Something else. Here is the first aid that covers almost every plumbing problem.
Without knowing the symptom, the safe default is to control water and gas first, then decide who to call in daylight rates if you can.
What is probably happening
- Most plumbing calls are one of: a leak, a blockage, no water, or no hot water.
- If water is moving where it should not, the fix always starts at a valve: the small one under the fixture, or the main.
- If it is a smell, a slow drain or a drip, it can wait for business hours, and business hours cost less.
Do this in the next five minutes
- Know where the main valve is: the basement entry wall, near the water heater on a slab, the crawl space front wall, or the meter box at the curb. Ball valve: quarter turn across the pipe. Gate valve: clockwise to close.
- If a fixture is leaking, close the small valve under it first, clockwise.
- If nothing is leaking or backing up, wait for a weekday. Emergency rates are $100 to $500 an hour against $40 to $200 standard.
- Photograph the problem and note when it started, what changed, and whether anything else in the house is affected.
- Have the seven questions ready before you call. They are on every trade page on this site.
Do not
- Do not pour chemical drain cleaner into anything. It damages pipes and it burns the person who opens the line next.
- Do not let a contractor start work with no written scope and price.
- Do not pay in full up front or in cash.
Who to call
A licensed plumber
A plumber is the right first call for anything that carries water or gas inside the house. If it is really an electrician, restoration or HVAC job, a good plumber will say so on the phone.
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What it should cost
$100 to $500 per hour at emergency rates, averaging $170
Emergency plumber hourly rate, national range. Standard daytime rate $40 to $200 an hour. Emergency trip fee $150 to $300
Source: Angi, emergency plumber cost, updated September 2026. View source
National published range, not a quote for your job. The full cost table for this trade is on the plumbing page.
Ask this contractor, on the phone, before anyone comes out
Tap each one as you ask it.
- Is this the emergency rate, and what would the same job cost during business hours?
- What is the trip or diagnostic fee, and does it come off the job?
- Can you tell me from what I described whether this is a plumber's job at all?
- Who pulls the permit if this needs one?
End the call if
- Turning up uninvited, or pressure for a decision on the spot.
- Full payment up front, or cash only.
- No licence number offered when you ask.