Why taps fail
Ceramic cartridges wear
Modern lever mixers use ceramic discs. They last years but eventually score, and once they do the tap drips no matter how hard you turn it. Replacement cartridge, not a new tap.
Rubber washers perish
Traditional quarter-turn and crosshead taps seal with a rubber washer against a brass seat. Hard water and heat perish it. Cheap part, quick job.
O-rings fail in the body
If water appears at the base or under the spout rather than out of it, the internal O-rings have gone. Common on pull-out and swivel-spout mixers.
Limescale everywhere
The North West is not the hardest water region in England, but scale still builds in aerators, cartridges and flexible tails. It's the single most common cause of poor flow.
Matching a tap to your water system
This is where most self-bought taps go wrong. A tap rated for high pressure fitted to a gravity-fed system with a loft tank will trickle, and no amount of plumbing will fix it. Before buying, you need to know whether you're on mains pressure (combi boiler or unvented cylinder) or gravity fed (cold tank in the loft, hot cylinder in a cupboard).
If you've already bought a tap, bring it out on the visit and we'll tell you before fitting whether it will actually perform on your system. That conversation is free and saves a lot of disappointment.
Blocked and slow sinks
Kitchen sinks block because fat, oil and food residue cool and coat the inside of the waste pipe until the bore narrows. Bathroom basins block with hair and soap. The trap under the sink is the first place to look and often the only place that needs clearing.
If a sink blocks repeatedly within weeks of being cleared, the problem is further down the run — a poor fall, a badly made joint, or a build-up in the branch. That needs looking at properly rather than plunging again.
What you can safely check yourself
- Unscrew the aerator at the end of the spout and rinse it. Restores flow on a surprising number of 'low pressure' taps.
- Check the small isolation valves on the pipes under the sink are fully open.
- Put a bucket under the trap, unscrew it by hand and clear it — that's the most common sink blockage.
- Avoid caustic drain crystals on a fully blocked sink; they sit in the standing water and make the job unpleasant rather than clearing it.
- If the tap won't turn off, isolate it below before it floods.
What it costs
Real North West ranges rather than headline prices. You get a fixed price for your job before any work starts.
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tap cartridge or washer replacedPer tap, part included on common types. | £80 – £140 | Per tap, part included on common types. |
| Tap re-seated or O-rings replacedWhere the body is sound. | £90 – £150 | Where the body is sound. |
| New tap fitted (you supply)Higher where old fittings have seized. | £90 – £180 | Higher where old fittings have seized. |
| New tap supplied and fittedDepends on the tap chosen. | £150 – £380 | Depends on the tap chosen. |
| Sink or basin waste and trap replacedIncludes clearing the run. | £90 – £170 | Includes clearing the run. |
| Kitchen sink supplied and fittedExcludes worktop cutting where required. | £280 – £650 | Excludes worktop cutting where required. |
Tap and sink plumbing — your questions answered
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Common plumbing problems — tap one to start