A burst pipe doesn’t check the clock. Neither does a water heater that lets go at 11pm, or a sewer line that backs up into the tub on a Sunday. When something’s actively flooding your house, you need a plumber who picks up — not a voicemail promising a callback in the morning.
We’ve been answering emergency calls around Houston since 1989. Real person on the phone, real plumber on the way, any hour of any day. Call 713-955-1919 and we’ll walk you through shutting things down while a truck heads your way.
Is it actually an emergency?
Here’s the honest answer: not every plumbing problem needs a 2am visit, and we’d rather tell you that on the phone than charge you to hear it in person. A dripping faucet, a slow drain, a toilet that runs — those can wait for morning, and waiting costs you nothing but patience.
Call right away, though, if you’ve got water you can’t stop — a burst supply line, a slab leak soaking the carpet, a water heater dumping its tank onto the floor. Same goes for sewage coming up through drains or toilets, no water to the whole house, or a gas smell anywhere near the water heater. Those get worse by the hour, and “worse” in Houston usually means drywall, flooring, and a mold problem stacked on top of the plumbing bill.
First thing: shut off the water
Before anything else, kill the water. Most Houston homes have a main shutoff on the house side — usually a valve near an outside faucet at the front, or in the garage. Can’t find it? The meter box at the curb has one too; a meter key helps, but pliers work in a pinch. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
If it’s the water heater, there’s a cold-water valve on top of the tank — close it, and if the tank runs on gas, twist the dial to off. Ten seconds there can save a ceiling.
Then call us: 713-955-1919. If you’re stuck, we’ll stay on the line and find the valve with you.
What we handle around the clock
Burst and leaking pipes, including the attic lines that let go during hard freezes. Water heaters — leaks, no hot water, pilot trouble; if yours is on its way out, our water heater repair page covers the repair-or-replace math. Sewer backups and main-line stoppages, cleared through the cleanout and, when roots or a break are involved, scoped with a camera so you know exactly what you’re dealing with before that work rolls into a sewer repair. Slab leaks. Gas line trouble. Burst washing machine hoses. After-hours commercial calls for restaurants and property managers. If water’s somewhere it shouldn’t be, it’s ours.
Why Houston homes flood at 2am
Houston plumbing keeps its own failure schedule. Hard freezes are rare enough here that pipes were never built for them — so when one finally hits, attic lines and hose bibbs burst by the thousands, all in the same week. Our clay soil swells and shrinks with every wet-dry cycle and works on slab pipes until one gives. Neighborhoods like Meyerland, Bellaire, and the Heights still run plenty of original cast iron drain lines, and fifty-year-old cast iron doesn’t fail politely. And when a tropical system parks over the city, storm surcharge can push the sewer backward into the lowest drain in the house.
None of that is your fault. All of it is fixable.
What an emergency call costs
Straight answer: you’ll know the price before we start, nights and weekends included. We quote the job, not the hour, so a 3am call doesn’t turn into a mystery invoice. And if what you’ve got can genuinely wait until morning, we’ll say so on the phone and save you the after-hours trip entirely.
Emergency plumbing questions we hear at odd hours
Do you really answer at 3 in the morning?
Yes. 713-955-1919 rings a person, not a machine — nights, weekends, and holidays. We’ve been running 24/7 dispatch since 1989.
Should I call about a small leak?
Call, yes — a visit, maybe not. A pinhole drip under a sink with a bucket beneath it can usually wait for morning rates. Tell us what you’re seeing and we’ll be honest about which one you’ve got.
How fast can you get here?
Depends on where you are and what the night looks like, but we dispatch from the Westheimer area and most Houston calls see a truck within the hour. You’ll get a real ETA when you call, not a four-hour window.
Do emergency calls cost more than daytime ones?
After-hours work carries a premium — that’s true of every plumber in town, and anyone who says otherwise is hiding it in the line items. The difference with us is you’ll hear the number before the work starts, not after.
What should I do while I wait?
Shut off the water at the main or the fixture, kill the breaker or gas to a leaking water heater, and get what you can off wet floors. Skip the shop vac if sewage is involved — that’s a health hazard, and it’s exactly the kind of mess we suit up for.
One number, any hour
Save it now, before you need it: 713-955-1919. Family-owned, Master Plumber License #16188, and answering Houston’s worst plumbing nights since 1989. You can also reach us through our contact page if it’s the kind of problem that can wait for daylight.