Renovation & New Build

New Build Plumbing

We plumb a new home from the ground up: concealed pipework set out while the walls are still open, then every fixture connected, tested and working on completion. It is domestic first and second fix work, planned around your build programme so nothing has to be undone later.

Call 01273 911551

What's involved

From the first pipe run through bare studwork to the last tap connected, here is what new-build plumbing covers.

First Fix Pipework

Hot and cold supplies, waste runs and heating pipework set into walls and floors while the structure is still open.

Bathrooms and En-suites

Layouts planned early, so soil stacks, wastes and service points land where the sanitaryware actually needs them.

Boiler, Cylinder and Heating

Boiler, hot water cylinder, radiators or underfloor heating installed and connected, with gas work carried out under our Gas Safe registration.

Second Fix and Testing

Taps, sanitaryware and appliances connected after plastering, then pressure tested and commissioned before handover.

Plumbing a new home from the ground up

A new build gives you something a renovation never does: a completely clean run. Nothing has to be threaded around existing pipework, and no route has to be compromised to suit a wall that was already there. That freedom only pays off if the plumbing is planned properly at the start, because the decisions made while the studwork is still open are the ones you live with for good.

We handle both stages of domestic new-build plumbing. First fix goes in once the shell is watertight and before the plasterers arrive; second fix follows after decoration, when the house is finished enough to take its fixtures.

Everything that is expensive to change later is decided at first fix.

First fix: the part nobody sees

We start from the drawings and walk the property, marking out where every service has to land. Hot and cold supplies are run through joists and studwork on sensible routes, notched and clipped so nothing rubs or ticks when the system warms up. Waste pipes and soil stacks are set with proper falls, because a shallow gradient is far easier to correct now than after the screed goes down.

Heating pipework runs out to each radiator position and to the cylinder, and gas pipework is taken to the boiler position where a gas appliance is specified. Gas work is domestic and is carried out under our Gas Safe registration, 568345.

Before anything is boarded over, the pipework is capped, pressure tested and left under pressure. If a joint is going to weep, we want to know while it is still reachable, not after the tiler has finished.

More information

What we set out at first fix

  • Hot and cold water routes to every outlet, sized for the demand on each branch
  • Waste and soil runs, graded and vented so they drain quietly
  • Heating flow and return lines to radiator or underfloor positions
  • Cylinder and boiler positions, including unvented hot water provision
  • Gas pipework to the boiler or hob position where one is specified
  • Service points for kitchens, utility rooms, bathrooms and en-suites

Second fix: making it work

Once plastering, tiling and the units are in, we come back and connect it all. Sanitaryware, taps, showers, radiators and appliances go on, the cylinder and boiler are installed and commissioned, and the heating controls are set up and explained.

This is the visible stage, so alignment matters. A basin tap sitting slightly off centre, or a radiator a fraction out of level, is the sort of thing you notice every day afterwards. We take the time to get it square.

Then it gets tested. We fill and vent the system, check every joint, run the taps and showers together to see how it behaves under real demand, balance the radiators, and hand over with the controls working the way you would expect.

A new house should feel finished, not merely connected.

Working around the build

New-build plumbing is not one visit. It is staged around everyone else on site, so we agree dates with your builder and electrician and mark out routes before walls are closed, rather than discovering that pipework and cable runs want the same joist. Bathrooms are our speciality, so if the plans include bathrooms or en-suites we can design and fit those as part of the same job instead of handing them on.

We are based in Woodingdean and cover Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Lewes, Shoreham-by-Sea, Haywards Heath, Seaford, Burgess Hill and surrounding Sussex towns. Call 01273 911551, or come and see us at 58 Warren Road.

Recent work

Row of four low-level basins on a grey splashback with chrome taps, exposed traps and mirrors above
May 2026

Nursery fit-out, first and second fix plumbing

Full first and second fix plumbing for the fit-out of a new nursery, including two 250 litre unvented cylinders, twelve toilets, twelve basins, sixteen sinks and around a mile of copper pipework. The project took six weeks, from an empty warehouse to an operating nursery.

