Maintenance
Decide whether this fault needs a phone call.
These notes are for a fault you can see, and for the point at which you stop watching it. They do not inspect the house. If you smell gas, the emergency number comes before any list on this site.
Checked 28 October 2026.
Notes on this shelf
- Leaves sitting in the gutter now the wind has eased. The Met Office, on Monday, expected high pressure from Wednesday after the weekend storms. Leaves, a plant or a sag you can see from the pavement are a roofer. HSE says not to rest a ladder on a plastic gutter. In England, a tenant tells the landlord.
- A carbon monoxide alarm that chirps, or sounds, the week the clocks go back. The clocks went back at 2am on Sunday. A loud alarm in England, Scotland and Wales is 0800 111 999. In Northern Ireland, a smell of gas is 0800 002 001. A regular chirp, with no symptoms, is a battery or a new alarm. In England, a tenant tells the landlord if a new battery does not fix it.
- A tree or a large branch that has come down in the wind. Storm Boelo's yellow was extended this morning across northern England, including Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. A limb on the roof, or a tree down in the garden, waits until the wind eases. A cable is 105. A public road is the council.
- A window that has cracked in the wind. Storm Austen crossed the south on Friday. A crack or a missing pane is a glazier, once the wind has eased. A misted unit can wait.
- No heating and no hot water the first time you switch the boiler on. British Gas, on 16 October, expected a late-October rush of homes with no heat and no hot water. Smell of gas is the emergency line. In England, a private tenant tells the landlord. An owner phones a Gas Safe engineer.
- A fence that is already loose before the wind. Storm Austen was named on Tuesday and reaches southern England and south Wales late on Thursday. A leaning panel is a carpenter. A fallen fence is usually your repair.
- The lights go out in the wind. A yellow wind warning covers parts of southern England and Wales on Friday. A dark street is 105. A switch that will not stay on is an electrician.
- Water sitting against the house after the rain. Flood Action Week has just ended, and rain is spreading again. A gutter spilling onto the wall is a roofer. Water off the road is a different call.
- Black mould on a cold wall when the heating stays low. Often condensation as the nights turn chilly. A social landlord in England already has a clock. An owner phones for a survey when the patch keeps returning.
- A radiator that stays cold when the heating comes on. A cold top can be air. A cold bottom, or a radiator cold all over, is the point to phone.
- A tile that looks out of place after the wind. Stay inside while it is still blowing. Then the insurer, if you may claim, and a roofer for the covering.
- A boiler that keeps losing pressure. Smell of gas first. Then the difference between one top-up and a gauge that falls again.
- A damp patch that appears after rain. A stain that tracks the weather is often a leak. A chemical damp course is the wrong first spend for that pattern.
What a note will not do
There is no form that diagnoses a boiler, a wall or a roof. You choose the trade, open the list, and phone, email, or use the website on the record. Local Trades UK does not pass the job on and does not promise a reply.
The open lists cover London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Bristol. A Polish or Romanian entrance uses those same lists. The Malta directory is separate, with prices in euro. These notes are about homes in England.
A price band, with its source and date, is on the cost shelf. Whether a grant is still open is on the grants shelf.