Coate Gas and Heating Engineer, Coate Water to the Outer Edges

Yes. The older homes near Coate Water, the Victorian reservoir and sailing lake, can have regular boilers, cylinders and heating that has been altered over the years. Tell me the age of the house and where the boiler sits when you get in touch.

Newer housing on Coate's outer edges usually has a combi or system boiler with modern controls. These suit a yearly service, and repairs tend to be straightforward. Include the boiler make and model and roughly when it was fitted when you contact me.

Coate is about 7 miles from my Highworth base. It sits just south-east of the town centre, close to Old Town Swindon and Chiseldon, both of which I also cover.

Yes. SN3 also includes parts of Old Town Swindon and Stratton St Margaret, and I cover all of them. Your full postcode tells me exactly where you are, so include it when you get in touch.

Living near the water does not usually cause condensation, which comes mostly from cooking, washing and drying clothes indoors. Damp that appears near pipework or below a bathroom is different and may be a leak, so it is worth asking me to look at it as a plumbing job.

Either works, as long as it happens yearly. Autumn is popular because it checks the boiler before winter, while booking earlier in the year means any fault is found well before you depend on the heating. Pick the time that suits your household.

It can be. High pressure often follows overfilling, a filling loop left slightly open or a failing expansion vessel. You may also see water dripping from a small pipe outside. Note the reading and get in touch, as the cause needs finding.

Turn off the stopcock straight away, switch off electrics near the water if it is safe, and open cold taps to drain the system. Catch what you can with towels and buckets, then call the number on this site about a pipework repair.

Usually, yes. A condensing boiler needs a suitable route for its condensate pipe and a safe flue position, and the radiators should be able to work at lower temperatures. These points matter when planning an installation in an older property.

Let me know the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, how many radiators there are, the type of boiler you have now and whether there is a hot water cylinder. Photos of the boiler, its pipework and the space around it help me plan.