What tends to wear out in 1970s to 2000s houses?
The fittings, more than the structure. Broughton Astley, in Harborough District, grew quickly from the 1970s onwards, so many of its homes are now 20 to 50 years old. That's the age when taps, toilets and showers that worked fine for decades start to give trouble, sometimes all at once.
Most of these are small repairs priced from a photo. If a leak has been running for a while, we stop, show you what we find, and price any extra work separately.
- Dripping taps
- Worn washers or mixer cartridges.
- Toilets that keep running
- A worn fill or flush valve wastes water quietly.
- Push-button flushes
- A common source of slow leaks into the pan.
- Failed shower sealant
- Lets water get behind tiles and into floors.
- Leaking sink wastes
- Often found only when the cupboard base swells.
I've just moved to Broughton Astley. Should I get the electrics checked?
It's a sensible step, especially in a house built before the 1990s. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a full inspection and test of the wiring, fuse board and circuits. It tells you what's safe, what needs attention and how urgent it is. Owner-occupiers aren't legally required to have one, but guidance commonly suggests a check about every ten years and when a house changes hands.
In homes of this age, typical findings are a fuse board without full RCD protection, missing or undersized earthing to the water or gas pipes, and DIY additions from earlier owners. You get the report in writing and, if anything needs fixing, a separate fixed price. You decide what happens next. If your buyer's survey flagged the electrics for checking, send that page with your request.
Can a conservatory be kept warm without touching the boiler?
Often, yes, with electric heating. Plenty of homes from this period have had a conservatory or small extension added, and running a new radiator off the central heating isn't always practical. Wall-mounted electric radiators or panel heaters with their own thermostats and timers are a straightforward alternative. Panel heaters are usually the cheapest to fit; radiators with a heat-retaining core cost more but tend to give steadier warmth.
We check whether the room has a suitable circuit or needs a new one, and size the heaters to the space. We don't work on boilers or anything gas; that needs a Gas Safe registered engineer. If the room also overheats in summer, a split air conditioning unit can cool and heat.
Is Broughton Astley too far out for small jobs?
No. At about 9 miles it's well within our area, and small jobs are welcome. Travel is included in your fixed price; distance is one of the things that shapes it, along with the job itself. That's why several jobs on one request make the most of a visit: a running toilet, a new outside light and a door that won't close can share one price. Bigger jobs, such as a consumer unit change or a new circuit to a garden room, start with photos or a survey visit.
When something is urgent, such as a leak you can't stop or power that keeps tripping, we come out the same day when the diary allows. Many of our Google reviews mention Norman arriving within the hour, but we'll always tell you honestly when we can get there rather than promise.