Boiler service in Lewisham

For a boiler service in Lewisham, book a Gas Safe registered engineer once a year, ideally before October. Brockley's big Victorian houses are mostly split into flats with combis, Catford has interwar family houses, and new blocks near Lewisham station have compact combis. Watch outside condensate pipes in cold snaps, as a frozen pipe stops many boilers.

PostcodesSE13, SE4, SE6, SE23

PriceConfirmed when you book

Book in Lewisham

Your boiler.
Your booking.

Tell us the boiler and the street in Lewisham. You get a reply to arrange a day.

Homes in Lewisham

The borough covers Brockley and Ladywell, with the large Victorian houses of the Brockley conservation area, many split into flats. Catford and Hither Green have rows of late Victorian and interwar terraces. Around Lewisham town centre, newer blocks have gone up near the station. Forest Hill and Honor Oak in SE23 add more Victorian and Edwardian houses on the hills. The area is in Lewisham Council and supplied by Thames Water.

Frozen condensate pipes on cold mornings

Modern condensing boilers make acidic water as they work and drain it through a plastic condensate pipe. On many Lewisham terraces that pipe runs down an outside wall into a gully. In a cold snap it can freeze, the water backs up, and the boiler locks out with a fault code. It happens most on the coldest mornings, when you need heat most.

The usual safe fix is to pour warm, not boiling, water along the outside pipe, or hold a warm water bottle on it, then reset the boiler. Do not use boiling water, which can crack plastic. Our post on frozen condensate pipes explains the steps.

At a service, the engineer can look at the condensate route and suggest changes that reduce the risk, such as a wider pipe or lagging. Any rerouting is priced separately.

Brockley conversions and new town centre flats

Brockley's large houses usually hold two to four flats, each with a combi in a kitchen or hall cupboard. On hard Thames Water, the hot water side of these combis is where scale shows first. A combi boiler service includes a hot water flow check.

In newer blocks near Lewisham station, check whether the boiler flue runs through a ceiling void and whether inspection hatches have been fitted. Without them, the engineer cannot complete the flue check and must treat the boiler as at risk, as set out by the HSE.

Catford and Hither Green houses more often have system or regular boilers with cylinders, which need checks on pumps, valves and cylinder controls as well as the boiler.

Hard water and older radiators

Lewisham is on Thames Water, which says all the water in its region is hard. In Catford and Hither Green houses with cylinders, scale on the coil slows the hot water. In Brockley combis it shows in the shower. Both get checked at the service.

Older terraces with radiators added over the years can collect sludge. If downstairs radiators are cold at the bottom, mention it when you book so the engineer can clean the magnetic filter and check the water at the same visit. Topping up inhibitor after any drain down, such as when a radiator is moved, slows rust from coming back.