Central heating repairs in North Devon
I'm George Lane, a Gas Safe engineer. I find and fix cold radiators, noisy pipes, failed pumps and pressure that won't hold across North Devon, and I do every job myself.
- £220 including VAT for all the labour to get it working again, however long it takes
- Parts priced before they're fitted. Decide not to go ahead, and you only pay £105
- Travel included across North Devon
Prefer to write? Send an enquiry.
George Lane, Gas Safe No. 515374. Fully insured, 25+ years on boilers. I do every job myself, from the first visit to the finished work.
If you smell gas, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency number, 0800 111 999, before anything else. Once the supply has been made safe, I can come and deal with the appliance.
What my customers say
5.0 from 103 Google reviews for Thames Boilers, my previous business in Kent
Tarka Boilers is new to North Devon, so it has no reviews of its own yet. Every review here is from a customer of Thames Boilers, the heating business I ran in Kent before I moved here.
Read all 124 reviewsI've been using the services of George at Thames Boilers to service my Boiler and Central Heating for many years now. Always reliable, friendly and efficient.
Paul C.Google review, October 2025Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent Always a pleasure doing business with Thames Boilers. Very friendly and alway provides the best and fastest service. Great job at replacing and upgrading our heaters and performing our boiler services.
Spyridon M.Google review, September 2024Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent We had a problem with our boiler and our heating system not working right as some radiators where cold and some hot and bleeding the radiators didn't do anything. George was very helpful, fruendly, proffesional, explained how things work and left only after all was working well.
Zlata A.Google review, November 2017Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent Really impressed with the work carried out by Thames Boilers, George replaced the pump and carried out a service, along with collecting keys from a different location as I could not be at the property for him to gain access. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an honest, professional and efficient company
Chris H.Google review, January 2020Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent George did a great job servicing our 30 year old boiler and replacing a faulty 3-port valve. Turned up at agreed time and was very polite and kept me informed of what he was doing. Would recommend.
Checkatrade reviewerCheckatrade review, July 2018Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent
- Gas Safe No. 515374Check it on the Gas Safe Register
- 25+ yearson boilers and heating
- G3 qualifiedfor unvented hot-water cylinders
- Fully insuredGeorge Lane trading as Tarka Boilers
I work on Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi, Ideal, Glow-worm, Potterton and Viessmann. Mains-gas boilers only: I don't work on oil or LPG, and I don't fit new boilers.
How are central heating repairs priced?
Every price includes VAT and travel.
Fixed-price heating repair
£220fixed labour, including VATAll the labour to get your heating working again, however long it takes, including travel and any return visit to fit a part
Parts
Priced before fittingA fixed price once I've found the fault, and nothing's fitted until you've approved it
If you decide not to go ahead, you only pay
£105including VATThe visit, travel and finding the fault. The same applies if it can't sensibly be repaired
Fixed-price heating repair: £220 including VAT for all the labour to get your heating working again, however long it takes. Parts are priced before they're fitted. Decide not to go ahead, and you only pay £105 for the visit.
It's the same price for a stuck radiator valve as for a pump that has to be ordered and fitted on a second visit. Replacing radiators, power flushing and fitting a magnetic filter are priced separately, and agreed before I start. Travel is included in every price. There is no travel charge anywhere I cover.
Every price includes VAT. Repairs are £220 for all the labour, however long it takes, and parts are priced before they're fitted. Decide not to go ahead, and you only pay £105 for the visit. If you're in North Devon, travel is included.
I'm George Lane, a Gas Safe registered engineer (No. 515374), and I repair central heating systems across Barnstaple and North Devon: cold radiators, pumps, valves, leaks and pressure that won't hold. Repairs are a fixed price: £220 including VAT for all the labour to get your heating working again, however long it takes. Parts are priced before they're fitted, and if you decide not to go ahead, you only pay £105 for the visit.
