Emergency plumber in South Kensington

South Kensington was largely built in the 1830s and 1840s on land owned by Henry Smith’s Charity, a trust founded in 1620. The architect George Basevi designed much of it, and builders including Charles Freake put up the stucco terraces of Onslow Square from 1845. The result is one of London’s most complete set pieces: Thurloe Square, Pelham Crescent and Egerton Crescent, with private garden squares, Pantheon-inspired doorcases and, behind them, more than a dozen mews.

Terraces over half basements

The terraces here typically have half basements with lightwells at the front, and many houses are divided into flats. Pipework runs from the top of the house to the basement through every home on the way, and a leak on one floor quickly becomes a problem for the floors below. We stop the water, make the room safe and trace the leak to its source, so you know whether it is your pipe, a neighbour’s or a shared one.

Mews built without basements

Kensington and Chelsea’s appraisal of the Thurloe Estate maps 16 mews, including Cranley, Onslow, Sumner Place, Thurloe Place and Egerton Gardens Mews. All were built as two-storey stables with timber doors and slate roofs, and none has a basement. Modern kitchens and bathrooms have been fitted into them since, often with pipes hidden under floors and in walls. A leak in a mews house can be hard to find. We are methodical about it.

Worth knowing: If your home is a mews house, find your stopcock now. In many converted stables it is in an unexpected place, such as a ground-floor cupboard or under the stairs.

Storms and sewers

The July 2021 storm was much lighter in the south of the borough than in Notting Hill. In 2007, though, South Kensington, Gloucester Road and Kensington High Street were among the areas where basements flooded when the sewers backed up. Lower ground floors here benefit from knowing exactly how their drains connect to the sewer.

Conservation and the outside of the house

Most of South Kensington is protected. The Thurloe Estate and Smith’s Charity appraisal names pipes and wires on front and side elevations among the small changes that spoil its squares. If a repair would add pipework outside, we look for a discreet route at the back and tell you before anything changes.

From Thurloe Square to Queen’s Gate, call 07862 142953 or WhatsApp us a photo. If water is coming through a ceiling, see what to do now.