Emergency, right now
Emergency plumbing
Water is coming in and you need it stopped
Call and a person picks up, not a service that takes a message and pages somebody. They stay on the line and walk you to the shutoff valve while a truck is already leaving. We run out of Fairfax and Chantilly, which is what lets us hold a 45-minute response across most of the county.
What it costs
What it costs
The rate does not change with the clock. What you would be quoted at 2pm on a Tuesday is what you are quoted at 2am on a Sunday.
First thing
Turn the water off before you do anything else
For a burst pipe or a fitting that has let go, the main shutoff is usually where the water line enters the house, often in the basement against the street-facing wall, sometimes in a utility closet or the garage. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If the valve is seized, do not force it, because a snapped valve turns one problem into two. Tell us on the phone and we will talk you through the next best option.
For a leaking toilet or faucet there is a smaller valve on the wall behind it or under the sink, and closing that buys you the night. For a water heater leaking from the tank body, close the cold inlet on top of the unit and move whatever is sitting on the floor around it.
While the truck is on the way
Kill the power if water is near it
Water heaters, well pumps, and anything sitting on a basement floor. Switch the breaker off rather than the appliance.
Open the lowest tap in the house
It drains the pipes down and takes the pressure off the break while you wait.
Stop using the drains
If sewage is coming back up, every sink, shower and flush adds to it. Leave the water off until we are there.
Questions
Emergency, right now questions
Yes, and it is a person rather than a message service. They will ask what you are seeing, get you to the shutoff, and tell you when the truck will be there before they hang up.
No. There is no overtime rate, no holiday rate, and no weekend rate. This is the whole reason we quote jobs rather than hours.
Water you cannot stop, sewage coming back up into the house, no water at all, or a gas smell. A dripping faucet or a slow drain can wait for a scheduled window, and we will say so rather than sell you a night call.
We hold a 45-minute response across most of the area, which is what running two shops is for. If you are at the far edge of the county we will give you an honest number on the phone instead of a promise we would miss.
Call now and we will talk you through it
Someone answers at any hour. If it can safely wait until morning, we will tell you that too.
VA Class A #XXXX-XXXXXXX. Licensed and insured, with a 2-year warranty on parts and workmanship.