If the boiler lights happily and the house still isn't warm, the boiler probably isn't the problem. The fault is out in the system: sludge blocking the flow, a pump on its way out, a valve that won't open, or pipework that has been silting up for years. That's why resetting the boiler never fixes it.
I've worked on heating systems for more than 25 years, and I do every job myself, from the first visit to the finished work.
What are the common central heating problems I fix?
Cold radiators, some or all. The complaint I hear most. Sludge blocking the flow, a pump that can't circulate properly, or an air lock. The fix might be a bleed and balance, a new pump, a power flush, or a mix of those.
One cold radiator when the rest are hot. Usually a stuck thermostatic radiator valve or a blockage in that one radiator. Cold at the top and warm at the bottom means it needs bleeding.
No heat upstairs. Often the pump, the flow rate or a zone valve that isn't opening fully. Sludge collecting in the upper part of the system does it too.
Banging, gurgling or kettling. Banging points to air in the system or a pump running too fast. Gurgling means trapped air or low pressure. Kettling, a rumble from the boiler, is usually limescale on the heat exchanger.
Pressure keeps dropping. A small leak, a failing expansion vessel or a pressure relief valve letting go. It's worth finding early, because low pressure wears the boiler.
Heating never gets properly hot. The pump, sludge slowing the flow, or a thermostatic valve set too low. Sometimes it's a system that has never been balanced.
A leak on the heating. In the pipework, a fitting or a radiator connection, visible or hidden. I find it and fix it before it damages anything.
What central heating work do I cover?
Radiator replacement, thermostatic and lockshield valve replacement, circulating pump replacement, zone valves, power flushing, magnetic filter fitting, and bleeding and balancing the system.
Old and awkward is normal work here, not a reason to be turned away. Back boilers, open-vented systems, system and regular boilers, microbore pipework, boilers sited where somebody put them forty years ago and nobody has fancied since. The one honest catch is parts: if a component isn't made any more, I'll tell you that before you spend anything.
Repairing a pump, a valve, a zone valve or a leak on pipework I can get to comes under the fixed repair price. Replacing a radiator, a power flush and fitting a magnetic filter don't: they depend on the parts and the property, so they're priced and agreed before I start.
How the job goes, and why
I cover up where I'm working, clear up after myself, and run the boiler through a full cycle before I go. You get the house back as you left it, minus the fault.
Parts I fit are guaranteed for 12 months, including the labour to put them right, whatever the age of your boiler. The guarantee covers the parts I fit and my work, not the rest of the boiler or system. If sludge caused the fault, I'll still repair it, but that repair isn't guaranteed unless the system has been flushed and a magnetic filter fitted. I'll tell you that before I start, not after.
Every visit starts with finding out what's actually wrong, not with a sales pitch for a new boiler. I show you what I've found and what it means, and you get a fixed price for any parts before anything's fitted. I don't sell or fit boilers, so I've no reason to tell you to replace something that can be fixed.
How booking works
You book
Book online and your time is confirmed straight away. I work Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and I'm not an emergency service. If it isn't a job for me, I'll say so and point you to someone who can help, rather than going quiet on you.
You'll know when I'm coming
You choose a start time when you book, not a morning or an afternoon. It is an estimate, because the job before yours can finish early or run on. When I set off to you, you get a text with a link that shows where I am, so you can see when I'll be at the door.
Is it the heating system or the boiler?
If the boiler fires but the rooms stay cold, it's usually the heating system. If the boiler won't fire or shows a fault code, it's usually the boiler. The symptoms overlap, so use this as a rough guide:
Likely a central heating system fault if:
- The boiler fires up normally (you can hear it light) but the rooms don't warm up
- Only some radiators are affected, not all of them
- The boiler shows no error code
- The pressure is fine but the radiators are cold
Likely a boiler fault if:
- The boiler won't fire at all
- There's an error code on the display
- Hot water works but the heating doesn't, or the other way round
- The boiler fires but cuts out before the house is warm
If you're not sure, book the visit and describe what you're seeing. Either way it's the same £220 fixed labour price, and I'll find out which it is. For a fault in the boiler itself, see boiler repairs.
