Gas Engineer in
Houghton le Spring
What our customers say
Reviews from homeowners across the North East.
Prices, paperwork and who turns up
You deal with Alex Robson, who started AR Heating & Gas in 2010 and still runs it from Houghton le Spring. The business is on the Gas Safe Register under number 634641. Type that number into gassaferegister.co.uk and you can see exactly which kinds of gas work we are qualified for. Whoever comes to your door will carry the photo card, and you are welcome to ask for it.
On cost: a boiler breakdown starts with a fixed price diagnosis from £96. No call out charge is added on top, and if a part is needed you hear the repair price before anything is ordered. A boiler service is from £80 + VAT. For a gas fire service, a cooker connection or a landlord safety check, we tell you the cost when you book, so there are no surprises on the day.
Being a few minutes away has another upside. If a part has to be ordered, coming back to fit it is a short hop across town.
What local gas work looks like in Houghton le Spring
A good share of gas jobs are small. A fire that clicks but will not catch. A hob to swap when the kitchen gets redone. A safety certificate that runs out on Friday. Firms driving in from miles away often push that sort of work to the back of the queue. We are based here, so a small job does not have to wait for a big one to make the trip worthwhile.
Fires in the old pit terraces
Houghton, Newbottle, Philadelphia and Chilton Moor grew up around the collieries, and the terraced rows from that era were built with chimneys. Plenty still have a gas fire in the living room that gets used every night from October to March. It should have a yearly check, just like a boiler, yet it often goes years without one. What matters most is the chimney or flue, the safety device that shuts the fire down if oxygen in the room drops, and how cleanly the gas is burning. In an old brick chimney, the flue is where trouble usually hides.
Estates from the 1960s and 1970s
The estates built around the town in the sixties and seventies often had gas fires and gas pipe runs installed when they were new. Some of that original pipework is now more than fifty years old and has been altered by several owners since. When we come out for a cooker or a fire, we look at the installation back to the meter, not only the appliance in front of us.
Newer private estates
On the newer estates the gas side is usually just a combi boiler and a hob. The questions there are more about moving a hob onto an island, running a supply for a range cooker, or getting a check done before selling or letting the house.
Leaks and the emergency number
If you can smell gas, ring the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 before anyone else. They isolate the supply and make it safe, but they do not repair your pipes or appliances. That part is ours. Being based a few minutes away helps when a family has been left without gas, and when you ring we will give you an honest idea of when we can get there.
Checking the supply before a new appliance
Older homes sometimes have a gas pipe sized for a cooker and a fire, not for a modern boiler running flat out alongside them. A pressure reading taken with everything switched on tells us whether the pipe can keep up. Far better to know that before a new appliance goes in than halfway through fitting it.
Everything with a gas supply, not just the boiler
By law, any gas appliance in your home must be worked on by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
DH4, DH5 and the villages around Houghton
This is home ground, so travel is counted in minutes rather than miles. We cover:
- DH4: Houghton le Spring itself, Newbottle, Shiney Row, Penshaw, Fence Houses, Philadelphia, Herrington, Burnside, Bournmoor, West Rainton and Chilton Moor
- DH5: Hetton le Hole, about 3 miles away, along with Easington Lane, Moorsley, Low Moorsley, Eppleton, Hazard and East Rainton
Right on the edge of those areas? Ring 0191 540 2051 and check.
Houghton le Spring gas questions
Answered from our base in the town.
Where exactly are you based? +
My house in Newbottle has an old gas fire. Is it still safe to use? +
Do you cover Hetton le Hole and Easington Lane too? +
I smell gas. Should I call you? +
Can you move my gas hob or fit a range cooker? +
I let a house in Shiney Row. What does the landlord gas check cover? +
How do I know you are genuinely Gas Safe? +
Heating advice and guides
Have a boiler or heating question? We are here to help.
Buying a New Boiler
Boiler Servicing
Other help from our Houghton le Spring base
Need a different service in town, or live a little further out? These pages go into more detail. Every town we reach is on the areas we cover page, and landlords with a few properties can see our landlord service.
Gas engineer in nearby towns
Our other services in Houghton le Spring
Code showing on the boiler? Put it into the error code checker, or read up on the three we get called out to most: Vaillant F28, Baxi E133 and Worcester Bosch EA. Locked out twice on the same code? Book a fixed price repair.
Unsure whether we reach you? Call 0191 540 2051.