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.
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
Times When You Might Need An After-hours North Shore Plumber
People have busy lives, and for many couples, both are out during the day at work. This makes it difficult to arrange for workers to come out to fix problems in your home. For example, if you have a dripping tap, a leaky toilet, or a blocked drain, you want to get these jobs done as soon as possible, but you might not be able to get time off work to manage that. This is when you need an after-hours North Shore plumber.
Reducing The Need For An After-Hours North Shore Plumber
46011364 – plumber fixing the sink with wrench in the kitchen
While some after-hours North Shore plumbers are available, you can take steps to minimise the need to call out an after-hours plumber.
For example, you can keep your waste disposal in good working order, by running it on a regular basis. Running cold water through it for a minute a day will ensure it is kept clean, and running smoothly. If you don’t run the waste disposal on a regular basis, then it can become susceptible to corrosion which will eventually make it stop working.
Don’t start any plumbing projects unless you have plenty of time, and experience. Many plumbing repair jobs are because a well-meaning DIY-er has started a job but doesn’t have time to finish it, or they do not do it properly resulting in water leaks. You will be far better advised to call in a plumber from the start.
If you have a blocked toilet, you might be able to fix it by using a plumbing snake to unblock the pipes. Some strong cleaners can also shift some quite dense toilet blockages however, you should be aware that if they are too strong, then they might damage your pipes.
Another common cause of blockages in pipes is long hair going down the sink. A simple way to prevent this is to use a strainer which catches any hair which means that it cannot go down the sink, and get blocked in the trap.
It is a good idea to inspect your pipework for any signs of a leak or corrosion. You just need to run your hand around the joints in the pipework so see if there is any dampness present. If so, that is a sign that a stitch-in-time might save you a lot of heart-ache and money down the track. If you do this say, twice a year, you will be ahead of the game.
Planning ahead with your plumbing work
If you have a major plumbing job such as a bathroom renovation, or upgrading your kitchen, this is not the type of job you want to be leaving to an after-hours plumber. These jobs are much bigger and require more time than a few hours in the evening.
For this type of work, you are best advised to contact a plumber and arrange a time when they can have free access to your property so they can do the major plumbing work during the day.
Easy actions can prevent call-outs for after-hours plumbers
As we have seen, it is easy to mitigate against some common after-hours plumbing work by taking some simple precautions with your pipes, sinks, and other household appliances. However, even with the best prevention, sometimes it is still necessary to call in an after-hours North Shore plumber. If you do, then at Heron Plumbing we are more than happy to come out to help you outside regular business hours. Call us on 09 836 4009.
Choosing A Reliable Plumber In The Wairau Park Area
There may come a time when you have issues with your plumbing, whether it’s a clogged sink, leaking pipe, or a blocked toilet. Sometimes people want to fix these issues but, more often than not, especially for businesses, people want a quick solution provided by a local Wairau Park plumber. However, if you are a DIY person, then check out the tips and suggestions in the article below that will show you easy things you can do on your own to solve these issues, and save a call to a plumber.
Your water supply
This is important!
If you are having any kind of problems with your water pipes or plumbing in general, then you will first want to turn off your water supply. It is surprising how many people think that having the tap turned off stops the water flow. As a result, they leave their water supply on while they are trying to fix the problem which leads to bigger problems.
Toilet problems
Toilet does not flush
If you go to flush the toilet and nothing happens, do not be afraid to open the lid and take a look inside. The mechanism inside the toilet is not overly complex, and with some time and thought you can nearly always pinpoint the problem and then find the tools and parts to fix it.
Toilet cistern drips
Another common problem is that the cistern continues to drip water into the bowl after it has been flushed. It is often only a small drip but the volume of water adds up really quickly which will of course increase your water bill. This problem is usually a simple jam in the spring mechanism in the buttons on top of the cistern which releases the ball-cock so the cistern will refill properly. The solution is again simple. You just need to lift off the lid and wiggle the button or spring. That usually releases it however, if it persists or happens regularly, then it may be time to replace parts of the mechanism so then you would need to call in a Wairau plumber.
Preventing drainage issues
Blocked drains can be a common problem which takes a while to build up but when it does happen, you definitely know about it then. The smell can be awful!
To prevent this, try flushing your drains every month with a few litres of hot tap water. If you do this with each of the drains in your house, you can easily soften any fatty build-up or other solid waste that might develop into a bigger drain blockage problem.
When to call a Wairau Park plumber
Leaking tap repair West Auckland
If water is backing up into multiple fixtures all over the house or workplace, this is evidence of a blockage in the main water pipes or drains. At this stage, you must contact a qualified plumber to take care of this problem for you. it is no longer going to be possible for you to use chemicals or a small hand tool, often called a drain snake or drain auger, to unblock a pipe.
Getting best value from a plumber service
If you do have to call in a plumber, then one way to get best value for money is to group all of your plumbing repairs before calling a plumber to come out. You can do this by checking all your fixtures, sinks, toilets, and taps. If anything is dripping, running, or drains slowly, make a list for the plumber. That way, when the plumber comes, they can do all of the jobs in one visit which will cut down on call-out charges for a Wairau plumber.
West Auckland bathroom renovation
