About Northgate
A Reading heating firm, owned and run by the engineer who started it.
Tom Northgate started his apprenticeship in 2003 and set the firm up in 2011 from a single van and a notebook of regulars. Today there are four of us, working out of a small yard off Cardiff Road, fitting boilers and bathrooms across Reading and most of Berkshire.
The story
Same engineer, same number, since 2011.
The firm grew the way most good trade firms grow: one neighbour to the next. We’ve never advertised on TV. We don’t do hard-sell finance pitches. We’re cheaper than the national outfits because we don’t spend the money they spend on call centres and sales managers.
In 2014 we took on Asif, a Worcester Bosch accredited engineer who’d had enough of British Gas’s scripts. In 2018 Lewis joined to lead the bathroom side, after we kept getting asked “while you’re here, can you do the en-suite?”. Mia runs the office, the diary and the parts merchants.
We don’t want to be a big firm. We want to be the firm your dad rang in 2014 that did the boiler properly, and that you ring now because the same person picks up the phone. That’s the whole plan.
Everything we fit, we’d fit in our own house. Every quote we write, we’d be happy to send to our mum. If you’ve got a job that doesn’t fit that test, we’ll tell you on the phone before you waste a survey slot.
The team
Four people, one phone number.
Whoever you ring, we know your job. Whoever turns up, you’ve probably met before.
Tom Northgate
Owner, Gas-Safe engineer
22 years on the tools
Started his apprenticeship in 2003, qualified in 2007, set up Northgate in 2011 after a decade with a Reading installer. Still does install surveys himself.
Asif Hussain
Senior heating engineer
14 years on the tools
Joined Northgate in 2016 from British Gas. Worcester Bosch accredited installer. Most likely to be the engineer who turns up at your house.
Lewis Page
Bathroom lead
11 years in bathrooms
Runs the bathroom side end-to-end: design, plumbing, tiling, sign-off. A perfectionist about silicone lines.
Mia Carter
Office and bookings
Voice on the phone
The reason your call gets answered. Books the diary, raises the quotes, chases the parts merchants when something's late.
Accreditations
The paperwork that lets us stand behind the work.
None of this guarantees a good job. It does mean nothing we fit voids the warranty, every gas job is signed off by a registered engineer, and every certificate you need lands in your inbox.
Gas Safe registered
Reg. No. 512440 (placeholder). Every gas-fitting engineer on the team carries a current Gas Safe ID.
Worcester Bosch accredited installer
Accredited to fit and service Worcester Bosch boilers, the route to 12-year warranties on Greenstar 8000 Style.
Vaillant Advance installer
Approved for the full Vaillant range, including the ecoTEC plus and the new Renewables hybrid systems.
NICEIC sub-contractor for electrics
All bathroom and shower-room electrics signed off by an NICEIC-approved electrician we’ve worked with for ten years.
- Public liability insured to £5 million
- Employer liability insured to £10 million
- ICO registered for data protection
- Trading Standards approved member
Northgate Plumbing & Heating
Want to see the yard, or meet an engineer first?
Drop in on a working day, ring us for a chat, or book a free in-home survey. We don’t do hard-sell.