Call and describe the problem
Call and describe what you can see and hear, which fixtures are affected and whether water is still running. Have your property ZIP code ready; availability depends on the provider and the property location.
How a Plumbing Call Works
There is nothing mysterious about it. You call, you are connected with an independent plumber, the plumber assesses the cause and the price, and work happens only once you agree to it. Here is the same thing in more detail, so nothing on the day comes as a surprise.
- Plumbing Referral Service
- Independent Pros
- Availability Varies
From Your Call to the Repair
Stop the water if it is safe
If it is safe, close the fixture valve, the main valve where the supply enters the house or the valve in the meter box near the street. Nothing you have to force, and nothing near live electrics.
Diagnosis and a written quote
Ask the independent plumber to find the actual cause rather than the nearest symptom, explain what the repair involves and give you the price. Where more than one option is sensible, ask about both.
Repair, test and hand over
Work should start only once you approve it. Afterwards, ask the provider to test the repair under pressure or by running the fixtures, and to show you what was replaced and where your shutoff valves are.
Before the Plumber Arrives
If water is escaping, stopping it comes first. In most Arizona homes the main valve is on the supply line where it enters the house at the front, often beside a hose bib, and many homes have a second valve in the garage near the water softener loop. There is also a valve in the meter box near the street, which needs a meter key to turn. Find yours before you ever need it and check that it actually moves, because a seized valve during an emergency is a second problem on top of the first.
Stay off wet flooring near outlets, appliances and ceiling fixtures, and do not open a ceiling that is bulging with water. If a water heater is leaking, switching off its breaker or gas control is worth doing only when the control is dry, easy to reach and you are not standing in water. Anything involving a gas line, a pressurized pipe or sewage is worth waiting for rather than attempting.
Read about the services described here, check your neighborhood on the service areas page, look through the common questions, or compare options on our water heater repair or replacement guide.
What You Can Expect From the Quote
The cause, in plain terms
What failed, why it failed and what happens if it is left alone. If a camera or a pressure test was used, you see the result for yourself rather than being told about it.
The options, not just one
Where a repair and a replacement are both reasonable, ask to hear both with the trade-offs. Nobody should be steered toward the bigger job by default.
A price before work starts
Ask to approve the scope and the price before any pipe is cut, and to be asked again if something unexpected turns up behind a wall.
Ready when you are
Call to be connected with an independent plumber; availability varies by provider.