Emergency plumber in Greenwich

If you own a house, more of the plumbing is yours. Thames Water says the supply pipe from your boundary into your home is the homeowner's, including any part under the front garden or path. In older streets in Charlton and East Greenwich, the supply may still be lead or shared with neighbours. A leak there can show as a wet patch in the front garden, low pressure or a high water bill on a meter.

Lofts and suspended timber floors are where pipes freeze in cold snaps, and the burst often shows when it thaws. Back garden drains in terraces can be shared with the neighbours. If yours and theirs are both blocked, it may be a shared drain Thames Water looks after.

Around Blackheath and the edges of Greenwich Park, larger Victorian villas have been split into flats. They share supplies and stacks just like conversions in inner London, and leaks from upper bathrooms come through tall ceilings below. Stop taps can be in cellars or under hall floors. If you are not sure which valve controls your flat, find out before you need it.

In Blackheath, many of these houses are in conservation areas, so if a repair means opening up an external wall or replacing visible pipework at the front, it is worth checking with the council before anything is changed permanently.

In the new blocks on the Greenwich Peninsula and at the Royal Arsenal, water reaches upper floors through pumps and the plumbing sits in sealed risers. Report leaks beyond your flat to the concierge or managing agent, and isolate your own water at the valve in your flat.

Riverside and peninsula buildings often have warranty cover in their early years, and some defects in pipework may be dealt with under it, so keep your new home paperwork handy. In older estates across the borough, communal pipes and pumps are the housing provider's or freeholder's to repair, while the pipes serving only your flat are usually yours or your landlord's.

Thames Water supplies water and takes away waste water across Greenwich. It says all the water in its region is hard, which is why scaled valves and running toilets are such common calls here.