Emergency plumber, or wait until tomorrow? A Birmingham homeowner's decision guide

We run two repair tiers at Property Edge: general repairs (booked in advance, £55/hour standard rate, no callout fee) and emergency callouts (same-day or 24/7, premium rate, with a callout fee for the first hour). About 80% of the plumbing calls we get could and should be the cheaper tier — but customers reach for 'emergency' because they're panicking. Here's a quick framework for which is which.

Genuine plumbing emergencies (call us now)

• Water actively coming through a ceiling or down a wall — the longer this runs, the more damage to plaster, joists and electrics. Book an emergency callout.
• Burst pipe you can't isolate (no working stopcock, or stopcock won't shut off the leak)
• Sewage backing up into a bath, sink or toilet — environmental health issue, not just inconvenience
• Total loss of cold mains across the property (suggests a major leak somewhere)
• Carbon monoxide alarm sounding (gas-safe partner dispatched immediately)

Not emergencies (book a cheaper general repair)

• A dripping tap, even a fast one — annoying, but doesn't escalate overnight. Book a general repair visit instead.
• A toilet that won't stop running between flushes — wasteful, but not damaging
• A radiator that's cold at the top — needs bleeding, not a 1am visit
• Water pressure that's dropped a bit but still works — most cases this is fine to investigate during the week
• A slow leak under a sink that you've caught in a bucket — turn the isolation valve, book for tomorrow

How fast we'll actually be on site

For genuine emergencies, we target 2 hours across Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Coventry, and 4 hours across the wider Midlands — Worcester, Stoke, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester. For general repairs we aim for next working day across the same patch, and within 3 working days everywhere else we cover. The full coverage map shows current response times by town.

What to do while you wait

Even for genuine emergencies, the make-safe step is usually yours. Find your internal stopcock (typically under the kitchen sink in a Midlands home, or in a cupboard near the front door for newer builds). Turn it clockwise until it stops. Open the cold tap at the lowest point in the house to drain down the system — this stops more water arriving at the leak. Turn off the boiler. Move valuables out of the room. Take photos for insurance. Then book a job and we'll head over.