Before anything else: turn the water off at the meter. A water emergency stops getting worse the moment the water stops.
No obligation. Takes 30 seconds.
Emergency Plumber Geelong does plumbing work across the Geelong and Bellarine region, including emergency work. Tell us what's happening and whether water is still running. We give you a firm price before work starts.
Water everywhere: turn the mains off at the meter, usually at the front boundary, clockwise to close. Then open the lowest tap in the house to drain the pressure out of the pipework.
Gas smell: everyone outside. No light switches, no phones inside, no flames. Turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely, ring 000 if anyone is at risk, then AusNet Services on 13 67 07.
Sewage inside the house: stop using every fixture in the property, including upstairs. Every flush makes it worse.
Water still escaping and you can't stop it. Any gas smell at all. Sewage inside a building. No hot water in genuinely cold weather with elderly people, small children or anyone unwell in the house. Water anywhere near switchboards or power outlets.
A dripping tap, a slow drain, or one blocked toilet in a house with a second one is not one of these. Saying so honestly is what lets the real emergencies be seen first.
Anything on your side of the water meter is yours. A burst on the main in the street, or a sewer spilling in a public area, is Barwon Water's — ring them on 1300 656 007, staffed 24 hours.
That call is worth making before you engage anyone privately. A fault on Barwon Water's side is not one to pay a private plumber for.
$180 to $400 for the call-out outside business hours, against $120 to $250 within them. That premium is real and legitimate — someone is getting out of bed.
What isn't legitimate is discovering it on the invoice. We give you the after-hours rate on the phone before we come out, and tell you whether it comes off the repair.
Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast.
The ranges for this job and the call-out that comes with it.
| Job | Indicative price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency call-out, business hours | $120 – $250 | Attending and diagnosing. We tell you when you book whether it comes off the repair. |
| After hours, weekend or public holiday | $180 – $400 | The call-out premium. We give you the figure on the phone, before we come out. |
| Burst pipe — isolate and repair | $250 – $900 | Depends heavily on access. A pipe in a wall or under a slab must be reached first, and that work can take the total past this range. |
| Blocked drain — machine clear | $200 – $550 | Electric eel or high-pressure jet. Root-bound lines take longer. |
| Gas leak — make safe and repair | $250 – $800 | Gasfitting licence class. Never a job to defer or attempt. |
The full price table (12 rows), and how the ranges were compiled, is in the price guide.
An emergency call-out in business hours is $120 to $250; after hours, weekends and public holidays run $180 to $400. The repair is charged on top — a burst pipe isolated and repaired is $250 to $900, a blocked drain machine-cleared is $200 to $550.
Turn the water off at the meter — usually at the front boundary, turning clockwise. For a suspected gas leak, turn the gas off at the meter, open windows, don't touch light switches, and get everyone outside. Stopping the damage matters more than diagnosing it.
Water you cannot stop, no water at all, sewage backing up inside, a suspected gas leak, or no hot water in a house with a baby or someone unwell. A dripping tap at 11pm is not, and you will pay after-hours rates for it — it will cost less on Monday.
Can't stop the water coming out of a pipe.
Read more →
Slow, gurgling or backing up — and why the same drain keeps doing it.
Read more →
No hot water, not enough, or a unit leaking — and repair versus replace.
Read more →
A gas smell is a life-safety situation, not a plumbing inconvenience.
Read more →Tell us the suburb and what's happening, and we'll ring you back.
Call 0483 963 438