Voltify Contractors provides property maintenance in Silvertown as part of its documented E16 coverage: plumbing, electrical repairs, appliance installation, painting and decorating, and handyman work for homeowners, landlords, letting agents and tenants arranging their own small jobs.
When the power goes off, the water stops or a leak appears outside, the first question is whose problem it is. Some faults sit inside your home and are yours (or your landlord’s) to fix. Others are in the network that supplies the property, and those are for the network company to put right. Knowing the difference saves you paying for a call-out that was never needed, and saves time when one is.
Fault inside the home, or a supply problem?
| What you notice | Most likely cause | Who to contact first |
|---|---|---|
| The whole home is without power, and neighbours or street lights are off too | A power cut on the local network | Call 105, free, 24 hours a day |
| Some lights or sockets are off, or a switch on the consumer unit (fuse box) has tripped | A fault in your own electrical installation or an appliance | Electrical services |
| No water from any tap, and neighbours are affected too | A problem on the water network | The water company named on your water bill |
| Water leaking in the road or pavement | The water company’s mains or connection pipe | Report it to the water company |
| A drip under a sink, a toilet that keeps running, a leak from a pipe or fitting indoors | Your internal plumbing | Plumbing repairs |
| One appliance won’t work while everything else does | The appliance itself, or its connection | Appliance installation (or electrical services if its circuit keeps tripping) |
| A smell of gas, or signs of carbon monoxide | A possible gas leak or CO emergency | The National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 |
When the power goes off
If only part of the home has lost power, look at the consumer unit. A tripped switch points to a fault within the property, often a single appliance or circuit. Unplugging appliances on that circuit and resetting the switch once may identify the cause; if it trips again straight away, leave it off and have the circuit checked rather than resetting it repeatedly.
If everything is off and the neighbours are affected too, it is almost certainly a power cut. Calling 105 puts you through to your local electricity network operator; in London that is UK Power Networks. The service is free from mobiles and landlines and lines are open 24 hours a day.
Leaks: where your responsibility starts
Water companies look after the water mains and the short connection pipe that links a property to them. The supply pipe that runs from the boundary of your property into your home is usually the owner’s responsibility, as are all internal pipes, taps, toilets, showers, tanks and appliances. Where a supply pipe is shared, the owners served by it are normally jointly responsible for the shared section. Thames Water’s guidance on pipe responsibility sets out this split; check your own water company’s guidance if it is a different supplier.
If you rent your home, repairs to the supply pipe and plumbing are your landlord’s responsibility, so report the leak to them or the letting agent. In a block of flats, contact the building’s management if the leak may be coming from communal pipework or another flat.
Gas is a separate emergency
If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, which is free and open 24 hours a day. Gas work is not among the services Voltify Contractors lists; the emergency service and a Gas Safe registered engineer are the right route.
Putting things right afterwards
Once a leak is fixed and the area has dried out properly, water-stained ceilings and walls can be redecorated through painting and decorating. Damaged plaster, swollen skirting, loose boxing and other small repairs left behind can be handled under handyman and property maintenance, ideally in the same visit.
Hours, urgent jobs and cost
Standard working hours are 7am–5pm, Monday to Friday. If a fault inside your property cannot wait, such as water escaping that you cannot stop or electrics that feel unsafe, out-of-hours emergency call-outs are available at different pricing. The documented standard minimum call-out is £80 for the first hour, and the final price depends on the work, materials and time involved. To discuss a job, call 020 3411 1855 or email info@voltifycontractors.co.uk.
Silvertown is one of several E16 areas Voltify Contractors covers. Flat owners can see property maintenance around the Royal Docks for work that needs the managing agent’s approval, Custom House for what to have ready before a visit, and North Woolwich for jobs worth doing before winter. The full list is on the areas we cover page, and every service category is on our services page.
