Plumber in Billingshurst, West Sussex

Billingshurst’s older village core

Billingshurst grew up at a crossroads, where the old Roman Stane Street meets the A272, and its long High Street still has timber-framed buildings and St Mary’s, the medieval parish church. Period buildings along the High Street limit where pipes can run and where a flue can terminate, and their heating has usually been added to over many years by different hands. We survey these in person before quoting, so the route for the pipework and the flue is settled before fitting day rather than discovered on it.

Barn conversions and rural homes around Billingshurst

Barn conversions, converted cottages and farm buildings are common around Billingshurst, and they are demanding to heat: big open volumes, long pipe runs and often several bathrooms. They usually need a system boiler or a heat pump with an unvented cylinder rather than a combi, heating split into zones, and in many cases underfloor heating, which suits the large floor areas. We are G3 qualified for the unvented cylinder and LCL Level 3 qualified for heat pumps.

Hard water in RH14

The RH14 area is supplied by Southern Water, and like much of West Sussex it is hard water. Limescale reduces boiler efficiency and makes hot water cylinders fail before their time. Scale protection on the incoming main and an annual boiler service extend the life of the system, and the service is also when we catch a scaling cylinder coil early.

Off mains gas: is a heat pump the answer?

With so many properties off mains gas, a question we are often asked around Billingshurst is whether an air source heat pump could replace an old oil or LPG boiler. We do not install or service oil or LPG systems, but we can assess a heat pump properly. The answer depends on the insulation, the radiators or underfloor heating already in place, and how the property is used, and we will tell you honestly when a heat pump is not the right answer yet. Our heat pump guide covers the basics.