When Highland plumbing breaks at night, a person picks up
Water coming through a ceiling, sewage backing up into the tub on a Saturday night, a pipe that burst behind the washer. Call the shop and a person answers the 24-hour line, day or night, and will usually talk you through the first thing to do before the truck leaves Yucaipa. If it is gas, get everyone outside and call the gas company first.
The calls that should not wait for Monday
If water is landing somewhere it can do damage, or the house has become unusable, it counts. You do not need to be sure before you call, and the person on the phone will help you decide.
People apologize for calling at two in the morning, and there is no need to. The 24-hour line exists for exactly that hour, and whoever answers would much rather hear from you while it is one wet room than after it has soaked through into the next one.
Water dripping or pouring through a ceiling
Sewage coming up in a tub, shower or floor drain
A supply pipe that split and will not stop
A water heater leaking from the tank itself
Any smell of gas, inside or out
No water to the house at all
Gas changes the order of things. If you smell it, do not flip light switches, do not light anything, and do not stand in the kitchen making phone calls. Get everybody out, call the gas company from the yard or a neighbor’s porch, and once they have made it safe we can deal with the piping on your side. Nobody should be working on a gas leak while they are still breathing it.
Some things feel urgent and can usually wait for a normal appointment, like a slow drip under a sink you can catch in a bucket or a faucet that will not quite shut off. Call anyway if you are unsure, and we will tell you honestly whether it needs a truck tonight or a visit in the morning.
Everything else on that list starts the same way, by stopping the water, and that comes down to knowing where two valves are.
Two valves worth finding before you need them
The main shutoff stops everything. On a lot of houses around here it sits on the wall facing the street, low down near a hose bib, sometimes behind a shrub that has grown over it since the house was built. If it is not there, the meter box near the curb has a valve too, though that one often needs a meter key and belongs to the water utility.
Go find yours on a quiet afternoon and try it. A quarter turn on a lever handle or a few turns on a round one is all it should take, and if it moves, turn it back on and you are done.
The second one is at the water heater. Follow the cold line into the top of the tank and there is a valve on it, and closing that stops the tank from refilling while it empties onto the garage floor. On a gas heater, turn the gas control to off as well, and on an electric one shut off its breaker, because a heating element running in a draining tank turns one problem into two.
A valve that will not move is its own emergency, just a slow one. A main that has seized solid means the next burst pipe runs until somebody arrives with tools, so it is worth having us replace it while nothing is wet. Do not lean on it with a long wrench at midnight either, because an old stem can snap off and leave you with water nobody can stop from inside the house.
When you call, tell us whether you got the water off. It changes what we bring and how quickly the damage is spreading.
Saturday night counts the same as Tuesday morning
Plenty of what comes in on the emergency side picked the worst possible moment. Sewer mains that backed up over a weekend with a full house, a water heater that quit the night before everybody needed a shower, a supply line that let go while the family was out of town. None of it keeps business hours, so the line does not either, and the person who answers it works for the shop.
Same-day service is normal for us. When you call we will give you a window for Highland that we expect to keep, which is sometimes longer than you were hoping to hear, because a hopeful guess that falls apart at one in the morning helps nobody. Highland is regular ground for us out of Yucaipa, and has been for years, and because the shop covers so much of the valley there is usually a truck somewhere that can get to you.
Big Mike started the shop in 1982, and his family runs it now on the same phone number. Emergency work is a regular part of the business, and a burst pipe at night gets the same care as a job booked weeks ahead.
An honest window beats a fast one nobody keeps.
From the phone call to the truck at the curb
You call
A person picks up. Tell them what you are seeing, where the water is going and whether anything is shut off yet.
First instructions
Before the truck leaves, we will often tell you what to close, what to unplug and what to move so less of the house gets wet while you wait.
A window you can plan around
We confirm the visit and let you know when the technician is heading your way, so nobody spends the night watching the street.
Stop it first, then talk
The first job on arrival is making it safe and stopping the damage. Then we explain what broke and what the repair involves, and nothing past the emergency work starts until you say so.
Some of these jobs end outside. A line that broke underground can mean opening the lawn after dark under a work light with cones set out, because leaving a building with no water or no sewer until morning is not much of an answer. When the full repair is better done in daylight, we make it safe and usable for the night and tell you plainly what is left.
Commercial buildings get the same line. If you run a storefront or manage apartments in Highland, tell us about tenant access and hours when you call, since downtime usually costs more than the repair does. Photos of our crews at work are in the job gallery, there is more on how we handle emergency plumbing around the valley, and everything else we do nearby is on our Highland service area page. For something that can wait until a normal hour, send the shop a note and we will get back to you.
The rest of what we do in Highland
- Sewer Line Replacement
Laterals past patching.
- Leak Repair
Drips, stains and wet drywall.
- Bathroom Plumbing
Toilets, showers and old cast iron.
- Copper Repiping
New copper for tired supply lines.
Everything else we cover in town is on the Highland page, and the emergency plumbing page covers this work wherever you are in the valley.
What do people ask when something breaks after hours?
If the water is still running, shut the main first, then call.
Is no hot water an emergency?
It depends on the reason. A heater that simply stopped heating can usually wait for a same-day visit. A tank leaking from the bottom should not wait, so close the cold valve on top and call. If you smell gas around the heater, leave the house, call the gas company from outside, and call us after.
Should I call the gas company or you first?
The gas company, and call them from outside the house. They can shut off the supply and confirm it is safe to go back in. Once they have, call us about the pipe or fitting that leaked, since the repair on your side of the meter is plumbing work.
What do I do while sewage is backing up?
Stop using water everywhere in the house: no flushing, no showers, no dishwasher and no laundry. Every gallon you send down has nowhere to go except back up the lowest drain. Keep kids and pets away from it, and call the line so we can clear it.
Can you come out on a holiday?
Yes. The line runs around the clock, holidays included, and holidays tend to be hard on plumbing anyway, with extra people in the house and the kitchen working overtime. When you call we will tell you honestly when a truck can be there.
Will you tell me the cost before you start?
Yes. Once the water is stopped and the place is safe, we explain what broke and what the repair involves, and you hear the number before anything else goes ahead. Stopping the damage comes first, and the rest of the decision stays with you.
Is Highland too far from Yucaipa for a night call?
No. Highland is regular territory for us and has been for years, so a call there at night is routine work for the shop. When you call we will give you the realistic window for getting there, even when it is not the one you hoped for.
Water where it should not be? Call the shop.
Somebody answers the line at any hour. Tell us what is happening and whether you got the water shut off, and we will tell you what to do first and when a truck can realistically be at your door.