Heating engineer in Westward Ho!
Salt air and holiday lets shape the heating work in Westward Ho! I'm George Lane, a Gas Safe engineer based in North Devon, and I service and repair boilers from the seafront inland.
- £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 to Westward Ho! included
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.
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 reviewsExcellent service, all problems have been fixed, full service carried out,in fact more was done than British gas have done over several years. I would recommend Thames boilers without any hesitation. Well done and thank you.
Brian P.Google review, May 2026Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent George was very pleasant and worked hard to give my boiler a thorough service. A sudden leaking pipe meant that the job took much longer than expected but this was no problem at all for him. George done an excellent job and I will definitely be using his services again.
Frances M.Google review, May 2026Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent Hi everyone, I had an amazing experience with Thames Boiler Service. George was the one who did all the work. The service was precise, punctual, and the problem was sorted in just a couple of days. I strongly recommend them if you want a reliable boiler service for your property. Thank you, guys! Agnes
Agnieszka W.Google review, April 2026Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent I have been a customer of Thames Boilers for several years. They provide a top quality service, high levels of expertise and excellent customer service.
Teresa H.Google review, January 2026Customer of Thames Boilers, Kent I'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 In the past ive had a few unreliable plumbers. George did some plumbing work for me in the kitchen recently. Very happy with the repair - always polite, punctual, and tidy. George also services my boiler annually. Will continue to use his services. Have recommended him to friends and family.
Joan R.Google review, June 2025Customer 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.
Prices in Westward Ho!, including VAT
Every price includes VAT and travel. Repair parts are priced before they're fitted.
Boiler repairs
£220fixed labour, including VATAll the labour to get your boiler 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.
Book online (opens in a new tab)Boiler service
£105including VATStandard service. The full service is £185 including VAT.
Book online (opens in a new tab)Landlord gas safety check
£105including VATOne appliance, with the certificate by email. Each extra appliance £30, or £80 for a gas fire.
Book online (opens in a new tab)Unvented cylinder service
£105including VAT£52 when booked with a boiler service on the same visit.
Book online (opens in a new tab)Central heating repairs
£220fixed labour, including VATThe same fixed price as a boiler repair, however long it takes. Parts are priced before they're fitted. Decide not to go ahead, and you only pay £105 for the visit.
Book online (opens in a new tab)Smart thermostats
Priced before I startHive, Tado and Nest, fitted and set up on your phone. You agree the price before I start.
Book online (opens in a new tab)
Travel to Westward Ho! is included in every price.
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.
A seafront village, and what salt air does to a boiler
In Westward Ho! I look after mains-gas boilers and landlord gas safety checks for people who live here and owners who let. I'm George Lane, the engineer at Tarka Boilers, Gas Safe number 515374. Travel to Westward Ho! is included.
Westward Ho! is the only place name in England with an exclamation mark, taken from Charles Kingsley's 1855 novel and given to a resort built to cash in on the book. That history still shapes it: a Victorian core, seafront apartment blocks behind the pebble ridge, and a high share of holiday lets and second homes.
Services available in Westward Ho!
Seafront flat or family house, if it's on mains gas, these are all available.
- Boiler repairsFaults found properly rather than guessed at. £220 including VAT for all the labour to get your boiler 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.
- Boiler servicingA standard annual gas boiler service is £105 including VAT. The Full gas boiler service at £185 adds a new burner gasket plus a full heat exchanger and burner clean.
- Landlord gas safety checks£105 including VAT for one appliance, with the certificate emailed to you and a reminder when the next one is due.
- Central heating repairsCold radiators, noisy pipework, pressure that won't hold and systems that never balance properly. The same fixed price as a boiler repair: £220 including VAT for the labour, with parts priced before they're fitted.
- Unvented cylinder service and repairG3 qualified. £105 including VAT on its own, or £52 added to a boiler service on the same visit. Cylinder repairs are the same £220 fixed labour price as a boiler repair.
- Smart thermostat installationHive, Nest and Tado fitted, wired correctly and set up on your phone before I leave. Priced per job, and agreed before I start.
Why do seafront flues fail first?
Properties facing the Atlantic take a steady load of salt. The boiler itself is indoors and mostly fine, but the flue terminal on the outside wall corrodes, external condensate pipework perishes sooner than it would inland, and a boiler in a garage or outbuilding picks up rust at its fixings.
So on a seafront service here, I look at the terminal from outside, not only at the appliance, because that's where the trouble usually starts.
The other local pattern is the empty winter. A boiler that sits unused from October is fired up at Easter and asked to run hard for six months. A service in February or March, before the season, catches most of what develops while a system stands idle.
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.
Areas around Westward Ho! I also cover
Travel to Westward Ho! is included in every price.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the web address leave out the exclamation mark?
Web addresses can't carry that kind of punctuation, so the page lives at /westward-ho/. The village keeps its exclamation mark everywhere else, including on your certificate and invoice.
Is sea air a problem for my boiler?
For the boiler itself, rarely, because it's indoors. For the flue terminal, the pipework outside and anything in a garage, yes, and I check those on every service here.
Do you cover Northam and Bideford as well?
Yes. Northam and Bideford each have their own page, and travel to both is included.
Can you look at the boiler in a seafront apartment?
Yes, the boiler in your own flat. Shared boilers and communal plant rooms are usually handled by the block's managing agent, so check with them first.
Need a heating engineer in Westward Ho!?
If guests pay to stay, even for a few weeks a year, the property needs a landlord gas safety check every 12 months, the same as a long let. That surprises a lot of owners. The certificate is the easy part; access is the hard part. Tell me your changeover days and I'll work around them, or book it in the closed season with the boiler service on the same visit. If a managing agent looks after the property, I'm happy to deal with them and email the landlord gas safety certificate to both of you.
Prefer to write? Send an enquiry.