Bath with glass screen under a ceiling rainfall shower head, white metro tiling and vanity unit
April 2022

Plumbing for two new build flats

We completed the plumbing for two more new build flats, signed over and ready for new tenants to move in. The flats were fitted with Joule cylinders along with Vado shower valves and bathroom items.

Contemporary bathroom with twin countertop basins, wall-mounted chrome taps, a backlit mirror and walk-in shower
December 2021

New build development plumbing

Plumbing installation completed throughout a recent new build development. These are professional photographs of the finished project.

Finished bathroom with wall-hung vanity unit, bath with wall-mounted filler and mirror above the basin
Buxted · February 2021

New build plumbing in Buxted

Photographs from a new build project we recently completed in Buxted. We enjoyed working on this one and look forward to the next.

Silver Ford Ranger pickup outside two scaffolded timber frame new builds under construction in Buxted
Buxted · September 2020

New build plumbing in Buxted

We began plumbing work on two timber frame new builds in Buxted, using Polypipe pipework and fittings.

Plant room wall of copper risers, brass air vent, zone valves and a circulating pump on plywood
January 2020

Vaillant boiler and Joule unvented cylinder on a new build

We installed a Vaillant boiler and a Joule unvented cylinder on a new build project, with the whole system tested and commissioned before the pipework was lagged.

Before you book

Straight answers to the questions self-builders and homeowners ask us before the first fix goes in.

What is the difference between first fix and second fix plumbing?
First fix is the hidden work: the hot and cold supplies, waste runs and heating pipework installed while walls and floors are still open. Second fix is everything you can see afterwards, connected once plastering and decorating are done, from taps and sanitaryware to radiators, the cylinder and the boiler. On a new build they are separate visits, with other trades working in between.
When should the plumbing be booked into a new-build programme?
First fix happens once the shell is watertight and before the plasterers start, so it is worth agreeing dates as soon as the structure is going up. Second fix comes later, after plastering, tiling and the kitchen units are in. Booking both stages early makes it far easier to hold a sensible sequence on site.
Do you work alongside our builder and electrician?
Yes. We agree our first and second fix dates with the other trades and mark out pipe routes before walls are closed up, so pipework and cable runs are not competing for the same joists and studs. Sorting the sequence up front avoids the kind of clash that only gets discovered when something no longer fits.
Can you do the gas work and connect the boiler?
Yes. We are Gas Safe registered for domestic gas work, registration 568345, so we can run the gas pipework at first fix and then connect and commission the boiler at second fix. We are also an accredited Vaillant installer if the specification calls for a Vaillant boiler.
Can you design and fit the bathrooms as well?
Yes. Complete bathroom design and installation is our speciality, so the bathrooms and en-suites can be planned at the same time as the rest of the plumbing. Doing both together means the soil stacks, wastes and service points are set for the layout you actually want, rather than the layout the pipework happens to allow.
How is the pipework tested before it is covered up?
We cap and pressure test the first fix pipework and leave it under pressure before anything is boarded, plastered or screeded over. At second fix the filled system is tested again, vented and balanced, and we run several outlets together to check how it performs under real demand.
Which areas do you cover for new-build plumbing?
We are based in Woodingdean and cover Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Lewes, Shoreham-by-Sea, Haywards Heath, Seaford, Burgess Hill and surrounding Sussex towns. If your build sits a little outside that, it is still worth asking.
How do we get a quote for new-build plumbing?
Call us on 01273 911551 with your drawings or specification to hand, or come and see us at 58 Warren Road in Woodingdean. We will talk through the layout, the number of bathrooms and the heating you have specified, then price the first and second fix work from that.

Let's get your new build plumbed

Tell us where the build has got to and we'll talk you through what happens at each stage.

Call 01273 911551