disruption
All of these can be taken into account if you look at commercial plumbing maintenance.
Call us on 0800 888287 for advice on your commercial plumbing maintenance.
Commercial plumbing maintenance
Tap Replacement – Why You Need A Plumber For Replacing Taps
There are many reasons why people want a tap replacement – it’s an old style, it leaks, it’s been damaged, and so on. Many people are tempted to replace a tap themselves. It’s an easy job isn’t it? You turn off the water, unscrew the old tap, replace it with a new tap, and turn the water back on. However, it is not that easy, and it is definitely not advisable. Here we talk about some of the likely problems with a DIY job and why you should hire a plumber for tap replacement.
Making Sure The Tap Replacement Job Is Done Properly
The first reason why you should call in a plumber to help you with tap replacement is getting the job done properly. This sounds simple but in fact, it is surprising how many DIY tap replacement jobs leak, even from experienced DIY-ers. The problem is that leaks are not always immediately visible. The new tap and pipe connections can be dripping for weeks or months before you spot the pool of water under the kitchen bench or the bathroom cabinets. By that stage, who knows how much damage has been caused to your floor, cabinets, or walls?
Not to mention the excess water you have paid for.
Saving a few dollars on having a trained plumber install your new taps will pale into insignificance to fix all the damage that a badly installed tap can cause.
A Quicker Result By Knowing What To Do
We install new taps every week so we know what to do. A keen amateur will have to either learn or remind themselves what they need to do. This takes time and inevitably causes disruption to your family life. A professional plumber like our staff will most likely have the tap replacement job finished in a couple of hours rather than dragging on all morning, or even longer.
If the job is more complex, the chances of a DIY-er knowing what to do, get worse. What happens if there is a cross-thread? What about a damaged pipe? And many more unforeseen issues that crop up with replacing a tap. If you were to fix these problems by yourself, you may need at least a few days to figure out what the problem is, then find the right solution, let alone actually fixing the issue.
Our trained, experienced plumbers can get your problem sorted out quickly and without any hassle.
Guaranteed Tap Replacement Work
Another reason why you should hire an experienced plumber to help you with tap replacement is the warranty you get on the workmanship. All of our work is guaranteed, If you try to replace a tap yourself, there is no guarantee that the job will either be successful, or will last the test of time.
What if you replace the tap by yourself and it starts leaking the next day? You’ll have to redo the work and perhaps find a plumber to help you. This will only generate hassle and additional costs that could have been avoided by hiring an expert in the first place.
Insurance
Perhaps the biggest reason to hire a plumber to replace a tap is having the proper insurance coverage. If your own work causes water damage, it is highly unlikely that your insurance company will cover all of your repair costs. Incoming under greater scrutiny.
If a tap that you have replaced on your own leaks over time, that will cause damage to your floor, walls, cabinets etc. In this situation it is almost certain that you will not be covered by insurance. This is known as gradual damage and insurance companies rarely cover that these days.
However, Heron Plumbing is a member of the Master Plumbers Association. This means we have to have various insurance policies. These include coverage for damage during the job, cover for damage to other properties, plus we also have the ongoing guarantee coverage.
Having The Right Tools For Tap Replacement
The average homeowner may have some tools in the garage, but plumbing requires special accessories and equipment you may not have. While some people try to do the work with the tools they happen to have in the house, some of these plumbing fixtures will be difficult if not impossible to remove without the proper equipment. Even if you manage to do the job, you’ll need take much longer, potentially damage pipes etc, and you’ll probably create a bigger mess than a professional who has the right tools, and knows how to use them.
If something breaks, you’ll still need to call in a plumber to restore your home to its original status. This is going to cost you anyway, so why not do such things properly, quickly, and cheaper from the very beginning?
Tap Replacement
You may think replacing a tap is no big deal. In fact, this isn’t your average DIY job, so you should be very careful about it. Water can be dangerous, so you should avoid turning a minor issue into a big problem that’s going to need even more money and time to fix, call us on 0800 888287 to replace your taps.
Tap replacement plumber West Auckland
West Auckland Water Backflow Systems Maintenance
Water backflow systems are intended to stop cross-contamination of water with foul water flowing back into a potable water system, Clearly, if you have foul water flowing into your water supply, that can cause all sorts of health risks. It follows that water backflow system maintenance is important, so you can prevent those types of emergency situations.
The Causes Of Water Backflow
There are two causes – back pressure, or back siphonage.
- Back-pressure is when there is an increase in pressure in the system compared to the water supply.
- Back-siphonage is when the pressure in the source has been lowered.
Both causes will cause serious problems. Both are easily avoided by having a plumber carry-out maintenance on a water backflow system.
The Testing Regulations
Each year, Watercare will test your Backflow Prevention system. If your system does not meet their regulatory standards, they can restrict your water supply, and impose significant fees to re-test, and get your system working correctly again.
Preventing The Watercare Non-Compliance Cost
To avoid this, you can simply have a qualified plumber look at your backflow prevention system and advise if you need any maintenance to keep your system up to code.
Our plumbers are trained to the Master Plumber training standards. That means they can carry-out the necessary tests to make sure your water backflow prevention is compliant with Watercare’s regulations.
We will test your backflow prevention system, and of we find any issues which need repairing, we will advise you, and give you a written quote of the costs to repair your system to bring it back to compliance.
