Why Bath Properties Need a Winter MOT

Bath is a beautiful place to live, but its geography and housing stock make it unusually vulnerable when temperatures drop. The city sits in a hollow, so cold air pools on the valley floor and frost can settle harder and linger longer than in the surrounding hills. Add thousands of Georgian and Victorian terraces, high ceilings, sash windows and solid Bath stone walls, and you have properties that lose heat quickly and chill through fast.

The real risk, though, isn't a cold morning — it's water. Water expands by roughly nine per cent when it freezes, and that expansion is powerful enough to split copper pipework and crack joints, traps and cisterns. The damage often only shows when the thaw begins and water escapes into ceilings and floors. A few hours of preparation in autumn — ideally before the first hard frost, which in Bath can arrive any time from late October — will save both tenants and landlords a great deal of stress, expense and disruption.

Service the Boiler Before the First Frost

Heating failures are the single most common winter call-out, and most of them could have been avoided. Book an annual service in September or October rather than waiting until the boiler stops working on the coldest weekend of the year, when engineers are booked solid.

• Have the boiler and any gas appliances serviced annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Landlords must also hold a current gas safety record and give a copy to tenants.
• Ask about a magnetic filter and scale inhibitor. Bath's hard water is tough on heat exchangers, and limescale is a common cause of noisy, inefficient boilers.
• Bleed radiators if they are warm at the bottom and cold at the top, and check that thermostatic radiator valves move freely.
• Insulate the condensate pipe on a combi boiler with foam lagging. It usually runs outside, and it's the first thing to freeze — often leaving the boiler locked out with a fault code.
• Keep the thermostat at a minimum of 15°C, even when the property is empty or you're away. It costs far less than a repair and a drying-out.

Lag Pipes and Know Where the Stopcock Is

Pipes in lofts, cellars, garages and against north-facing external walls are most at risk, along with any in unheated extensions and outbuildings. Foam lagging is inexpensive and takes minutes to fit. Pay particular attention to tanks and cisterns in loft spaces, and jacket any hot water cylinder to at least 80mm.

• Locate the internal stopcock now and check it turns. In an emergency, every minute counts. If you're a tenant and can't find it, ask your landlord or agent to show you.
• Lag exposed pipework, and fit an outside tap cover or isolate and drain the outdoor tap.
• If you're going away for more than a few days, leave the heating on a low background setting rather than switching it off entirely.
• In very cold spells, letting a tap drip slightly overnight can keep water moving through vulnerable pipe runs.
• If a pipe does freeze, turn off the supply and thaw it gently with a hairdryer or warm towels — never a naked flame or blowtorch.

Insulation, Draughts and Condensation

Bath's older homes are notoriously draughty, and much of the heat you pay for disappears through the roof, windows and letterbox. Top up loft insulation to around 270mm if it's thin, and draught-proof sash windows with brush or foam strips — or consider discreet secondary glazing, which is usually acceptable in listed buildings where replacement windows are not. Heavy curtains, lined and closed at dusk, make a noticeable difference, as does a chimney balloon in an unused flue.

At the same time, don't seal a period property too tightly. Bath stone is porous and older homes need to breathe. Washing dried indoors, showers and cooking all release moisture, and if it can't escape it will condense on cold walls and window reveals, leading to damp patches and black mould. Use extractor fans, keep trickle vents open, and ventilate briefly but widely each day.

Clear Gutters and Drains Before the Rains

Winter in Bath usually means rain as much as frost. Blocked gutters, downpipes and gullies send water down walls and into foundations, and a full drain can back up into the house during a thaw. Autumn leaf fall is the main culprit, so clear gutters, hoppers and drains in November, and check that soakaways and outside gullies run freely. If your property sits on a slope — and many in Bath do — make sure surface water has somewhere sensible to go rather than pooling against the building. Report slow drains promptly; a cheap clearance now beats a flooded ground floor later.

Who Does What: Tenants and Landlords

Most winter problems are solved by good communication. Landlords and letting agents should arrange the annual service, inspect gutters, check loft insulation and confirm smoke and carbon monoxide alarms work. Tenants should report faults early — a radiator that won't heat, a dripping overflow, a boiler that sounds different — rather than waiting for a full breakdown during a cold snap. If you're heading away over Christmas, tell your landlord or agent, leave the heating on low, and make sure someone can check the property.

Prepare now, while the weather is still mild, and you'll spend the winter warm, dry and untroubled rather than dealing with emergency plumbers and drying equipment.