Emergency Plumber
in Bryanston
When you need an emergency plumber in Bryanston, the first job is stopping the water. We make your side safe, write down what caused the damage, and give you the call-out rate before anyone drives out.
Ask for an emergency visitFive Things To Do Before Anyone Arrives
Matched to what is happening. Each one limits the damage while help is on the way.
- A pipe has burst inside
- Shut the main stopcock to stop the flow, then isolate the geyser at the board: an element left on in a cylinder that has drained can burn out.
- Water is coming through a ceiling
- Cut the power to that area at the board before you touch light fittings or switches, then catch the drip in a bucket.
- The geyser is leaking
- Isolate it at the board first. Then shut the cold valve on the pipe feeding it and run a hot tap until the flow stops, which drops the pressure in the cylinder.
- Water is running from the street
- If it comes from the road or the verge, it is the City's main. Report it to Johannesburg Water and write down the reference number.
- Sewage is coming up through a gully or a toilet
- Stop using water in the house. If it is a City manhole, report it; if it is your own gully or chamber, it needs clearing.
When It Is The City's Main That Floods Your Property
Several Bryanston streets are still served by asbestos-cement mains. Johannesburg Water dates the 75 mm pipe under Daniel, Witney, Halifax and Bath streets to 1963. Residents of Plantation Road counted 15 bursts in a single year, which the utility put down to their street's 100 mm asbestos-cement pipe. On Ballyclare Drive and Hobart Road it has said the pipe is past its design life and that bursts are unavoidable until it is replaced.
When a main like that bursts, the water does not stay in the road. The ward councillor has described damaged walls and flooded complexes on Ballyclare Drive. In Rivonia, residents of a complex reported paving that sank and water pooling at their meters after a 100 mm pipe outside failed three times in three years.
Repairing the main is Johannesburg Water's job. The damage on your side is a claim, and a claim rests on what was recorded at the time. Photograph the water's path from the street onto the property, the meter, the walls and anything damaged, and log the burst so you have a reference number. Keep the receipts for whatever you spend to limit the damage. If a plumber comes out to stop the water getting into the house, ask for the invoice to name the burst main as the cause and to give the date and time of the call-out.
The law sets a clock as well. Under the Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State Act, anyone who wants to sue a municipality for a debt has to give it written notice within six months. If a claim stalls, that is the deadline to keep in mind, and an attorney can advise on how it applies.
Stop the water on your side, record the damage before it is cleaned up, and ask for the cause in writing. A plumber's note that the water came from the City's main and not your pipes is worth having in hand before you lodge the claim.
How An Emergency Call-Out Is Charged
Nothing about the price is left until the invoice.
Said on the phone
- What the call-out costs, and the after-hours figure where it applies
- Roughly what the visit will cover: stopping the leak and making safe
- Whether anyone can come, and an honest idea of when
Put in writing
- A temporary repair, priced and named as temporary
- The permanent repair, quoted separately if it needs parts or daylight
- The cause of the damage, for your insurer or a claim against the City
What Happens After You Ask For A Visit
Four steps, with the water stopped as early as possible.
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On the phone
What is happening, where the stopcock is, and help closing it if the water is still running.
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Make safe
Stop the leak, isolate the damaged section and the geyser, and get water back to the rest of the house if it can be done safely.
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Record
Photographs and a written note of the cause, especially when the source is the City’s main or a neighbour’s pipe.
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Repair or quote
A permanent repair there and then where that is safe, or a written price for it if parts are needed.
The Repairs An Emergency Can Lead To
Emergency Questions, Answered
The rate first, then what to do and what to keep for a claim.
What does an emergency plumber cost in Bryanston?
There is a call-out rate, and a higher one after hours, and both are given on the phone before anyone drives out. The repair itself is priced in writing once the cause is known.
Do you come out at night and over weekends?
That depends on the day, and you are told straight when we speak. This page does not promise hours it cannot keep.
Where is my main stopcock?
Look along the route the supply takes: beside the meter at the front boundary, then where the pipe comes up into the house, which on many homes is an outside wall by the kitchen or scullery. It is worth finding it on a quiet day and turning it once, so you know it moves.
Water is running from the street onto my property. Do I need a plumber?
Report it to Johannesburg Water first, because the main is theirs. Ask us for a visit if water is getting into the house, if your own pipes or meter connection were damaged, or if you want the cause written down for a claim.
Can I claim from the City for damage from a burst main?
You can lodge a claim with Johannesburg Water. Keep the photographs, the reference number and receipts for what you spent limiting the damage. If the matter ever goes to court, written notice to the City has to be given within six months.
Should I switch the geyser off during a burst?
Yes, if the water to the house is off or the geyser itself is leaking. Leave it off at the board until the supply is back and the cylinder has refilled, so the element does not heat an empty tank.
Will a temporary repair hold?
It is meant to hold until the permanent repair, and the invoice says which one you have. A clamp over a split is temporary; a new length of pipe is not.
What if the burst is on a shared pipe in our complex?
Let the managing agent or the trustees know as well as us. A pipe feeding several units in a sectional title scheme is for the body corporate to repair, so the trustees approve the work and may send their own plumber.
Ask For An Emergency Visit
Water still running? Shut the main stopcock before anything else, then send the form. We phone you back with the call-out rate, any after-hours figure, and whether someone can come.