Council Housing Repairs

During periods of cold weather, pipes in and around your home can sometimes freeze. 

This can cause problems with your heating and hot water, water supply and drainage. These problems are inconvenient, and during extreme periods of cold weather our Contact Centre receives a lot more calls than usual from residents reporting these kinds of issues. 

During these colder periods our priority is to make sure our vulnerable tenants are safe and warm, and you can help us. 

We've provided some basic guidance on how to resolve common problems with frozen pipes. If you're not in a vulnerable group and it's safe for you to so, please follow this guidance before calling our contact centre. By following some of these simple steps you're helping our Contact Centre and Repairs teams to keep the vulnerable people in our community safe. 

Response times for emergency repairs

When you report an emergency repair to us, we'll attend within 24 hours of your call. We're afraid we can't give you a specific appointment time, or let you know when we're on our way to your property.

Please try to avoid calling us again to find out what time we will be attending, as this can put additional pressure on our emergency control centre. We will contact you if there are any questions or issues that you need to be aware of. 

I can smell gas

If you smell gas you should turn off all gas appliances, open all doors and windows and call the National Gas Emergency Service number on 0800 111 999. This is an important step when you suspect a gas leak. The number operates 24/7 and is free to call.

Smell Gas?

A frozen pipe has burst or is leaking

You should always know where your stop tap is located. If you don't know, it's normally located under your kitchen sink or in your out building.

It's also helpful to know where any isolator valves are. These valves are very similar in appearance to automatic washer taps, but have a slot in which a screwdriver or small coin can be used to turn them off and on. They are normally visible on a supply pipe to a sink/bath/cistern feed.

If you are unfortunate enough to suffer a bust pipe, you should:

• Attempt to contain the leak in a bowl or other container.

• Turn off your stop tap. This can save a lot of time, expense and damage.

• Contact the Repair line straight away on 01782 234100. We will arrange for an emergency plumber to attend to your property to repair the leak.

• Should there be significant flood damage, we can arrange to have the property dried out. Should your property be uninhabitable and you have nowhere else to stay, we will try and provide you with temporary accommodation.

My boiler has stopped working

The cold winter months is the time we most rely on our boilers to provide our heating and hot water. But as the temperature falls below zero, the condensate pipe on our boilers can become more susceptible to freezing, causing the boiler to shut down.  

What is a condensate pipe?

The condensate pipe is a small, usually white, plastic pipe that comes out of the bottom of your boiler directly outside where your boiler is located. It carries the ‘condensate’, which is the liquid produced when all the heat has been taken out of the gas that has burned to provide heating and hot water, to a drain.

Where is the condensate pipe?

Usually, the condensate pipe runs from the boiler to a drain under a sink but do check to see if it runs along the outside of a wall at any point. In some cases, it may have been routed through the wall and into an external drain. The part of the pipe that is outside is most likely to freeze when temperatures start to plummet.

If the condensate pipe has frozen, you may hear gurgling noises coming from your heating system, and the boiler will shut down. This is a failsafe mechanism to protect the boiler from water going back up the pipe and inside the boiler, causing damage to the electrics etc. On a valiant boiler you may pe presented with an F28 or F29 error code when this happens

How to safely thaw a frozen condensate pipe

1. Locate the blockage. This is likely to be where the pipe is most exposed, outside the building and probably at its end or at a bend or dip in the pipe where the condensate could collect and freeze.
2. Thaw the pipe. You can use a hot water bottle or a microwaveable heating pack (the sort used for muscular aches and pains) or a cloth soaked in hot water. You can also pour hot, but NOT boiling, water onto the blockage, but remember that the water may freeze on the ground and make it slippery.
3. Re-set or re-start the boiler. Once the blockage has cleared, check the boiler operating instructions or the manufacturer’s website for guidance on any action needed to clear the fault code or alarm and re-start the boiler.

If this has not resolved the problem and your boiler does not start operating normally, contact us. 

My waste pipe has frozen

Blocked drains in sinks and baths can easily become frozen making it impossible for water to pass through the pipes. If this happens try pouring some salt down the waste outlet and/or drain give it 15 minutes or so before repeating. Salt is very good at melting ice, if this doesn't work, try pouring hot (not boiling water) directly into the waste pipe after the salt has had two or three failed attempts.

My tap has frozen

Do not apply too much heat to a frozen tap or you risk damaging the washer within the tap, warm water or a hairdryer set to moderate heat can be used if safe to do so.

Take care

Only follow the steps above if it's safe to do so. Under no circumstances should you:

• Use an open flame such as a candle or blowtorch to try and defrost a pipe
• Use extreme heat to try and defrost a pipe
• Climb a ladder to attempt to defrost a pipe
• Do not use electrical items outside or near any water sources
• Apply water on or around any electrical appliances or outlets.