Water
Softener
Installation
Salt softeners supplied, fitted and replaced for the chalk water across Andover, Marlborough and Hungerford. Bypass, drain and a hard drinking tap done properly, with a fixed price before I start.
What You Get
Softener Services
The three installation prices are the ones this business has actually quoted, taken from the job system rather than a brochure. Everything is priced in writing after I have seen the pipework.
New Softener Supplied and Fitted
A salt-based softener sized for your household, plumbed in on a full-flow bypass with its own drain and overflow, commissioned and hardness-tested before I leave.
What's Included:
- Unit sized to your household and mains flow
- Full-flow bypass and isolation valves
- Drain and overflow for regeneration
- Kitchen cold tap left on hard water (recommended)
- Commissioned and hardness-tested on the day
- 12-month workmanship guarantee
Softener Replacement
Your old unit has stopped softening or started leaking and the bypass is already there. I take the old one out, fit the new one and set it up for your water.
What's Included:
- Old unit removed and disposed of
- Existing bypass checked and reused where sound
- New unit programmed for local hardness
- Drain and overflow checked
- Commissioned and tested
- 12-month workmanship guarantee
Like-for-Like Swap, Labour Only
You have already bought the softener. If it is a straight swap in the same spot on the same bypass, this is the labour to fit and commission it.
What's Included:
- Customer-supplied unit
- Same location, existing bypass and drain
- Set up and salt loaded
- Old unit taken away if you want
- Usually done in a couple of hours
Bypass Valve and Hard Drinking Tap
For a softener that was fitted without one. A proper bypass means you can isolate the unit without losing water to the house, and a hard tap keeps unsoftened water for drinking and the kettle.
What's Included:
- Three-valve or manufacturer bypass fitted
- Separate hard cold feed to the kitchen tap
- Check valve to protect the mains
- Pipework tidied and labelled
Softener Service and Fault Finding
Hard water back in the taps, salt not going down, water in the brine tank, or the unit is regenerating at the wrong time. I find out why before anyone talks about replacing it.
What's Included:
- Salt bridge and brine tank check
- Regeneration cycle and timer checked
- Hardness tested before and after the unit
- Injector, brine valve and drain line cleaned
- Honest repair-or-replace advice
Softener or Conditioner? Test First
Andover, Marlborough and Hungerford all sit on chalk, but hardness still varies from one street to the next. I measure yours at the tap and tell you straight whether a softener, an Aquabion conditioner or nothing at all is the right answer.
What's Included:
- Hardness measured at your own tap
- Softener and Aquabion compared on your numbers
- Where it would go and what it needs
- Written fixed price to go ahead
What a Proper Installation Includes
Bypass and Isolation
Three valves so the unit can be isolated or bypassed without cutting water to the house. A check valve protects the mains.
Drain and Overflow
Regeneration water goes to a proper drain with an air gap, and the brine tank overflow runs to outside, not the cupboard floor.
Hard Drinking Tap
The kitchen cold tap stays on unsoftened water, or a separate hard tap is added, so drinking water and the outside tap are unchanged.
Set Up and Tested
Hardness programmed in, salt loaded, a manual regeneration run, and the water tested soft at the tap before I leave.
Expert Softener Installation
Expert Water Softener Installation by Will Gaze
I have spent 22+ years plumbing on chalk water, and most of the cylinders, showers and kettles I replace have died of limescale. A softener is the one thing that stops it at the door. I fit them the way the Water Regulations ask: on a bypass, with a drain, and with the drinking tap left hard.
I am not tied to one brand. Monarch and BWT come through my trade accounts, and if you have already bought a Harvey or a Kinetico I will fit that instead. What you get either way is a fixed price in writing, one plumber from survey to commissioning, and 12 months on the work.
Softener or Aquabion?
I fit both, so I have no reason to push one. They solve different problems and the right one depends on what is annoying you.
Salt Water Softener
- Genuinely soft water: lather, no scum, no white spots on the shower screen or the taps.
- Protects everything downstream: cylinder, immersion, shower, kettle, dishwasher and washing machine.
- Needs feeding: salt to top up, a drain and an overflow, and space next to the stopcock.
- Higher upfront cost: from £1,750 + VAT supplied and fitted, against a few hundred for a conditioner.
Aquabion Conditioner
- Nothing to feed: no salt, no power, no drain. Fitted inline and left alone for years.
- Keeps the minerals in: so there is no sodium question and every tap in the house is fine to drink from.
- The water still feels hard: it changes how scale forms rather than removing it, so you still wipe a light residue.
- Best for cylinder protection: if soft-feeling water is the point, it is the wrong product.
Electric Single-Tank
BWT and Monarch. Regenerates on a meter or a timer, needs a socket. The usual choice through the trade counter.
