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Dry riser testing in Hertfordshire

Dry riser testing in Hertfordshire: six-monthly inspections and annual 12 bar pressure tests under BS 9990, with a certificate after every visit.

Book a free survey Call 07927 555475
A dry riser landing valve on a galvanised riser beside a lift, the kind of riser covered by dry riser testing in Hertfordshire
A dry riser landing valve in a residential lobby, photographed on one of our jobs.
  • ISO 9001, the certification insurers look for
  • Free survey, fixed price in writing, no travel charge
  • Office Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm; emergency line any hour

Dry riser testing in Hertfordshire follows BS 9990 like anywhere else in England: a visual inspection every six months and a pressure test once a year, with the riser held at 12 bar for 15 minutes. St Albans and Watford are our regular Hertfordshire stops, 47 and 53 miles from our base on the M1, and dry riser testing elsewhere in the county usually fits the same runs. Sentry Sprinkler Protection does this work across England from its base in Kettering, ISO 9001 certified.

What a test visit covers

  • Every six months: the inlet cabinet, the inlets and caps, each landing valve, the air release valve, the drain and the signage, floor by floor.
  • Once a year: the riser filled and held at 12 bar for 15 minutes, with the landing valves worked under pressure.
  • Seized valves, missing caps and damaged cabinets photographed and listed, each with its own price.
  • A certificate for the building file, naming the riser, the floors and the result.
Two dry riser breeching inlets in stainless steel cabinets

On the same run as St Albans and Watford

Our Hertfordshire work is planned in runs along the M1, so a building in the county is usually tested alongside visits already booked in St Albans or Watford rather than needing a day of its own. That is also how six-monthly dates stay fixed: the run repeats, and your riser is on it.

Tell us where the building is before anything is booked. If it does not fit a run, we say so plainly rather than promising a date we would struggle to keep.

Flats, offices and conversions

Much of the county's riser stock sits in blocks of flats, office buildings and offices converted into flats. A conversion is worth a closer look: the riser may predate the change of use, and the record often stops at the old layout. We test what is actually installed and note where it no longer matches the drawing.

Where a building also has a BS 9251 sprinkler system or a wet riser, each is tested to its own interval on one schedule, so the managing agent has one date and one record per block.

When a riser fails

A failed test is not left as a line on a report. Each defect is priced separately, repaired on a return visit, and the riser is tested again, so the certificate describes the riser as it actually is.

Dry risers, on our jobs

4 photographs of this exact work, from the owner's own sites. Tap any of them.

The full gallery
  1. SurveyFree, and we walk the building
  2. Fixed priceIn writing, with the standard named
  3. First visitDone, recorded and certificated

or call 07927 555475

Related

From first call to certificate

Four steps, the same on every job.

  1. A sprinkler layout drawing marked up on site during a survey
    01

    Free survey

    We look at the building and its records, and tell you what it is due.

  2. A sprinkler installation drawing open on a laptop on site
    02

    Fixed price in writing

    Every item priced line by line. No survey fee, nothing added afterwards.

  3. An engineer installing sprinkler pipework from a scissor lift
    03

    The work, on your dates

    Isolation agreed before anyone arrives, kept as short as the job takes.

  4. A bank of sprinkler alarm valve sets with gauges in a plant room
    04

    Certificate and record

    A certificate and a photographed defect list, ready for your insurer.

  5. Start

    Book the free survey

    Tell us the building. We will tell you what it is due.

    Book a free survey

Switching from another contractor?

It happens often, and mid-year too. You do not have to wait for the old contract to run out to find out where your dry riser stands.

  1. Send what you have

    The last service report, the certificate, or a photo of the valve set. Whatever you have is enough to start.

  2. We survey before we quote

    What is installed, the standard it was designed to, whether the pumps make their duty and what the last reports found. Free, and written down.

  3. A clean record from our first visit

    If the old records are thin we say so and start a clean record, rather than sign off work we did not see.

Book a free survey or ring 07927 555475

When is your next visit due?

Pick the system and the month a contractor last came. You will see each routine, the date it falls due and anything that is already late.

Weekly checks are your own team's, logged on site. Our free weekly test log covers them on one page.

1 · The system

2 · The last contractor visit

Pick a month and a year to see your dates.

  • Every 6 months Six-monthly inspection Inlets, landing valves, cabinets, caps and access
  • Every 12 months Annual pressure test Charged to 12 bar and held for 15 minutes
  • BS 9990

Counted from the visit you picked. If that was not the annual service, the annual may fall sooner. Your insurer or fire strategy can ask for more.

Book the visit or ring 07927 555475

Free survey · fixed price in writing

Tell us what you need. We will tell you what it takes.

Four quick taps and your details. A free survey and a fixed price in writing, with no survey fee and no obligation.

Call 07927 555475

Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm. Emergencies any hour.

What do you need?

Pick one. The next questions follow from it.

What kind of building is it?
How tall is the building?
What is happening?
Which part needs looking at?
Where is the project?
When is it due?
How soon do you need us?
Who do we ring back?

Usually the same working day. We never share your details.

No survey fee, no obligation. ISO 9001:2015 certified.

5.0 on Google

4 reviews, and every one of them five stars.

Read them on Google
  • Lewis W. Sprinkler installation, warehouse

    Had them install a full sprinkler system across one of our warehouses, and couldn't be happier. They were professional from start to finish and the on-site team were genuinely friendly to work with. […] Highly recommend if you would need your building or warehouse properly fire-protected.

    5 stars on Google

  • Mike C. Weekly maintenance, testing and repair

    Sentry Sprinkler Protection have recently taken over the weekly maintenance, testing and repair of the […] sprinkler equipment. They are providing a excellent service, good value and they are also very helpful when on site.

    5 stars on Google

  • Sam E. Sprinkler pipework installation

    Couldn't recommend [Sentry] enough. Their work ethic, consistent efficient install of the pipework and overall approach to a project should be something every sub-contractor strives to mirror. Marius is incredibly approachable and methodical in his work with laydown areas kept very neat and tidy and all work carried out in a safe manner.

    5 stars on Google

Questions about dry riser testing in Hertfordshire

Which parts of Hertfordshire do you test dry risers in?

St Albans and Watford are regular stops, and the rest of the county usually fits the same runs along the M1. Send the address and we will tell you straight away whether it is a normal visit or a planned one.

How long does an annual dry riser test take in a Hertfordshire block?

Usually part of a day for a single riser. The riser is filled, held at 12 bar for 15 minutes and drained, and every landing valve is checked. Access to each floor is the part that sets the timetable, so it is agreed before the day.

Can you take over dry riser testing from our current contractor?

Yes. Send the last certificate if you have it. We test the riser as it stands, note anything the previous record missed, and put it on a fixed six-monthly date from then on.

What happens when you ring

You talk to Marius Bucur, who runs the company and prices the work. Not a call centre.

07927 555475

Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm. Emergencies any hour.

Rather type?

  1. A few plain questions

    Usually four: what the building is, what system it has, when it was last serviced and the postcode. If you do not know some of it, that is normal.

  2. A straight answer

    Whether it is a job for us. If a building would be better served by someone closer, we will tell you that too.

  3. A free survey, on your dates

    Then a fixed price in writing, line by line. No survey fee, no obligation, nothing added afterwards.