What counts as a plumbing emergency?
A plumbing problem is an emergency when water cannot be stopped, when there is no water or no heating in cold weather, when waste is backing up into the property, or when you can smell gas. Anything you can isolate at a valve — a dripping tap, a slow waste, a single radiator — is usually safe to book as a normal appointment, which costs less because it falls in standard hours.
Key facts
- Call now if
- Water cannot be stopped, waste is backing up, or there is no water
- Gas smell
- National Gas Emergency Service 0800 111 999, before calling us
- Can usually wait
- A drip you can isolate, one slow waste, one cold radiator
- Night call-out
- £169 (10pm–8am) including the first hour on site
- Standard hours call-out
- £99 (8am–6pm, Mon–Fri) including the first hour
Is it an emergency?
| Symptom | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Water running and the stop tap will not hold it | Emergency — call immediately. |
| Water through a ceiling or near lights | Emergency — switch off that circuit and call. |
| Waste backing up into a bath or WC | Emergency — stop using water in the property. |
| No water anywhere in the property | Emergency — check with a neighbour first, then call. |
| No heating or hot water in cold weather | Urgent — treated as an emergency with a vulnerable occupant. |
| Dripping tap or slow-filling WC | Not an emergency — isolate at the service valve and book standard hours. |
What to do while you wait
- 1Turn off the waterClose the internal stop tap, usually under the kitchen sink, and open the cold taps to drain the pipework.
- 2Make it safeSwitch off electrics in any room where water is coming through, and do not use lights or sockets there.
- 3Contain what is escapingBuckets, towels and moved furniture limit the damage and the cost of putting it right.
- 4Call and describe itTell us your postcode, what is happening and what you have already isolated, so the right engineer and parts are sent.
- 5Photograph the damagePhotos before clean-up help with insurance and with landlord or freeholder recharges.
Call-out prices by time band
| Item | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard hours (8am–6pm, Mon–Fri) | £99 | Call-out including the first hour on site |
| Evening (6pm–10pm) | £129 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Night (10pm–8am) | £169 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Saturday | £129 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Sunday | £149 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Bank holidays | £199 | Call-out including the first hour |
| Each further hour | £95 | Same rate in every band, day or night |
| Parts | At cost plus margin | Itemised on the invoice |
Call immediately — these are emergencies
If any of the following is happening, call rather than filling in a form. We answer 24 hours a day and will talk you through isolating the supply while an engineer is arranged.
- • Water escaping and not stoppable at a local isolation valve.
- • Water coming through a ceiling or near light fittings and electrics.
- • A burst pipe, split flexi tail or failed cylinder.
- • Sewage or waste backing up into a bath, shower or WC.
- • No water at all in the property.
- • No heating or hot water in cold weather, or with a vulnerable occupant in the property.
- • A smell of gas — call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 first, open windows and do not touch switches.
Urgent, but usually next-day
These need attention, but attending at 2am rarely fixes them faster and costs considerably more. Booking a standard-hours visit is normally the better call.
- • A steady drip you can catch in a bucket or isolate at a valve.
- • One slow-draining sink or shower with other outlets working normally.
- • A single cold radiator when the rest of the heating works.
- • A running overflow outside the property.
- • A WC that will not stop filling but can be isolated at its service valve.
What to do before we arrive
The two minutes before you call matter more than anything else. Know where your internal stop tap is — usually under the kitchen sink — and check it turns before you ever need it.
What it costs to call out of hours
The call-out includes the first hour on site and the band depends on when we attend: £99 standard hours, £129 evenings and Saturdays, £169 nights, £149 Sundays, £199 bank holidays. Further time is £95 per hour and parts are itemised. You are told the band before an engineer sets off.
Need this doing rather than reading?
We cover the GU, KT, SW, CR, RH and BN postcode areas, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including bank holidays.