Advice from Lloyd

Plain answers from a working Gas Safe engineer

No content-farm filler. These are the questions South Wales homeowners and landlords actually ask Lloyd, answered the way he answers them in person: honestly, even when the honest answer earns him nothing.

Plain answers · heat pumps

Heat pumps in South Wales: an honest take from a Gas Safe engineer

When heat pumps make sense in South Wales, why many older Welsh homes are not ready yet, and the right order to spend your money in. No horse in the race: Lloyd does not sell heat pumps.

Read the guide
Plain answers · decision guide

Heat pump or new boiler? A decision guide for the older Welsh terrace

Solid walls, microbore pipes, nowhere to put a cylinder: the four questions that decide heat pump or boiler for the classic older Welsh terrace, answered without a sales agenda.

Read the guide
Plain answers · pricing

How much is a new boiler in Bridgend? The honest breakdown

From £1,900 fitted: what that includes, what genuinely moves a boiler quote up, and the three checks that stop you getting burned when comparing installers.

Read the guide
Plain answers · choosing a boiler

Combi or system boiler: which one suits your house?

One bathroom or three? Strong mains or a dribble? The plain-language guide to choosing between a combi and a system boiler, including the cases where the popular answer is wrong.

Read the guide
Plain answers · DIY first

Boiler losing pressure? Check these things before you call anyone

The most common boiler complaint there is, and often a five-minute fix you can do yourself. How to read the gauge, top up safely, and spot the signs that mean stop and call.

Read the guide
Plain answers · landlords

Landlord gas safety in Wales: CP12 rules without the jargon

The annual CP12 duty, what the Renting Homes (Wales) Act adds on top, and the one-visit-per-property pattern that keeps landlords legal without thinking about it.

Read the guide
Plain answers · hiring

How to choose a plumber in Bridgend (and how to spot a bad one)

The vetting checklist for hiring any plumber in Bridgend: register checks, insurance, itemised quotes and fake-review spotting, plus what 197 Google reviewers keep saying about one local engineer.

Read the guide
Plain answers · pricing

How much does a new boiler cost in Pencoed? The real installed prices

The from £1,900 swap explained, then the actual installed totals for Baxi 400, Baxi 800 and Vaillant ecoFIT combis, and the add-on prices that move a quote. Real numbers from a Pencoed engineer.

Read the guide
Plain answers · pricing

How much does a boiler service cost in Bridgend? £84, and here is what it buys

The £84 annual service: what actually gets checked, why manufacturer warranties die without it, and the one-visit pattern that sorts landlords’ CP12 at the same time.

Read the guide
Plain answers · pricing

How much does a power flush cost in South Wales? £499, or £350 with a new boiler

£499 standalone or £350 with a new boiler, and why the bundle is cheaper. The cold-bottom radiator symptoms that mean sludge, and the £120 treatment that sometimes does the job instead.

Read the guide
Plain answers · landlords

What does a landlord gas safety certificate cost in Wales?

Why honest firms do not advertise one universal CP12 price, what actually decides yours, the Welsh rules on top of the 1998 regulations, and the one-visit pairing with the £84 service.

Read the guide
Plain answers · hiring

How to choose a gas engineer in Bridgend (and check they are legal)

The register check, what the back of the Gas Safe ID card really tells you, the paperwork that protects you, and the honest way to read "best gas engineer" claims, including ours.

Read the guide
Plain answers · pricing

Affordable heating in South Wales: what fair pricing actually looks like

Affordable claimed the checkable way: the guide prices published in one table, fixed quotes agreed before work starts, and why the cheapest quote in the pile so often costs the most.

Read the guide
Plain answers · DIY first

Boiler not working? The ten-minute checks before you call anyone

Dead display after a power cut, no hot water while the heating runs, a boiler that will not fire: the safe ten-minute checks in the order Lloyd asks them on the phone, and the point to stop.

Read the guide
Plain answers · choosing a brand

Worcester, Baxi or Vaillant? An installer’s honest view

A working installer compares the brands honestly: where the premium reputation is earned, why Lloyd quotes Baxi and Vaillant with published totals, and the disclosure most installer sites skip.

Read the guide
Plain answers · grants

New boiler grants in Wales: what actually exists in 2026

No, there is no free boiler for most homeowners, and here is what actually exists: ECO4 until the end of 2026, Nest for eligible Welsh households, and why the £7,500 grant is heat pumps only.

Read the guide
Plain answers · bathrooms

What drives the cost of a bathroom renovation in Bridgend

No invented price list, just the truth about where bathroom money goes: the layout decision that moves quotes most, the shower-and-pressure trap, and the hidden plumbing that decides how the room ages.

Read the guide
Plain answers · DIY first

Radiators not heating up? Work through these checks first

Cold at the top, cold at the bottom, or every radiator cold while the boiler runs: each one means something different. The safe checks you can do yourself, and the point where sludge, a pump or a valve needs Lloyd.

Read the guide
Plain answers · DIY first

No hot water but the heating works? Here is what is usually wrong

Warm radiators but cold taps is good news: the boiler works, and the fault is in the part that sends heat to the water. The combi diverter valve, the cylinder motorised valve, and the timer check most people forget.

Read the guide
Plain answers · what the noise means

Boiler making strange noises? What banging, kettling and whistling mean

Kettling, banging, whistling, gurgling: each noise is a clue. What every one usually means, which need acting on, and why a power flush quietens so many boilers, from a working Gas Safe engineer.

Read the guide
★★★★★5.0 from 197 Google reviewsQuoted verbatim from LMB’s public Google profile.
Lloyd is genuinely a top top plumber. Knows his stuff and has always offered his services at a reasonable price. He has also managed to squeeze us in at short notice.
Kieran Jones · April 2026 · Google review
Lloyd from LMB Plumbing did a fantastic job with my boiler installation. He was punctual, professional, and explained everything clearly.
Carol Trevelyan · March 2026 · Google review
Professional and reliable as ever, wouldn't use anyone else!!!!
Ian Walters · March 2026 · Google review