Plumbing problems arrive at the worst moment, and the person on the phone decides how the next hour goes. This page explains who that person works for, who does the work and where the line stops.
Plumbing Help for SW15, SW13 and SW14
Honest Plumber Putney is a booking line for plumbing and heating faults, answered 24 hours a day from 70 Hazlewell Rd in West Putney. We do not pretend to be a van with a name on the side. We listen, work out what is likely wrong and find an independently owned local partner company that can get to you. Then we step back and make sure that company does what it said it would. You will find the full list of services on its own page, and the emergency plumbing page covers what to do before anyone arrives.
What Putney's Houses Do to Pipes
The honest answer to "why is my plumbing like this?" is usually "because of when your street was built".
West Putney Conversions
Wandsworth Council's appraisal of West Putney describes a later Victorian and largely Edwardian suburb on former fields west of the old town. Colinette Road, Dealtry Road and Howard's Lane are typical. Many houses here have been extended or split into flats, which leaves long concealed pipe runs, early copper or lead and shared drains. Read the detail on our West Putney page.
Roehampton Estates and Mansions
Roehampton holds the Alton Estate, one of the largest council estates in the country, where block risers carry water and heating to many homes. It also has the 1920s and 1930s Dover House cottages and Georgian houses near the village. Each needs a different approach, covered on the Roehampton page.
Barnes and the Flood Plain
Barnes is only about 8 m above sea level and sits in Flood Zones 2 and 3. Richmond Council's own investigation of the July 2021 flooding found sewer and surface-water flooding the most frequent source. That is why drains, gullies and non-return valves come up on every Barnes call.
Hard Water, Lead and Old Copper
Thames Water's Putney Heath supply measures 257 mg/l of calcium carbonate, about 18 Clark degrees, which is hard. Scale builds in combi heat exchangers, cylinders, shower cartridges and thermostatic valves, and it explains a large share of the boiler repair and shower repair calls we take. Lead supply pipes were standard until about 1970, and the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 ban lead in new work. A leak detection survey often finds that old pipework is the cause, not bad luck.
How the Partner Network Handles a Job
When you call, we ask what is happening, where you are and whether water or gas is involved. We then look for the partner company that is free soonest and suited to the fault, ring you back, and text you the company's name before anyone arrives. The partner quotes in writing, does the work, invoices you and takes payment directly. If anything goes wrong afterwards, you ring us and we chase it. The full sequence is on the how we work page, and our terms set out the legal side.
When We Cannot Take a Job
Sometimes the honest answer is that we are not the right call. The diary may be full, the work may need a specialism the partners we coordinate do not carry, or the address may be outside the patch from Putney to East Sheen.
A Handover, Never a Dead End
When that happens, we say so on the call rather than leaving you waiting. We pass you to one of our partner plumbing companies who can come out, and in that case the partner quotes, invoices and takes payment directly with you. We do not handle payment or invoices. The point is that nobody who rings 07782 232151 is left without a way forward. For the full picture, read how we work.
Straight Answers
Where is Honest Plumber Putney based?
We work from 70 Hazlewell Rd, London SW15 6UR, in West Putney inside the London Borough of Wandsworth. The line, 07782 232151, is answered at all hours by a real person rather than a recording. Roehampton is about a mile and a quarter away and Barnes about a mile and a half, both straight-line and approximate. That closeness is why a nearby partner company can usually be found quickly.
Why is the brand called Honest Plumber?
Because plumbing is a trade where customers often feel they cannot judge what they are told. So we say what a fault is likely to be, what published London prices look like, who is probably responsible for a shared pipe and when a repair is not worth paying for. Honesty here is a habit of the phone call, not a slogan. It also means we never promise a price or an arrival time we cannot control.
Do you do the plumbing yourselves?
No. The work is done by independently owned local plumbing companies in our partner network. We answer the phone, work out what is wrong, find the partner who can reach you soonest and who suits the fault, and text you its name before it arrives. The partner quotes in writing, carries out the job, invoices you and takes payment directly, so we handle no invoices or payments ourselves.
What does a partner company mean in practice?
It means a separate, locally owned plumbing business that runs its own diary, vans and prices. We are not its employer and it is not our staff. What ties us together is the booking line, and the promise that if the job goes wrong you ring us and we chase it. You deal with the partner on the day and with us before and after, so there is always someone to call.
How does Putney's housing change the work?
Most of West Putney is later Victorian and Edwardian, much of it converted to flats, which means shared drains, concealed pipe runs and early copper or lead. Roehampton adds council-estate block risers and cottage-estate pipework, and Barnes has riverside houses and conversions that share stacks. Each partner call starts with those facts, because a leak in a converted flat can affect the neighbours below.
Do you cover areas outside Putney?
We cover Putney, West Putney, Roehampton, Barnes, Putney Heath and East Sheen, across the SW15, SW13 and SW14 postcodes. Barnes and East Sheen belong to Richmond upon Thames, not Wandsworth, so a different council runs building control there. If your address is just beyond that patch, ring anyway. We will either find a partner company or tell you plainly that we cannot.
Do you give prices over the phone?
No, and neither should anyone who has not seen the fault. What we can do is point you to published London ranges, such as £80 to £150 for a daytime emergency call-out, so you know the territory. The partner company gives you a written quote after diagnosing the problem, and you agree it before work begins. That keeps a small job from turning into a surprise invoice.
What standards does the work follow?
Water work follows the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 with WRAS-approved fittings. Gas and heating work follows the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and the manufacturer's instructions. New boilers meet Building Regulations Part L, unvented cylinders Part G3 and drainage Part H. We describe what the work is built to, and we ask you to read the written quote to see how it applies.
What happens if the work is not right?
Tell the partner company first, since it did the job and is best placed to put it right. If that does not settle it, ring 07782 232151 and we will chase the partner for you, because the number stays on the job. Keep the written quote and any messages, as they show what was agreed. We cannot promise an outcome, but we can promise not to leave you ringing round.
What do you do if you cannot take my job?
We say so on the call. If the diary is full, the work is a specialism the partners we coordinate do not carry or the address is outside our patch, we pass you to one of our partner plumbing companies who can come out. That partner quotes, invoices and takes payment directly, and we handle no payment or invoices. Nobody who rings is left without a way forward.
