It is not uncommon for emergency plumbing situations to happen at home in rather inappropriate times. But before you freak out and hastily call the plumbing service, why not work on the problem yourself? A lot of the common household plumbing problems are relatively easy to work on your own.
Frozen Pipes: When water in pipes freeze they expand and may even burst the pipe. Close the main shutoff valve. If the pipe has not split yet, thaw it with hot water bottles from the end of the pipe nearest to the tap. Thawing must be gentle, never with a naked flame, to avoid thermal water expansion that too can split the pipe. As a preventive maintenance make sure your pipes are appropriately insulated against the cold months.
How do you determine if it is an emergency? Look at the source of the problem. If water is not moving and the sink is just full of water that isn't draining, you haven't found a real emergency. If the faucet in the sink will not stop running, and the water isn't draining, it may turn quickly into an water leak.
Can you imagine the uproar there would have been if all the Trustworthy plumber around the world stuffed up and drains blocked up everywhere? Well, isn't that very similar to what has happened to our financial sector?
The number one thing to look for is emergency services. You never know when a pipe will burst or a toilet will overflow. It is not always during business hours, and you certainly cannot wait hours until a Local plumber is ready to come to your home in the morning. You need someone who will be responsive when you need fast help, which is why you should look for a company that provides emergency hours. You may have to pay an extra fee, but it is usually cheaper than having to pay for mold elimination down the road after letting standing water stay in your house for days.
The first step is to avoid anyone who knocks your door offering to do work for you. This is not how professional organisations tend to court businesses and, in most cases, the better professionals will have plenty of work to keep them going without the need to door-to-door.
Hourly fees are another thing you want to check out before you hire a plumber. Call around and get a few estimates for a job. Ascertain if the plumber is willing to sign a quote and give you a price warranty before he begins working. You should also find out if the plumber will require you travel time to and from your job and how they will compute that time and prove it to you. Giving you a precise price may be challenging, but any plumber who can't give you a comprehensive explanation of how you will be billed with an estimate of the cost should be avoided.