Breakdown
Boiler and central heating faults in Uithoorn
No hot water, radiators cold, or a boiler showing a fault code.
Reachable
From 07:00 to 22:00, every day
Driving time
usually 45 to 90 minutes
Call-out charge
€ 25 surcharge before 08:00, after 18:00 and on Sundays
In short
How we go about it
Almost every Dutch combi boiler shows a code when it shuts down. That code is the fastest piece of information available: it says whether the problem is water pressure, ignition, the flue or the pump. Read it out on the phone and the right parts come along.
A large share of faults is pressure related. Below 1 bar the boiler shuts itself off. Topping up helps, but a boiler that needs topping up every month is losing water somewhere, and then topping up only moves the problem.
We work on gas fired central heating boilers and on the pipework and radiators around them. If the appliance is past repair we say so, with the reason. We would rather sell an honest assessment than a repair on a twenty year old machine.
Explained
What to do until we arrive
Write down the fault code on the display. Check the water pressure; 1.5 to 2 bar is normal on a cold system. Reset the boiler once and no more than once: a boiler that shuts down three times on the same code has a real fault, and repeated resetting can make it worse.
What we work on
Gas fired central heating boilers, radiators, underfloor heating manifolds, expansion vessels, pumps and the pipework between them. We carry the usual spares: pressure relief valves, automatic air vents and an expansion vessel.
When replacing is cheaper
On an appliance over fifteen years old with a failed heat exchanger, repair is rarely sensible. You get the repair cost and the replacement cost side by side and decide yourself, without us pressing for a signature that evening.
Is there water on the floor?
Call first and read the rest afterwards. Within a minute you know when somebody can be there and what the call-out costs.
Rates
What it costs
The same amounts as everywhere else on this site. There is no separate emergency rate that only gets mentioned at your door.
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Call-out charge | € 45 |
| Hourly rate | € 65 to € 85 |
| Out-of-hours surcharge | € 25 |
| After the first hour | per 15 min |
| Parts | separate |
The call-out charge applies once per visit. The lower hourly rate covers taps and sanitary ware, the higher one high pressure drain clearing and boiler work. The surcharge applies before 08:00, after 18:00 and on Sundays and is a fixed amount, not a percentage. After the first hour time is counted per quarter of an hour, and parts are listed separately.
If it takes longer than estimated. At the door you hear what appears to be needed and roughly what that costs. If it turns out to be more work, you hear that the moment it becomes clear and not afterwards on the invoice. Above € 400 nothing goes ahead without your agreement.
Background
What it usually comes down to in Uithoorn
The four most common calls are: no hot water while the heating still works, radiators cold at the top, a boiler that fires briefly and shuts down again, and an appliance leaking water underneath. Each has a different cause and a different repair time.
No hot water with working heating usually points at the heat exchanger or the diverter valve rather than at the boiler as a whole. Cold radiator tops are air, cured by bleeding and then restoring pressure. A leaking boiler is more often an expansion vessel or a pressure relief valve than a cracked exchanger.
One safety note that is specific to the Netherlands: if you smell gas, go outside and call the national gas emergency number 0800 9009 first. That comes before any call to us.
Seen enough?
The amounts above are the amounts that end up on the invoice. Calling is fastest; a photo on WhatsApp often saves a trip.
Questions
Questions about boiler and central heating faults
Question not here? Calling is faster than searching; you hear straight away what is possible and what it costs.
My boiler shows a code. Should I read it out when I call?
Please do. The code plus the make and model decides which parts we bring. That often saves a second trip and therefore a second call-out charge.
The radiators stay cold at the top. Is that a breakdown?
Usually not. Air in the system collects at the highest point and does not clear itself. Bleeding the radiators and then bringing the pressure back to 1.5 bar fixes it. If the air is back within a few weeks, the system is drawing air in somewhere and something really is broken.
Do you also do servicing, or only breakdowns?
This site is for breakdowns. Servicing is possible, but planned and not in the same phone call: a breakdown visit costs more than a service, and mixing the two is not fair to you.
Do you work on heat pumps?
On the water side yes: leaks, pressure loss, manifolds and radiators. Not on the refrigerant circuit, which requires a separate certification in the Netherlands that we do not hold. We would rather say that beforehand than on your doorstep.
Service area
Where we come for this
Other problems we fix
Rather not call?
Leave your number and you get a call back. That is fine for work that can wait; with water on the floor, calling is faster.
Request
No emergency? Leave your number
For work that can wait. With water on the floor or no heating at all, calling is faster, because this form is not read continuously.
Is it urgent?
Then call. The phone is answered from 07:00 to 22:00, every day, and you hear straight away when somebody can be there.