The differentiator
We work with the building,
not against it.
Islington and Clerkenwell hold central London's densest run of Georgian and Victorian housing. For forty years we've plumbed them - sympathetically, and with an eye on what the building's listing allows.
A period home plumbs nothing like a new-build. Lead supply pipes, cast-iron drainage at the end of its life, original brass worth restoring, and historic fabric you can't simply chase a pipe through.
That's the work we know best. We route services so they're sound and accessible without cutting into original plaster, stone or timber where it can be avoided. We restore cast-iron baths, ceramic basins and brass fittings rather than skip them. And when work affects the fabric or the facade of a listed building, we'll tell you when listed-building consent is likely needed before anyone lifts a floorboard.
A quiet note on consent
Upgrading plumbing in a listed building often needs no consent - provided historic fabric isn't damaged or obscured. Cutting into original plaster, stone or beams to route pipework usually does. The reversible-intervention principle keeps services removable later without harming the building. We work to it as a matter of course.
Find your property's era.
Georgian
pre-1837Lead, brass and lime plaster
Georgian houses around Barnsbury, Canonbury and Clerkenwell have almost always been re-plumbed more than once - expect a mix of original lead supply pipework, early copper and later additions, all running through soft lime plaster and historic timber.
Georgian plumbingVictorian
1837–1901Cast iron at the end of its life
The backbone of Islington's streets. Victorian terraces typically still carry cast-iron drainage and lead supply pipework that is now 120+ years old - often at or beyond the end of its working life, alongside original cast-iron baths and ceramic basins worth keeping.
Victorian plumbingEdwardian
1901–1910The lead-to-copper transition
A transitional era. Edwardian houses commonly carry predominantly lead supply pipework with copper appearing as the newer option - you often find both in the same house, sometimes alongside ageing galvanised steel cold pipework.
Edwardian plumbingInter-war
1918–1939Copper, now ageing
By the 1930s copper had become the standard for supply pipework. Inter-war homes are generally simpler to work on than the Victorian stock - but copper of this age has its own ageing concerns, and lead can still survive on the incoming main.
Inter-war plumbingPost-war
1945–1980Modern copper, simpler work
Post-war homes use modern copper throughout, with early plastics appearing toward the end of the period. Work is more predictable - though anything pre-1970 may still carry lead on the original incoming main.
Post-war plumbingModern
1980+Standard contemporary materials
Modern homes use copper, plastic push-fit, PEX and MDPE supply pipe - routine, contemporary work with no heritage constraints.
Modern plumbingListed buildings
Consent, conservation, care
How we approach plumbing work where listed-building consent and conservation officers come into play.
Period property?
Here's what your
plumbing actually needs.
Tell us the era and type of your home and the work you're considering. We'll show you what plumbers typically find in that building, whether listed-building consent is likely, and a realistic timeline - before anyone visits.
- › Built on 40 years of period-property work
- › No email needed to see your result
- › Islington · Clerkenwell · North London
Planning work on a period home?
Book a site visit for planned work, or call straight through for a 24-hour emergency. Forty years on Goswell Road - the same family, the same answer when you call.
Tell us about your property
Booking a site visit, chasing a quote or dealing with an emergency - reach us however suits. We cover Islington, Clerkenwell and across North London.