It is more cost-effective to have us come to carry-out the tests than wait for Watercare. We can see what the likely problems are, so you can have them fixed before any failure report from Watercare.
This will save the cost of re-testing, water restrictions, and the disruption to your business.
Likely Back-Flow Prevention Issues
The more common problems are simply related to the age of tor system, Components ear-out over time, and need to be replaced.
We have worked with all the main backflow prevention systems, so we can test and identify the common causes of system failure and can remedy those for you.
The cost of maintenance for a backflow system
The cost of regular maintenance on your water backflow system is a relatively minor expense. The cost of not having maintenance n a backflow system can be huge with fines, insurance claims, health costs and the damage to your reputation.
Don’t risk it. Call Heron Plumbing for backflow prevention maintenance on 0800 888287.
Why You Need A Professional Plumber For Domestic Plumbing Maintenance
In this era of the Internet where information on any topic is readily available, many homeowners are tempted to do their own plumbing maintenance, especially those who are keen DIY-ers. You can easily find instructional videos online about plumbing maintenance jobs. They are usually quite exhaustive and in-depth so it must be relatively easy to do your own plumbing maintenance. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea, and for one very important reason. Your already very expensive household insurance.
Most insurance companies will not cover your home for “gradual damage.” You are probably covered for sudden events like a tornado, storm or even a burst pipe. But where there is damage caused by a gradual leak for example, then that most likely won’t be covered.
This quote from Jimmy Higgins, executive general manager of claims at Vero explains it. “The first thing you need to remember is that insurance isn’t a maintenance contract. It’s there to help you recover from sudden, unexpected losses that you couldn’t prevent,” Source Stuff.co.nz
In practice, this means that as the homeowner, you are expected to be vigilant about any small damages, leaks, or other issues with your home. This is especially true for plumbing where a leaking pipe or tap, over a few months can suddenly cause major damage. But if you hadn’t paid attention, and had the problem treated, then you are probably going to fall under the “gradual damage” exclusion clause.
If the drip or leak is hidden from view, for example within a wall, then the insurer will probably cover you however, only for a maximum amount, typically, $2,000 to $3,000. However, the insurance does not cover the cost of finding the leak.
Suddenly DIY home plumbing maintenance becomes a potentially expensive proposition.
Hiring a plumber for home maintenance plumbing jobs
The truth of the matter is, plumbing maintenance is a specialised job that requires more than an Internet guide to get it right. Professional plumbers provide specialised services covering a range of different task to keep your home plumbing working properly. Here are some of the reasons why you should hire a professional plumber to carry-out home plumbing maintenance.
- Expertise And Experience
There are some small plumbing jobs that individuals can handle. However, the vast majority of plumbing maintenance tasks are quite complex, calling for expert knowledge and experience to carry-out properly. Given that a lot of the materials and components for plumbing jobs are hidden from view, like pipes, connectors, valves etc, and therefore generally inaccessible, it is essential that they are implemented for long-lasting solutions. If a leak or drip is left, then the gradual damage we spoke about earlier will begin to occur, and you will be left with a very expensive repair and restore bill.
A professional plumber will know exactly what to do, and how to do it. Further, for your peace of mind, you must hire a Master Plumber. All of our plumbers are trained to the very high standards of the Master Plumbers Association, so you know our plumbers can perform your plumbing maintenance jobs correctly.
- Plumbing Tools And Equipment
Plumbing maintenance requires the use of specialised tools and equipment. If you try to do any plumbing maintenance yourself, you will have to hire the tools, and then learn how to use them properly.
- Domestic stress
Plumbing work is by its very nature, wet, dirty, and awkward. Pipes are hidden from view so you need to be nimble to be able to reach behind down-pipes, cabinetry, or other common obstacles where plumbing work is used.
Water and other materials are likely to spread all over the floor which in itself can cause damage to your carpets, flooring covering, or even the actual floor.
It will also take you much longer to undertake those small jobs than you thought.
All-in-all, your home is very likely to suffer a lot of stress if you try to undertake your own plumbing work.
- Costs Saving
Aside from not having to spend money hiring the specialised tools, hiring a professional plumber will reduce the huge costs of repair down the track if something does go wrong. And we know how often things do go wrong with plumbing. Our emergency plumbing service is always in demand, and many homeowners know the cost of emergency plumbing repairs.
- Licenses, Insurance, and Guarantee
As we mentioned above, you ought to hire a Master Plumber. This will ensure that the plumber is accredited to the industry standard. But even better, a Master Plumber also has the appropriate insurances to protect you, your home and any issue down the track. In the event something does go wrong, can rely on both their guarantee, and insurance to cover any unlikely repairs.
Summing up home plumbing maintenance
Even though it might be tempting to do your home plumbing maintenance yourself, you can see why this is a risky route to follow.
Your household insurance will be invalidated, you are not covered for gradual damage, you have to hire, and learn how to use specialised tools, it will take you a lot longer, there is likely to be a lot of stress, and there is no guarantee for the work.
It makes sense therefore to hire a professional plumber for home plumbing maintenance. If you have any plumbing jobs that you think might be necessary, small drips, a loss of water pressure, or infrequent blockages, call us sooner rather than later and we can advise what needs to be done before it becomes a major or emergency job.
0800 888287
Home plumbing maintenance