Non-Electric Twin-Tank
Harvey and Kinetico. One tank regenerates while the other works, so soft water is never interrupted. Sold direct; I fit them when you have bought one.
Conditioner, Not Softener
Aquabion. Inline, no salt, no drain. Protects the cylinder without making the water soft.
Softener Service Areas
The whole patch sits on chalk, with mains water at 300mg+ of calcium carbonate per litre. A softener earns its keep anywhere in it.
Andover and Test Valley
Down the A338 and A342 from Wootton Rivers
- Andover (SP10, SP11)
- Upper Clatford and the Wallops
- Stockbridge and Chilbolton (SO20)
Marlborough and Pewsey Vale
Chalk aquifer water, where scale builds fastest
- Marlborough and Ramsbury (SN8)
- Great Bedwyn and Burbage (SN8)
- Pewsey and Upavon (SN9)
- Tidworth and Ludgershall (SP9, SP11)
Hungerford and Lambourn Valley
The Kennet valley, over the Berkshire border
- Hungerford (RG17)
- Lambourn and Great Shefford
- Kintbury, Inkpen and Combe
- Chilton Foliat and Shalbourne
Booking a Softener Visit
Rosebourne is Will Gaze, working out of Wootton Rivers, so every town above is a short drive rather than a depot dispatch. Same-day or next-working-day for most jobs; emergency slots subject to availability. You get a named date when Will confirms the booking.
Softener Guides
Brand comparisons, running costs and whether you need a softener at all, written for the water round here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Salt softener or Aquabion: which one do I want?
They do different jobs. A salt softener removes the hardness minerals by ion exchange, so you get genuinely soft water: lather, no scum, no scale on the shower screen. It needs salt, a drain and a bit of space. An Aquabion conditioner leaves the minerals in and changes how the scale forms, so it protects the cylinder and pipework with nothing to top up, but the water still feels hard. If the spots on the glass are what bother you, it is a softener. If it is the immersion heater and the cylinder you are worried about and you do not want another thing to feed, the conditioner is the cheaper answer. I test your water on the survey and tell you which, not both.
Can I drink softened water?
The softener swaps the calcium for a small amount of sodium, and the usual advice is to keep one unsoftened cold tap for drinking and cooking, especially for making up baby formula or if anyone in the house is on a low-sodium diet. That is why a proper installation leaves the kitchen cold tap on the hard side, or adds a separate hard drinking tap. The hard water in Andover, Marlborough and Hungerford is well within the drinking limits; it is only a problem for kettles and cylinders, not for you.
What does a softener need to be plumbed in?
A mains cold feed after the stopcock, a bypass so the unit can be isolated, a drain for the regeneration water and an overflow to outside. Electric models also need a socket. Most go under the kitchen sink or in a utility cupboard next to the stopcock. The unit regenerates on a timer or after a set volume of water, and that rinse has to go somewhere, which is the part that catches people out when a softener has been fitted without a drain.
How much salt will it use and what does it cost to run?
It depends on the unit, how hard the water is and how many of you there are. The published figures for the main brands put salt at roughly £100 to £200 a year for a typical household, with non-electric twin-tank units at the lower end because they regenerate on volume rather than on a timer. Tablet salt comes in 25kg bags from any builders merchant, and I can tell you which grade your unit wants.
Will softened water affect my boiler or hot water cylinder?
Softened water is fine for unvented and vented cylinders, and it is the reason the immersion element and the coil stay clean. Some boiler and cylinder manufacturers ask for the sealed heating circuit to be filled from the hard side, so I check the instructions for your make and pipe the filling loop accordingly. I am G3 qualified for unvented hot water, so if the cylinder is already scaled up I can deal with that at the same visit. Gas and oil boilers themselves are not my work; for those I will point you at a Gas Safe or OFTEC engineer.
Important Booking Information
Our professional booking system ensures seamless service delivery from first contact to job completion
Your Call Gets Answered
In Your PA answers the landline in office hours, so somebody picks up when Will is under a sink. They take your details and pass them straight through. Will is the one who quotes the job and turns up to do it.
Arrival Windows
We provide time windows rather than exact times to ensure quality work on each job. We'll keep you updated with a more precise ETA.
ServiceM8 System
Our professional job management system provides SMS updates, online booking, and digital job records for a seamless experience.
What I Fit, and Where It Comes From
Monarch and BWT softeners come through Plumbfix and Trade UK, which means a unit is usually on the van within days and spares are a counter away rather than a call centre away. Both are WRAS approved and both are built for the hardness we have here.
Harvey and Kinetico sell direct with their own survey, so I do not stock them. If you have bought one, I will fit it on the labour-only price above and you keep the manufacturer warranty.
See all the brands I work with
Tired of Limescale?
Free survey, hardness tested at your tap, and a written price for the right softener before any work starts.