Plumber in Fishponds, Bristol

Bristol Water says it is working in the BS16 postcode area because it has identified high numbers of lead pipes. For a limited time, it will check whether your supply pipe is lead and, if it is, replace it at no cost. If your street is included, you should get a flyer when work starts.

There are conditions. Homes on a shared supply are not eligible. Work may not go ahead where it would risk retaining walls, protected trees or new or imprinted driveways. You also need to provide an electrical report, such as an EICR, dated within the last 10 years. Our post on the lead pipe replacement scheme explains the steps.

If you are not in the scheme area yet, you can still have a plumber replace the supply pipe. Bristol Water says that can cost upwards of £1,000 on private land. Leaks found on it may qualify for its subsidies.

Bristol Water's scheme covers the supply pipe from the pavement into your home. Some homes also have old lead or iron pipes inside, running to the kitchen tap or up to a loft tank. Once the outside pipe is replaced, it is worth renewing any lead inside too. We can do that and fit a new stop tap that actually turns.

To find out what your pipe is made of, look at the pipe coming up through the floor to your inside stop tap. Lead is dull grey and soft, with rounded swollen joints. If you scratch it gently with a coin, it shows bright silver.

Old supply pipes in BS16 are also a source of leaks. If your meter keeps turning with everything off, the supply pipe may be leaking, and Bristol Water offers free leak detection for up to half an hour plus subsidies towards repairs. Boilers here are mostly combis in terraces and system or regular boilers in bigger semis. Bristol's hard water scales them, so we check for that on every repair.

Staple Hill and Downend, also in BS16, are in South Gloucestershire rather than Bristol City Council. That changes building control, but the water and sewer companies are the same.