Signs you need this
- Puddles with no obvious source
- A drain that will not keep up
- No hot water, or not enough
- A smell of sewer gas
Kit on the van, and the method
- Pipe and adjustable wrenches
- Cutters for copper, PEX and ABS
- Torch and solder kit
- Inspection light, gauge and drop sheets
Before we leave: Put the system back under pressure and check every joint we touched.
What counts as an emergency
We sort urgent calls by one question: is water or sewage moving somewhere it will keep doing damage? If the answer is yes, the job jumps the queue. Typical examples from Whitby houses:
- A split supply line spraying inside a finished basement wall.
- A floor drain backing up with grey or brown water during a storm.
- A water heater dumping its contents onto the utility room slab.
- The only toilet in the house overflowing and refusing to drain.
- Dry taps everywhere following a frigid night, which often means a frozen service line.
The first five minutes are yours
Before you pick up the phone, close the main valve. In most Whitby subdivisions it is found where the service line pierces the street-side foundation, usually near the water meter. Older homes in the downtown grid sometimes hide it behind a basement storage shelf. If the leak is near outlets or a furnace, switch off that breaker. Move boxes and rugs out of the water's path. Then call, and keep the line clear so we can call back.
What we do on arrival
- Confirm the water or sewage is stopped, and stop it if it is not.
- Find the actual failure point, which is not always where the puddle is.
- Make the system safe: cap a line, bypass a fixture, or clear a blocked main.
- Explain what a permanent repair involves, so you can decide on it in daylight.
Sometimes the emergency visit and the full repair are the same job. A burst copper elbow can be cut out and replaced in one go. Other times, like a collapsed section of sewer under the lawn, the night visit restores flow and the excavation is planned separately.
Keeping the bill sensible
We tell you before work begins what the visit includes and how it is charged. If a temporary fix will hold until regular hours and cost you less, we say so. If a part is not on the truck, we say that too rather than improvising something that fails next week.
Insurance paperwork
Insurers generally want to know the cause, not just the damage. We note what failed, take photos of it, and keep the removed part if you want it for an adjuster.
Asked on the phone
Should I call the town or a plumber for a sewage backup?
If several neighbours are affected at once the municipal sewer may be surcharged and the Region should hear about it. When yours is the only house affected, the plug usually sits in your private lateral, which is our department.
Can I use the toilet during a leak?
Not with the main shut off for long. Each flush empties the tank and it will not refill until the water is back on.