When it cannot wait until morning
Emergency plumber for Houston homes, day or night
Water is spreading across the floor, a toilet keeps rising, or the house has no water at all. You need someone to pick up the phone right now and tell you what to do first.
- We answer 24/7, holidays included
- Dispatched from South Belt near Ellington
- Water stopped first, then the failed part found
Updated October 2026
Short answer
An emergency plumber in Houston answers when water is actively causing damage, and the first job is stopping it by closing the main or the fixture valve. We answer 24/7, talk you through the shut-off while a plumber heads your way, then find the failed part and repair it or make it safe until morning.
The job
What counts as a plumbing emergency, and what can wait
A true plumbing emergency is anything that keeps putting water, sewage or gas where it should not be: a split supply line in the attic, a water heater dumping onto the garage floor, a sewer backup coming up through a shower drain, or no water to the house at all. Those need a plumber tonight. A dripping faucet, a slow sink or a running toilet can usually wait for a normal appointment, and waiting often costs you less.
When you call, we ask a few direct questions: where the water is coming from, whether you can find the main valve, and whether anything electrical is wet. That tells us what to bring. If it turns out to be a broken pipe, the visit becomes a burst pipe repair. If drains are backing up in more than one fixture, we come ready for a main sewer line clog.
The versions we see most
After-hours plumbing calls
Most late calls fall into a few patterns. A supply hose behind the washer lets go, a toilet fill valve sticks open and overflows, or a water heater starts leaking from the tank. At night the goal is to stop the damage and leave the house usable. Sometimes that means a full repair on the spot, because the common valves and fittings ride on the truck. Other times it means capping a line, isolating one fixture and coming back in daylight for the bigger piece of work, such as a water heater repair or swap. You decide which route after we show you what failed and what each option involves.
Weekend and holiday plumbing
Holidays put more load on plumbing than any other time. A full house on Thanksgiving sends grease and food scraps down the kitchen drain, and extra guests mean extra showers and flushes on an older sewer line. Saturday and Sunday calls are often slow drains that finally stopped, or a disposal that jammed in the middle of a meal. We work weekends and holidays the same as weekdays. A kitchen line gets cleared with a cable sized to the pipe; if every drain in the house is slow, the clog is further out in the main line, past the cleanout.
Water shut-off help by phone
The single most useful thing you can do before we arrive is shut off the water. On most slab homes the house valve sits where the line rises out of the ground near the front hose bib, or in the garage, and there is a second valve in the meter box by the street. Turn a round gate valve handle clockwise until it stops; turn a ball valve lever a quarter turn so it sits across the pipe. If you can't find it, stay on the line and we'll describe what to look for. If the valve will not budge, don't force it with a wrench, because that is how old valves snap.
Timing
How long an emergency visit usually takes
Stopping the water usually takes minutes once someone is on site. A straightforward repair like a failed supply hose, a cracked fitting or a stuck fill valve is often finished in an hour or two. Bigger failures change the picture: replacing a leaking water heater can take half a day, and a sewer backup may need a camera look after the clog is cleared.
While we work, expect the water off to the whole house or to the one branch we isolated. We tell you before shutting anything else down, and we restore water to the rest of the house as soon as the problem area is cut off.
Step by step
What happens between your call and a dry floor
Answer and triage
We ask where the water is coming from and help you close the right valve.
Head your way
A plumber leaves with parts matched to what you described.
Find the source
We trace the leak or backup to the failed part before touching anything else.
Stop or fix
You hear the options, a full repair now or a safe temporary fix, before work starts.
Restore and check
Water goes back on slowly while we watch every joint we touched.
Local to southeast Houston
Freeze nights and storm season keep Houston phones busy
Emergencies here cluster around weather. In February 2021, Hobby recorded 15 degrees and Bush Intercontinental 13, and the city saw a sharp jump in water main breaks along with a boil water notice that ran from February 17 to 21. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, peaking around September 10, and long outages and heavy rain test every pipe and drain in the house. Knowing where your main valve is before either kind of night arrives saves real damage.
Talk to a plumber now
Any hour, any day. Tell us what you see.
Before you call
What you can do before the plumber gets there
| Situation | What you can safely do | When to call us |
|---|---|---|
| Water spraying from a pipe | Close the main shut-off and open a low faucet to drain pressure. | Right away, so the break can be found and repaired. |
| Toilet overflowing | Turn the stop valve behind the toilet clockwise until the tank stops filling. | If the bowl refills from below or other drains gurgle. |
| Water heater leaking | Close the cold supply valve on top and switch off the power or set the gas to pilot. | When water keeps coming from the tank itself. |
| Sewage in a tub or shower | Stop using every fixture in the house, including the washer and dishwasher. | Immediately; a main line clog will not clear on its own. |
| Smell of gas | Leave the house, then call the gas utility or 911 from outside. | After the utility makes it safe, for the repair. |
Pricing
What shapes the bill on an after-hours visit
An emergency call is priced on the work, the time of day and what the failed part turns out to be. Stopping a leak is usually quick; the repair behind it varies.
Time of the call
Late night, weekend and holiday visits usually carry a higher rate than a weekday appointment.
What failed
A burst washer hose is a small fix; a leaking tank or a broken sewer line is a larger job.
Temporary or permanent
Capping a line tonight and finishing in daylight can split the work into two visits.
Access
Pipes in an attic, inside a wall or under the slab take longer to reach than ones under a sink.
Parts on hand
Common valves and fittings are on the truck; a specific heater or unusual part may mean a return trip.
Typical planning range: $100 - $350 per hour on average, plus a $150 - $250 service call fee or surcharge for emergency plumber hourly rate, nights/weekends/holidays, per HomeGuide (Dece). That is a published range, not a quote. Your price comes after we look.
Common questions
Emergency Plumber questions from Houston homeowners
Usually yes. After-hours and holiday work runs at a higher rate than a weekday visit. We tell you the price before any work starts, so you can choose a temporary fix tonight and the full repair later if that suits you better.
Call now if water, sewage or gas is still escaping and you cannot stop it, or if the house has no water. If you can close a valve and the problem stops, morning is usually fine.
Where the water is coming from, whether you have found and closed the main, whether anything electrical is wet, and roughly how old the water heater is if it is involved. That tells us which parts to bring.
Most common failures, such as hoses, fittings, fill valves and short pipe sections, are fixed on the spot. Larger jobs like a heater swap or a sewer repair may need a return trip in daylight.
Yes, when sewage is coming up into a tub, shower or floor drain. Stop all water use in the house, keep people and pets away from the water, and call us so the line can be cleared.
Same system, different job
Related plumbing services
- Burst Pipe RepairSplit copper, blown PEX fittings and freeze-cracked lines cut out and replaced.
- Leak DetectionAcoustic and pressure testing to find a hidden leak before anyone cuts drywall.
- Gas Leak RepairGas smell, hissing fittings or a red-tagged meter handled the right way.
- Water Heater RepairNo hot water, pilot trouble or a leaking valve fixed on tank heaters, gas or electric.
- Main Sewer Line CleaningBackups in more than one fixture cleared at the cleanout, roots included.
Water still running?
Close the main shut-off if you can reach it, then call. We stay on the line while you do.