One of the many benefits of attending Trade shows is spending quality time with Plumbing Professionals young and old to hear about their experiences. We had the pleasure of meeting Louchavan Lemard at PHEX to hear about his life, career, and the challenges of fixing broken pipes…and how our Electric Pipe Freeze Kit has eased this process. Read his views and how you, too can benefit from this essential piece of kit.
From homelessness to success, plumber Louchavan Lemard now uses his business to give disadvantaged young people a second chance.
For many, plumbing might seem like just another trade. But for Louchavan Lemard, it’s a lifeline – both for himself and for the young people he mentors. Born into deprivation and surrounded by hardship, Louchavan defied the odds to create a life of success and purpose. The co-founder of a thriving construction business dedicated supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, he has been able to offer them opportunities to help break free from the cycles of poverty and crime, teaching vital trade skills and offering a pathway to a brighter future.
Central to Louchavan’s work is a commitment to reliability and professionalism, values deeply rooted in his past experiences. Growing up in a deprived community in Nottingham, his family struggled to make ends meet. He didn’t perform well in school, leaving with no GCSEs. He was surrounded by crime and gangs and, following the actions of a negligent plumber, was made homeless at the age of eight, spending years sleeping on the kitchen floor of a one-bedroom flat.
“We had a leak and got a plumber in who told us he’d repaired it – but he didn’t,” explains Louchavan. “He just got a huge bin and when it rained, the bin filled. It overflowed and damaged the whole property. Because of that, we had to sleep in a one-bedroom flat with a family relative without anybody knowing. It took my mum five years to get the finances together to make the repairs.”
With business partner Ryan Jeffers, he first co-founded the award-winning Think Big Developments in Nottingham, which helped train young people from challenging backgrounds in the trade. He then went on, again with Ryan, to become co-founder and CEO of PH247, an eco-conscious plumbing and heating maintenance firm in London. He now offers work opportunities, guidance and apprenticeships to young people from deprived backgrounds and has won the Start-Up Construction and Building Services 2022 award at the National Start-Up Awards and the Plumbing and Heating Company of the Year 2024 at the Best of the Best awards.
For Louchavan, every project is personal and quality workmanship and respect for clients’ homes is everything. A key part of delivering top-tier service is using the right tools and the Arctic Hayes electric Pipe Freeze kit has become a staple in Louchavan’s toolkit for this very reason.
Often, when faced with fixing pipes and boilers, replacing radiators or tackling emergency repairs, a plumber might consider draining an entire heating system. But it’s a process that can be incredibly time-consuming, wasteful and disruptive. Electric Pipe Freeze kits create a temporary, solid ice plug within a pipe so you can isolate sections of the system without the need to drain it. This ice plug can withstand significant pressure, allowing plumbers to work on the pipes without the risk of thawing and leaks. The result? Speedier, less disruptive repairs.
The electric pipe freezing kits have no consumable refrigerants saving time and money and freeze pipes from 8mm to 42mm in under eight minutes. Louchavan now uses his kit in all kinds of situations, from emergency repairs to routine maintenance. The first time he used it, he was working in a block of 35 flats, but faced with a water company in Central London that did not want to isolate the supply as it was in the centre of the city and several streets would lose their water. An electric Pipe Freeze kit was the only solution.
Louchavan was initially concerned the kit would be complicated and require a steep learning curve and he worried that it might not even work. The reality was quite the opposite. He found the Arctic Hayes Pipe Freeze kit very easy to use, with clear instructions. After watching some videos, he put it into action – and after successfully completing the job, hasn’t looked back.
“We get a lot of jobs where the client doesn't know where the boundary stopcock is, or they do but it’s full of mud or concrete or it just doesn't work. With Arctic Hayes, I can bolt the kit on, freeze the pipe work and do my repair. I'm not causing any damage to property and I've never had it fail. I’ve even used it on lead pipework.”
For Louchavan, this efficiency translates into happier clients and a stronger reputation. We caught up with PH247’S Lead Engineer Nathan Williams and apprentice Kamahl Dyer-Johnson Electric Pipe Freeze kit to witness the kit in action.
Nathan was using the kit as the main stopcock outside the house didn’t work and the water company was scheduled to repair it. The internal stopcock had also seized and there was a leak, from the cold feed into the boiler, hidden behind the washing machine so Nathan freezes the pipe to take washing machine out and repair the pipe.
“This new kit is quieter, faster -and I could tell that immediately,” says Nathan. “It’s easy to use, with a gauge on lid telling you how long to keep it on the size of the pipe.”
“It saves time, money and effort,” agrees Louchavan. “It’s also good for customer service, reducing disruption. We have used it in residential and commercial jobs to great success.” After around 10 minutes, the pipework is completely frozen and the repair can be made. The time the pipe takes to freeze all depends on its size and there is an easy to read chart and instructions on the lid that helps you every time.
Beyond his technical skills, Louchavan is committed to mentoring the next generation. His business provides training and employment opportunities to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. For many, these opportunities are a lifeline out of poverty and crime and Louchavan makes sure he focuses on attitude not academics.
“Sometimes people don’t perform well in school, not simply because they're not interested or not intelligent enough,” he explains. “In my situation, I was homeless so I wasn't able to apply myself. I was always tired. I grew up in deprivation. I know a lot of the younger generation are disengaged and disconnected; a lot of them are not employed – some of them feel they're unemployable. I think I have a duty of care to try and draw these youngsters in.”
Looking ahead, Louchavan hopes to expand his mentorship program and continue using his business to make a difference. His main goal now is to try and increase his workload so he can employ more engineers and more apprentices, providing more opportunities to young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds.
His mentorship program focuses not only on teaching plumbing skills but also on instilling the values of professionalism, respect, and resilience. Those he employs learn how to handle real-world challenges and see first-hand the importance of using innovative tools, like Arctic Hayes pipe freeze kits, that make jobs quicker, safer and guarantee a good result for each client with minimum disruption.
For Louchavan, plumbing is about integrity and leaving a lasting positive impact. With his dedication to excellence and his drive to uplift others, Louchavan Lemard is a shining example of how plumbing can change lives.
For more information on Arctic Hayes’ portfolio of products, click this link - Arctic Hayes Ltd - Catalogue