When does a heating system need a power flush?
When sludge has built up enough to stop the radiators heating properly or to wear out the pump. A power flush cleans out the sludge, rust and debris that build up inside a heating system. A power flush machine is connected to the system and pushes water and cleaning chemicals through at high flow, lifting the sludge and flushing it out.
Signs a power flush is worth doing:
- Radiators are cold in patches, or won't heat up while the boiler runs
- The water is dark or dirty when you bleed a radiator
- The pump keeps failing, which often points to sludge in the system
- The system is more than 10 years old and has never been flushed
A power flush is priced and agreed before I start, because the time depends on the number of radiators and how dirty the system is. A magnetic filter afterwards is well worth it: it catches magnetite, the black sludge, before it goes round again, and I can fit one on the same visit.
A power flush is not a DIY job. The machine runs at far higher flow than anything you can hire, the chemicals need proper handling, and the pipework needs checking before and after.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a central heating repair cost in North Devon?
£220 including VAT for all the labour to get your heating working again, however long it takes. That includes travel and any return visit to fit a part. Parts are extra, and you get a fixed price for them before anything's fitted. If you decide not to go ahead, or it can't sensibly be repaired, you only pay £105 for the visit.
Do you charge a call-out fee?
Not on top of the repair price. Coming out, travel and finding the fault are all part of the £220 fixed repair price, which includes VAT. If you decide not to go ahead once you know the parts price, or it can't sensibly be repaired, you only pay £105 for the visit.
What isn't included in the £220?
Parts, which I price once I've found the fault and only fit once you've approved them. A few bigger jobs are priced separately too: replacing a hot-water cylinder or a boiler's main heat exchanger, anything that means taking the boiler off the wall, flue repairs, replacing radiators, power flushing, fitting a magnetic filter, upgrading controls, and leaks hidden under floors or in walls. If your repair needs one of these, I'll explain why and give you a price, and it doesn't go ahead unless you agree. The £220 is for homes, not commercial systems, and covers the fault you book me for. If sludge caused the fault, I'll still fix it, but that repair isn't guaranteed unless the system has been flushed and a magnetic filter fitted. The full list is in clause 4.2B of my terms and conditions.
Why is one radiator cold when the rest are hot?
Usually a stuck thermostatic radiator valve, or a blockage in that radiator. If it's hot at the bottom and cold at the top, it has air in it and needs bleeding. If it's cold all over, the thermostatic valve or the lockshield valve is the likely cause, and both are straightforward to fix.
Why is my heating banging or gurgling?
Banging usually means air in the system or a pump running at the wrong speed. Gurgling means trapped air, and a bleed often cures it. A rumble from the boiler, called kettling, usually means limescale on the heat exchanger. I'll find out which it is when I come out.
How soon can you come?
Book online and your time is confirmed straight away. I work Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and I'm not an emergency service. If you smell gas, leave the property and call 0800 111 999 first.
Why are your reviews from Kent?
Because Tarka Boilers is new to North Devon. The reviews on this site are from customers of Thames Boilers, the heating business I ran in Kent before I moved here, and each one is labelled.
Do you work on oil or LPG heating?
No. I work on mains-gas systems only. For oil, look for an OFTEC-registered engineer. I don't work on LPG boilers. For LPG, you need a Gas Safe engineer whose registration covers LPG work.
Central heating repairs across North Devon
If you're in North Devon, travel is included in every price.
Other services
- Boiler repairsWhen the boiler itself won't fire or shows an error code
- Boiler servicingA yearly service keeps the boiler and system in good order
- Smart thermostatsSmart radiator valves work best on a clean, balanced system
Heating cold with the boiler running? Book George online.
Every price includes VAT. Repairs are £220 for all the labour, however long it takes, and parts are priced before they're fitted. Decide not to go ahead, and you only pay £105 for the visit. If you're in North Devon, travel is included.
Prefer to write? Send an enquiry.