Leaks and drips
Weeping joints, failed washers, a tap that will not quite close, and the slow ceiling stain nobody can trace. We find the source before we replace anything.
Independent plumbing workshop
Quiet pipes, warm water, no guesswork
We are a small crew of time-served plumbers. You describe the problem in your own words, we come and look at it properly, and you get a fixed price before a single fitting is touched.
What we fix
Six kinds of job, and the honesty to say when it is not one of them
Most of what goes wrong in a house falls into a short list. If your job sits outside it, we will tell you plainly and point you at the right trade rather than learn on your plumbing.
Bathrooms and kitchens
Full rooms or single swaps: basins, baths, showers, sinks and mixer taps, with the pipework set out so the next person to open the panel can read it.
Hot water and heating
Cylinders, immersion heaters, radiators that stay cold at the bottom, and thermostats that argue with the rest of the house. Balanced and tested before we leave.
Blocked drains and wastes
Slow showers, gurgling kitchen wastes and outside gullies. Cleared, then checked for the cause so you are not calling us about the same drain next season.
Pipework and re-plumbs
Copper and plastic runs, stop-tap replacement, outside taps, washing-machine feeds, and tired lead or iron sections brought up to current practice.
Urgent call-outs
Burst pipe, no water, no heat. Send the form with urgent in the job type and we answer enquiries in order of how much water is currently on your floor.
The workshop
We started because of a bathroom that was finished badly twice
Hollow Grain grew out of a bench in a rented unit, a box of salvaged brass, and a stubborn belief that plumbing should be legible. Pipes labelled. Isolators where a person can reach them. Joints you can inspect without demolishing tiling.
We are deliberately small. That means we are not always available tomorrow, and it also means the plumber who quotes your job is the one who turns up to do it.
- Dust sheets and shoe covers as standard, every visit, every room.
- Old parts left with you if you want to see what failed and why.
- Written notes on anything we spotted but did not touch.
How it runs
Three steps, and the price is settled before step three
No hourly meter running while we think. No parts appearing on an invoice you never saw coming.
Tell us what it is doing
Use the form below and describe it however makes sense to you — “the shower groans” is a perfectly good diagnosis to start from. Photographs help.
We confirm a window
You get a reply with a date and a two-hour arrival window, not a vague morning. If we are too busy to do it well, we say so instead of stringing you along.
Fixed price, then work
We look at the job on site, write the price down, and wait for your yes. If the job turns out to be smaller than expected, the price comes down.
Where we go
Close enough to come back if something is not right
We keep our patch small on purpose. A tight radius means we can return the same week if a fitting needs a second look, which is the whole point of using a local workshop.
- Districts Marrow Hill, Fenwick Green, Ashcote, Lowbridge and the Quarry Lanes.
- Property types Terraces, flats, period conversions and small commercial units.
- Also fine Landlords, letting agents and managed buildings with an access contact.
- Just outside? Ask anyway. If we cannot reach you, we will say who can.
Questions
The four things people ask before sending the form
How does pricing actually work?
Every job is quoted individually after we have seen it, because a dripping tap can be a forty-pence washer or a seized spindle in a wall. There is no charge for looking at a job within our districts, and nothing is ordered or cut until you have agreed the written figure.
Do you supply the parts, or should I?
Either. We carry standard fittings, valves and seals on the van. If you have already bought a specific tap or shower you love, bring it out and we will fit it — we will just tell you honestly if it is going to fight your water pressure.
What do you need from me on the day?
Clear access to the fitting and, where possible, to the stop tap. Please move anything breakable or precious out of the room beforehand. If the work involves hot water or heating, we may need the system off for a while, so a kettle filled in advance is a sensible move.
I rent — can I book you myself?
You can send the enquiry, and we are happy to talk you through what is likely wrong. For anything structural or billable, we need the owner or managing agent to confirm the instruction in writing before we start, so add their details to the message if you have them.
Request a visit
Describe the job
Fill this in however you like. Rough descriptions are fine — we would rather read “something is wrong under the bath” than have you guess at terminology.
- We read enquiries each weekday morning and reply by email.
- You get a date and a two-hour arrival window to confirm.
- We look, price it in writing, and only then pick up a tool.