core · TN LLP #5045 · verify.tn.gov
Emergency Plumbing
Burst pipes, active leaks, and shutoffs, including after hours.
Quick answer
Burst pipes, active leaks, and no-shutoff emergencies — we cover the whole corridor including Chattanooga. Call and you get a straight answer on how soon we can be there.
When water is running where it should not be, the first job is to make it safe, then fix it right. We respond across the entire service area, Chattanooga included.
A plumbing emergency is really two problems at once: the damage happening right now, and the repair underneath it. The order matters. We stop the water first so the damage stops growing, then we deal with the fix once the situation is stable and you know what it costs.
That is the whole reason we can promise the same urgency in Chattanooga that we bring to Charleston: we move as fast as the situation needs, wherever you are in the corridor.
What the job covers
- Burst and frozen-pipe leaks
- Finding and closing the shutoff when you cannot
- Active supply-line and fixture leaks
- Water heater leaks and failures
- Making the situation safe first, then quoting the repair
How to tell
Signs you need emergency plumbing
- Water actively leaking and you cannot find or reach the shutoff
- No water in the house at all, or a sudden loss of pressure everywhere
- A burst or frozen pipe, especially in a wall, crawlspace, or garage
- Sewage backing up into a tub, floor drain, or the lowest fixtures
- A water heater dumping water or leaking from the tank body
- A steady drip inside a wall or ceiling that is spreading
The first thing to do is shut the water off
While we are on the way, the single most useful thing you can do is close the main shutoff. In most homes it is where the water line enters the house — often in a crawlspace, basement, garage, or an outside box near the meter. Turning that valve clockwise until it stops isolates the whole house and stops the damage clock.
If you cannot find it or it will not turn, call and we will talk you through it while we drive. For a single fixture, the smaller shutoff under the sink or behind the toilet may be enough. This is exactly why we flag old shutoff valves that no longer close on ordinary service calls — the middle of an emergency is the worst time to discover one is seized.
Same-visit repairs, and the bigger jobs underneath them
Most emergencies are resolved the same visit: a burst section replaced, a failed valve swapped, a leak found and repaired, a water heater repaired.
Sometimes the emergency turns up a bigger job underneath it — a full water heater replacement, a repipe, a sewer line. In that case we make the situation safe now and schedule the real repair properly. You get the stop-the-bleeding fix immediately and a straight answer about what the rest will take.
How we work
How we handle emergency plumbing
Make it safe
Stop the water at the shutoff and get the active damage under control before anything else.
Find the real source
Track the leak or failure to its actual origin, including hidden leaks behind walls, so the fix is targeted.
Stabilize
Get you back to usable water where we can, even if the full repair is a follow-up.
Quote before we repair
You get a price to approve before the repair work starts, even at 9 p.m.
Fix it and flag the cause
Repair it to code, and tell you honestly if it points to a larger job worth planning.
Permits
Some plumbing work requires a permit and an inspection, and some does not. Whether one is required for your job is determined by the Authority Having Jurisdiction — the city or county building and codes office for your address — and it is at their discretion.
Usually requires a permit
- Water heater replacement and tankless conversion
- Whole-house repiping
- Water service line and sewer line replacement
- Gas line installation and repair
- Relocating a fixture to a new position
Usually does not
- Drain cleaning and clearing blockages
- Emergency and repair work
- Like-for-like fixture replacement
- Water heater repair
- Camera inspection and diagnostics
This is general guidance rather than a ruling, and it can differ from one town to the next. The Authority Having Jurisdiction makes the determination. Across the Bradley–McMinn corridor we pull the permit and book the inspection ourselves. Inside Hamilton County and Chattanooga the permit office does not accept an application from our license class, so permit-required jobs there are referred to a licensed partner who does the work and meets the inspector.
Common questions
Emergency Plumbing: your questions answered
Are you available after hours?
What should I do while I wait for you?
What actually counts as a plumbing emergency?
Do you cover emergencies inside Chattanooga?
My pipe is leaking behind a wall. Can you find it?
Will I get a price before the work starts?
Are you actually licensed?
Get service
Book Drain Pros TN for emergency plumbing.
Call for the fastest response, request service online, or send the form and we’ll reach out. Woman-owned and family-run, licensed, with straight pricing you approve before we start and 24/7 emergency service.
TN Limited Licensed Plumber · #5045 · verify at verify.tn.gov
Request service
The fastest way to get on the schedule is a call. Online booking is being connected — until then, reach us directly.
Call (423) 413-6876