Plumbing repairs and installations in Ongar

What kind of place is Ongar?

Chipping Ongar is a small market town with a long, gently curving high street. Its conservation area was one of the first that Essex County Council designated, and the council says it holds more than 100 listed buildings and structures. Timber-framed houses, former inns and Georgian fronts line the street, the mound of a motte and bailey castle survives just behind it, and the railway's arrival in 1865 added Victorian houses nearby.

Beyond the town, CM5 runs out across open farmland to High Ongar and a scatter of smaller villages, hamlets and isolated farmhouses.

What should owners of listed buildings bear in mind?

Mending a leak or changing a tap is rarely an issue. Running new pipework through old beams, lifting historic floors or removing original fittings can need listed building consent, so speak to the district council's conservation officers before you commit to a plan. Pipes in very old houses often follow odd routes added over centuries, which makes leaks slow to trace.

Are rural homes different?

Often, yes. A farmhouse or cottage set well back from the road may have a long private supply pipe from the boundary, and a leak along it can show only as low pressure or a damp strip of ground.

Drainage can differ too. Epping Forest District Council notes that private sewage systems are common in the district because the mains sewer does not reach everywhere. If your home drains to a septic tank or treatment plant, say so in your enquiry, as servicing one is specialist work. The gov.uk guide to septic tanks and treatment plants sets out what owners must do.

What about frost?

Outbuildings, stables, garden taps and pipes in unheated lofts are exposed on open ground. Lag what you can before winter, isolate and drain outside taps, and know where your stopcock is.

Who do I call about a blocked drain in town?

For homes on the mains sewer, a drain shared with neighbours or running outside your boundary is generally the sewerage company's to clear. The stretch that carries only your own waste, inside your own boundary, stays with you.

What about Great Stony?

Great Stony, on the edge of Chipping Ongar, opened in 1905 as children's homes built by the Hackney Poor Law Union. From 1939 it was Great Stony School, which closed in 1994, and in the late 1990s the school buildings were converted into houses. The estate is now a conservation area in its own right, separate from the one along the high street, and High Ongar has one of its own as well.

Homes carved out of institutional buildings seldom have pipework laid out like a house built as a house. Supplies may run through walls that once divided classrooms or dormitories, and one drain run can serve a whole terrace of conversions. Before booking a repair, check your deeds or the management company's paperwork for who looks after shared drains and supply pipes, and mention the conversion when you enquire.

How does an enquiry from CM5 work?

You describe the problem and give your postcode. If a local plumber works in CM5 and you agree, we send it to that one plumber. If not, you hear so from us and nothing is passed on.