The local team for the whole of Essex
TB Plumbing & Gas Ltd is an independent, family-run plumbing and heating company based in Billericay, right in the heart of south Essex. From here we cover the whole county — every job carried out by a fully insured, Gas Safe registered engineer (No. 954770), with a clear fixed quote agreed before any work starts.
Being genuinely Essex-based matters. When you call us on 01268 944322 you get a local number answered by the people who'll actually turn up — not a national call centre selling your job to whoever's available. Our reviews on Google and Checkatrade are from real customers across the county, and we're rated 5.0 on both.
Essex has the hardest water in Britain — and it wrecks heating systems
If you only read one section on this page, make it this one. Most of Essex draws its water from chalk aquifers, which makes it some of the hardest water in the country. Every litre that passes through your boiler, cylinder and pipework carries dissolved calcium that gets left behind as limescale the moment it's heated.
The results are things we see every single week: boilers losing efficiency and failing early because the heat exchanger has scaled up, kettling noises from radiators and boilers, showers losing pressure, and hot-water cylinders quietly costing more to run every year. It's not a maybe — in this county it's a certainty, and it's the reason two identical boilers can last 15 years in Wales and 8 in Essex.
It's also why our advice here is different from a generic national firm's: we fit scale protection as standard practice with new boiler installations, we recommend an annual boiler service without fail (it also keeps your warranty valid), and where it makes sense we'll talk you through water softeners and inline scale reducers honestly — including when they're not worth your money.
We know Essex housing, because it's all we work on
Essex is really several counties in one, and its plumbing problems change street by street:
Victorian and Edwardian terraces — Southend, Colchester, Moulsham in Chelmsford, and pockets of every older town. Original lead or iron pipework, add-on bathrooms, and heating systems extended many times over. We renew pipework sympathetically and design heating that actually suits solid-wall homes.
1920s–30s semis — the backbone of Billericay, Brentwood, Rayleigh and half the county. Usually on their third or fourth boiler by now; we handle straight swaps and full system upgrades, including moving boilers out of bedrooms and airing cupboards.
Post-war new towns — Basildon, Harlow and their estates. Ageing radiators, original steel pipework and tired systems that transform with a powerflush and modern controls — or a properly specified new system where repair money would be wasted.
Modern developments — Beaulieu and Channels in Chelmsford, South Woodham Ferrers, and new estates going up across the county. New-build plumbing is compact and unforgiving; we handle upgrades, additions and bathroom refits without voiding NHBC cover.
Everything under one roof
One team, one number, for the lot: general plumbing (taps, leaks, pipework, tanks and everything between), boiler installation across all major brands with warranties registered for you, boiler servicing & repairs, full central heating systems and radiator upgrades, gas work and safety certificates, renewable-ready heating, complete bathroom refurbishments from first fix to final seal, and commercial plumbing and mechanical fit-outs for Essex businesses.
24/7 emergency plumber, anywhere in Essex
Burst pipes and boiler breakdowns don't book appointments. Our emergency plumbing & heating service runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, across the county. Call 01268 944322 and we'll tell you honestly when we can be with you — and talk you through protecting your home (like where your stopcock is) while we're on the way. If you ever smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999 first, then call us.
The Essex towns we cover
We're based in Billericay and work daily across south and mid Essex — and county-wide beyond it. Your town has its own page with local detail:
Beyond these, we regularly work in Southend, Colchester, Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Harlow, Epping, Loughton, Grays, and the villages between — plus East London, north Kent and south Suffolk. If you're in Essex, you're covered.
Proof, not promises
Every review on our reviews page is a real, verifiable Google or Checkatrade review — and our gallery and job blog show actual completed work across the county, added by us after every job, not stock photos. That's the standard we'd want as customers, so it's the one we hold ourselves to.