Removal & Decommissioning
Oil Tank Removal & Cold CuttingUnderground Tank RemovalsTank DecommissioningDecommissioning & Foam FillingPlant & Machinery RemovalWaste Oil DisposalInstall, Clean & Maintain
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Britteco is a commercial tank company, and our engineers bring the same equipment and paperwork to homes. We replace old heating oil tanks, take away redundant ones, foam fill buried tanks and sort out leaks, water and sludge.
A home heating oil tank usually lasts around 20 years, but sun, frost and a poor base can shorten that. Problems usually show up as something small: a damp patch on the paving, a smell of kerosene by the back door or the oil running out sooner than it should.
Plastic tanks tend to fade, bulge or split; steel tanks rust at the seams and on the underside where you cannot see. Single-skin tanks with no bund give spilt oil a direct route into the ground, which is why many older installations now fall short of today’s rules.
When you sell the house, buyers and their solicitors may ask for the tank’s certificates. An old, unbunded or buried tank with no paperwork can hold up a sale, so it pays to replace it, or decommission it properly, before the property goes on the market.
Both written up in full, with photos and the paperwork that was issued.
Around 500 litres of old heating oil and water were pumped out of an underground tank behind a shed, then the void was foam filled in one visit and a Foam Fill Certificate issued.
View the Bicester case study →The redundant single-skin steel tank was removed with a disposal certificate, and a new 900-litre steel bunded tank was set on a prepared base in a new position.
View the Banbury case study →Most replacements are done in a single planned visit, and you are not left without heating oil.
The same engineers and equipment we use on commercial sites.
Run out of heating oil or diesel?
24/7 emergency heating oil, kerosene and diesel delivery from 100 litres, including nights, weekends and bank holidays.
A new or replacement oil tank at a home in England has to meet Building Regulations. Using a registered competent person, such as an OFTEC-registered technician, means the work can be self-certified and you receive a compliance certificate without arranging a council inspection. Without that certificate you may struggle when you come to sell the house.
A bund (a second skin holding 110% of the tank) is required if the tank holds more than 2,500 litres, sits within 10 metres of a river, stream or coast or within 50 metres of a well, borehole or spring, could leak into an open drain, could spill over hard ground to water, or if the vent pipe cannot be seen during delivery. Many homeowners choose a bunded tank even where it is not strictly required.
OFTEC guidance keeps a tank at least 1.8 metres from the house, eaves, windows, doors and flue outlets, and 760 millimetres from a wooden fence or other non-fire-rated boundary, unless a fire barrier is used. The base should be level, non-combustible and extend 300 millimetres beyond the tank on every side. We check all of this before quoting, and the tank must carry a spill advice sticker.
Around 20 years is typical for a well-installed tank, less if it sits in full sun, on a poor base or has been damaged by frost. Age alone is not the deciding factor: cracks, rust, bulging or rising oil use are the real warning signs.
You must have one if the tank holds over 2,500 litres or is close to water, a well or borehole, an open drain, or hard ground that runs to water. We check your site against the rules, and most homeowners choose a bunded tank even when it is not strictly required.
Under OFTEC guidance, 1.8 metres from the house, windows, doors, eaves and flues, and 760 millimetres from a non-fire-rated boundary such as a wooden fence. Where the space is tighter, a fire-rated barrier or a fire-protected tank can solve it.
Good kerosene is transferred into a holding tank and pumped back into the new tank, so you do not pay for the same oil twice. Water, sludge and contaminated oil are removed as waste and you get the transfer paperwork.
Yes. If you have switched to a heat pump or gas, we drain the tank, disconnect the line and take the tank away, cut up on site if access is tight. You get a disposal certificate for your records.
Often it can. We pump out the remaining oil and water and fill the tank with inert foam, which avoids digging up the garden, drive or patio. You receive a Foam Fill Certificate, which is useful when the house is sold.
Depending on the job: a Building Regulations compliance certificate for a new installation, a waste transfer note for oil and sludge we remove, a disposal certificate for the old tank, and a Foam Fill Certificate for a decommissioned buried tank.
Stop using the tank if you can, keep oil out of drains and do not try to clean it up yourself. Call your home insurer and, if oil could reach water, the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Then call us to empty the tank and make it safe.
Not necessarily. Water usually gets in through a worn lid, a damaged vent or condensation. We pump out the water and sludge, check the tank, and only recommend replacement if the tank itself is failing.
It depends on the tank size and type, whether it needs a bund, the state of the base, access for lifting and what happens to the old tank. Send us photos and the postcode and we will give you a fixed quote.
Our regional pages cover local sites, rules and the tanks we usually find.
Tell us the postcode, the tank size and what is wrong with it. We will come back with a fixed quote and a date.
