Enquiry by Email
Send the postcode, photographs, number of units, whether gas or water is involved and any tenant access restrictions to hello@quartermeter.com.
Method
Survey, isolation, installation, labelling, handover.
Desktop Review
Drawings, photographs and tenancy schedules are reviewed for £95 + VAT, credited against installation if instructed within 30 days.
Site Survey
Survey within 25 miles of Reading is £180 + VAT. From 25 to 45 miles it is £260 + VAT. Farther visits are quoted.
Quotation
The quotation states meter type, access assumptions, isolation needs, labels, photographs and schedule content. A 40% deposit secures materials and diary time.
Installation
Most two-to-six meter water jobs take one working day. Mixed gas and water rooms normally take two to three days including labelling and commissioning sheets.
Commissioning Pack
The handover pack includes serial numbers, tenant allocation, photographs, label references and access notes for future readings.
Enquiry
- Documents required
- Postcode, number of units, photographs, gas or water note.
- Typical duration
- Reply within working hours when enough photographs are supplied.
- Common delay
- No image showing where the branch pipes actually split.
Desktop Review
- Documents required
- Drawings, tenancy schedule and any existing meter list.
- Typical duration
- One to two working days for small blocks.
- Common delay
- Plans showing flat numbers but not pipe routes.
Site Survey
- Documents required
- Plant-room keys, riser access and permission to inspect stop valves.
- Typical duration
- Usually one to two hours on site.
- Common delay
- Locked cupboards, no parking or tenants not told about access.
Quotation
- Documents required
- Confirmed scope, billing details and preferred installation window.
- Typical duration
- Issued after survey once meter positions are confirmed.
- Common delay
- Unresolved responsibility for isolation or out-of-hours tenant notice.
Installation
- Documents required
- Deposit paid, access confirmed, service isolation notice served.
- Typical duration
- Two-to-six water meters normally one day.
- Common delay
- Stop valves that do not hold or boxed-in pipework discovered on the day.
Commissioning Pack
- Documents required
- Final tenant allocation agreed by landlord or agent.
- Typical duration
- Issued after installation photographs and serial numbers are checked.
- Common delay
- Door numbers, tenancy names and actual branch labels not matching.
Access and isolation
Client responsibilities before the van arrives.
- Landlord or managing agent arranges tenant notice for any service isolation.
- Plant-room keys, riser cupboard keys and safe reading access must be available.
- Stop valves and gas test points must be accessible, not guessed at through boxing.
- Parking or loading space must be arranged where materials and tools cannot be left in public corridors.
Real durations, not best-case promises.
2 to 6 water meters
Normally one working day where isolation, access and straight pipe runs are suitable.
6 to 12 meters
Usually two days, with labelling and photographs checked before handover.
Mixed gas and water
Normally two to three days including isolation, labelling and commissioning sheets.
Larger estates
Phased by staircase, riser or tenancy group so readings remain understandable.
Work turned away
- No smart prepayment systems that disconnect domestic tenants automatically.
- No emergency plumbing, boiler repair, bathroom work or general maintenance contracts.
- No alteration of incoming utility company meters or seals.
- No live gas work without isolation, testing access and proper notice.
- No hidden meters above sealed ceilings with no safe future reading access.
I close the diary from 24 December to the first working Monday in January. If a managing agent has a January handover, send the drawings before Christmas; I will not pretend a plant room can be surveyed from a Boxing Day voicemail. Martin