I want the problem sorted and I want to get home too
An emergency call-out is not an opportunity to turn a small problem into a six-hour job. I want to stop the damage, make the property safe and get the problem dealt with sensibly.
If a burst heating pipe at 9pm needs isolating and draining down, that may be the useful job for that night. If repairing it properly means lifting floors, sourcing parts, refilling, venting and recommissioning the system, that can often be done properly the next day.
I'll do what's useful tonight — and what's better done tomorrow, tomorrow.
Can you smell gas?
Call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.
If you can smell gas, the immediate priority is the dedicated gas emergency service making the supply safe. Do not wait for me to trace the leak first.
Once the emergency service has isolated or capped the supply, that is often where my work begins. As a Gas Safe registered engineer I can investigate the installation, isolate a faulty appliance where appropriate, test the installation and trace gas leaks systematically.
Read about gas leak detection & repair →
First job: end the emergency
My first job on an emergency call-out is to stop the immediate damage and make things safe. If I can make a sensible permanent repair there and then, I will. If it needs parts, major access or work that is better done properly the following day, I will isolate the problem and explain what needs to happen next.
You've got more options at 10 a.m. than you have at 10 p.m. Not every plumbing problem at 10pm needs a 10pm plumber. Sometimes the sensible thing is to make it safe, stop the damage and deal with the permanent repair properly in the morning.
If I can't get to you quickly enough, I'll tell you
I don't advertise a made-up response time. If I am free and nearby, I can sometimes get to an emergency very quickly. If I am already in the middle of another job and realistically cannot reach you soon enough to prevent damage, I will tell you to get somebody else rather than promise a time I cannot keep.
For a genuine uncontrolled leak, I am not going to waste time asking you to film a documentary. If we already know water is escaping and you cannot stop it, the priority is containing the water and getting it isolated.
Does it actually need an emergency plumber tonight?
A blocked toilet is a massive inconvenience, but if you have another working toilet and nothing is overflowing or damaging the property, paying somebody a fortune in the middle of the night may not be the best answer. The same applies to a tap dripping safely into a sink or a shower dripping into its enclosure.
That does not mean I will dismiss it. You deal with plumbing faults once in a blue moon; I deal with them every day. I'll ask a few questions and tell you whether I think somebody genuinely needs to attend now or whether you are better off waiting until morning.
If the situation changes, the advice changes. A shower dripping into the enclosure is one thing. Water from that shower appearing through the ceiling below is a completely different conversation.
What I class as a genuine plumbing emergency
To me these faults are everyday plumbing. To the person whose ceiling has just started dripping, they can feel like the end of the world. So call me and tell me what's happening. I'll help work out how urgent it really is.
Burst pipes & uncontrolled leaksWater escaping that you cannot contain or isolate, especially where the property is being damaged.
Water through a ceilingA leak from above needs controlling quickly, particularly if you cannot identify or shut off the source.
Can't turn the water offIf you cannot find the stopcock / stop tap, or it will not operate, I can talk you through the immediate options and attend when necessary.
Continuous overflowA tank, toilet or overflow pipe running continuously can become urgent if water is escaping somewhere it should not.
No heating in freezing weatherA failed boiler in properly cold winter weather can become urgent. I'll first establish whether there is anything useful that can actually be done that night.
Burst heating pipeAt night the sensible repair may be to isolate and drain the affected system to stop damage, then return to repair and recommission it properly.
Emergency call-out charges
I will tell you the likely emergency charge before I set off. The charge is for attending and making the situation safe; it is not an hourly rate designed to keep me in your house all night.
After 7pm — starts from £150This is the minimum out-of-hours emergency call-out. If a straightforward repair can sensibly be completed during the attendance, I will do it.
After midnight — starts from £300This is the minimum for genuine middle-of-the-night emergencies. At those hours suppliers are shut, so some permanent repairs will necessarily wait until the next day.
If it needs significant materials, specialist equipment or further work, I'll explain that rather than turn a simple make-safe into hours of unnecessary work.
Boiler broken down on a freezing night?
I repair boilers and heating systems, and in very cold weather a house with no heating can become a genuine urgent problem. But being urgent does not magically make parts available at 10pm.
I will normally try the useful basics with you first — boiler pressure, controls, reset and other safe checks. If I have good reason to think I can help and I have the likely part, attending may make sense. If the boiler obviously needs a specific part that cannot be obtained until the morning, I would rather tell you that than charge you to stand in front of it and tell you the same thing.
I won't charge you to turn up if I already know there's nothing useful I can do that night.
