How do you choose an emergency plumber?
Choosing an emergency plumber comes down to four questions asked before anyone travels: what the callout costs and whether it still applies if you decline the repair, whether the price is confirmed before work starts, when they can actually arrive, and whether the job will be quoted in writing. Turning off the water at the stopcock first is what turns most emergencies into an urgent job instead, which is cheaper and calmer.
An emergency plumber is chosen in a bad moment, usually on a phone, often with water on the floor. The trick is to have decided the criteria before that happens, because in the moment itself almost everyone accepts the first person who answers.
Before you call: stop the water
This is the single highest value thing you can do, and it changes what kind of job you are buying.
- Find the stopcock. In most Portuguese homes it is near the water meter, in a box at the boundary wall or in a service cupboard. Turn it clockwise to close.
- If the leak is at one fixture, look for an isolating valve under the sink or behind the toilet and close only that.
- Turn off the water heater if it is electric, and switch off any circuit that water may have reached.
- Photograph the leak and the damage before mopping up, particularly if you may claim on insurance.
Water that has been stopped is an urgent job, not an emergency. That distinction is worth real money, and it also means the work gets done properly rather than at speed.
The four questions, in order
- What does the callout cost, and does it still apply if I decide not to go ahead? A callout is normal. A callout that is only disclosed on the invoice is not.
- Will the price be confirmed before work starts? The correct answer is yes, with the caveat that opening a wall can reveal something else, in which case they stop and requote.
- When can you actually be here? A window is an answer. “Soon” is not.
- Will I get the quote and the invoice in writing? Anyone who has an invoice system has a business you can go back to when something fails again.
Warning signs
- A price given confidently over the phone for a fault nobody has seen. The honest version is a range with the reason for it.
- Pressure to authorise more work while the floor is still wet. Real emergencies need the water stopped and the immediate fault fixed. Repiping decisions can wait until Tuesday.
- No written anything: no quote, no invoice, cash only, no name.
- Refusal to explain what failed. A plumber who has just fixed something can say what was wrong in one sentence.
What to have ready when you call
The make of the water heater if that is the problem, the age of the house, what the pipework is if you know, where the water is appearing, and whether the mains is now off. Two sentences with those facts get a far more useful response than a long description of the panic. If you are calling for a property that is empty, say who can give access and how, because with nobody at the house that is usually the real constraint rather than availability.
For how a request is handled and what happens between the first message and the finished job, see plumbing in the Algarve.
The unglamorous prevention
Two things prevent most plumbing emergencies in this region. Know where your stopcock is, and check that it actually turns, because a seized stopcock is a common and nasty surprise mid leak. And if the house stands empty for part of the year, close the mains when you leave. A small leak in an empty house runs for weeks, and the damage it does to plaster, floors and furniture always costs more than the fitting that failed.
Get the number for your own job
Every price on this page depends on details only your job has. Describe it to Handyman Algarve, add a photo, and the quote comes back with the figure for that job, at no cost.
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