Emergency plumbing

Is this an emergency?

Some of these need us right now. Most don't. We'll tell you which you've got. If it can wait until 8 a.m., we'll say so, and you'll pay the daytime rate.

Call now

These don't wait.

• No water to the house.
• A leak you cannot stop.
• A burst pipe.
• Sewage coming up through a tub, shower, or floor drain.
• A water heater leaking from the tank body. Not the relief valve, not a fitting. The tank itself.
• Water near an electrical panel, outlets, or where the power comes into the house.
• A main line break.
• A gas smell. Leave the house. Call 911 and Dominion Energy from outside. Not a plumber.

Same day, but not an emergency

Call in the morning and you'll pay the daytime rate.

• One fixture clogged while the other drains run fine.
• No hot water, with cold water working. Uncomfortable, not urgent, and cheaper to fix at the day rate.
• A toilet that won't stop running. It's wasting water and money, not flooding.
• A leaking supply stop you've been able to shut off.
• A relief valve dripping on the water heater.

Schedule it

Call when you're ready.

• A dripping faucet. A slow drain. Low pressure at one fixture.
• A fixture you want replaced.
• A water heater near the end of its life but not leaking.
• Water that tastes or smells wrong.

Not sure? Call and we'll ask three questions.

A wet spot in the ceiling that isn't growing. A water heater making noise. A running toilet that won't stop filling. These depend. We'd rather talk you through it tonight and see you tomorrow.

Shut the water off first

We'd rather you stop the damage than wait for us to stop it. If you can shut it off yourself, do it, then call. Every minute is a square foot of drywall.

The standard advice is "check your basement." Most St. George houses are built on a slab. There is no basement and usually no crawlspace. There are up to three shutoffs. Know all three.

1. The house-side main. In a slab house it's most often at or near the front hose bib, where the line comes up out of the ground, sometimes inside a small access box or behind a panel. Or in the garage, on the wall shared with the front of the house, often near the water heater or the softener. Or in an interior utility closet.
2. The curb stop at the meter box. A plastic or concrete box at the property line, usually in the park strip or near the sidewalk. It takes a long T-handled meter key. Buy one before you need it. The valve on the street side of the meter belongs to the city. For city-side work, call St. George Water Services at 435-627-4802.
3. The water heater's cold inlet valve, and the small angle stops under every sink and toilet. For one fixture, these are enough.

If the valve won't turn

Gate valves seize in hard water, and St. George water is hard. A shutoff that hasn't been turned in fifteen years may not turn, or the stem may fail the moment it does. Don't force it. A snapped stem turns a leak into a flood. Go to the curb stop instead.

Find and tag your main shutoff before you need it. Two minutes on a Saturday. Turn it once a year so it keeps working.

In a condominium or townhome, the shutoff may not be yours. Utah Code § 57-8-7.2 sets where the association's pipe ends and yours begins. If the valve is on common ground, call the association or the manager as well as us.

If you smell gas

A gas smell is not our call. Leave the building. Call 911 and Dominion Energy from outside. Call a plumber after, if there's still something for a plumber to do.

Freezing, and what actually breaks here

St. George does freeze. The average January low is 28.4°F. Roughly 60 mornings a year drop to freezing, and the freeze window runs from mid-November to mid-March. People who moved here from milder climates don't expect it.

But the lows sit right at freezing, not well below it. Pipes inside the house stay above freezing. What breaks is exposed brass and plastic outside: hose bibs, especially with a hose still attached; the backflow assembly on your irrigation system, which the city requires and which sits above ground; pool and spa equipment; attic runs where insulation got pushed aside; exposed lines in an unheated garage; RV hookups and outdoor kitchens.

Dripping faucets and opening cabinet doors is advice for another climate. Here, disconnecting your hoses and winterizing the backflow is nearly everything.

• Disconnect and drain hoses by November 1.
• Put insulated covers on hose bibs.
• Winterize the backflow assembly and blow out the irrigation zones.
• Winterize pool equipment.
• Check that attic insulation still covers the pipe runs.
• Know where the shutoff is.

Water damage: the first hour

In order. The first step matters more than all the others together.

1. Shut the water off at the main. Everything else is secondary.
2. If water is near outlets or the panel, kill power to those circuits from a dry spot. If the panel itself is wet, don't approach it. Call the utility.
3. Stop the source. For a water heater, close the cold inlet and turn the gas control to OFF.
4. Photograph and video everything before you move anything. Wide shots and close-ups, the source and every damaged item. This is the step most people skip, and it's the one that decides how the claim goes.
5. Get the standing water out and get air moving. Mold starts in wet material in roughly 24 to 48 hours. Our dry air is a real advantage, but only if the fans start now.
6. Call your insurer and open the claim.
7. Don't throw away the failed part. The adjuster will want it.
8. Save every receipt.

What it costs at night

An emergency is the worst possible time to find out what something costs. So we published it.

We charge more at night. You'll be told exactly how much more on the call, before anyone is dispatched, so you can decide whether to call us now or wait for the morning. It doesn't change based on how bad it looks.

If it can wait until morning, we'll say so, and you'll pay the daytime rate. The diagnostic fee is credited to the repair if you go ahead.

Nobody should have to negotiate a price standing in water. Same promise as every other job: the quote is the number. Emergencies included.

What happens when you call

Here's what happens next, in order.

1. A person answers. Any hour. Tell us what you’re seeing.
2. We tell you if it can wait. If it can wait until morning, we say so, and you pay the daytime rate.
3. You know who is coming. Name, photo and the time window, before the knock.

If the window slips, we call you

We'll give you a real window when you call. If it slips, we call you. You shouldn't have to wonder. If we can't get to you tonight, we'll say so on the phone, not at 11 p.m. after you've waited.

A stranger at the door after dark is the last thing you want. You'll have the technician's name and photo before he leaves our shop. If someone shows up who isn't the person we told you about, don't let him in. Call us.