Straight answers, before you have to call.

Shut off the main water valve. It is usually where the water line enters the house, often near the water heater, the front wall of the basement, or by the meter. Turn it clockwise until it stops. Then turn off the water heater, gas or power, so it does not run dry. Then call 443-897-0768. A burst pipe does not wait for business hours and neither do we.

Get everyone out of the house now. Do not flip any switch, light or appliance on or off, and do not use the phone until you are outside. From outside, call 911 or BGE at 877-778-7798. Gas is the one thing you do not troubleshoot yourself.

Stop running water anywhere in the house. Every flush and every load of laundry is going to end up on that floor. Do not plunge a basement floor drain when the whole house is backing up; that is a main line problem, not a clog in one fixture. Call us and we will put a camera down the line and find out what is actually going on.

Before the first hard freeze, which in central Maryland is usually late October into November. Take the hoses off first, because a hose left on holds water right at the spigot and that is what cracks it. Close the shutoff valve inside, then open the outside spigot and leave it open so the line drains. If you cannot find an inside shutoff, you may not have one, and that is worth a quick look from us before winter.

First shut off the main water valve, because a frozen pipe may already be split and it will only show once it thaws. Open the faucet the pipe feeds. Then warm the pipe slowly with a hair dryer, a heating pad or towels soaked in hot water, working from the faucet back toward the frozen spot. Never use a torch or open flame. If you cannot reach it, or water shows up when it thaws, call us.

On a night in the single digits, yes, especially on lines that run along outside walls or through a crawlspace. A slow drip keeps water moving and relieves the pressure that bursts pipes. Opening the cabinet doors under a sink on an outside wall helps too. It costs pennies compared to a burst line.

Turn your hose bibs back on slowly and watch inside for a minute, because a spigot that cracked over the winter only leaks once the water is on. Test the sump pump by pouring a bucket of water in the pit before the spring rains, not during them. And look around the water heater and under every sink for any sign of a slow drip. Ten minutes in April saves a weekend in July.

Pour a bucket of water into the pit. The float should rise, the pump should kick on, and the water should leave. If it hums but does not pump, or it does not come on at all, do not wait for the next storm to find out. A pump is cheap next to a flooded basement.

Usually not. Water from the bottom of the tank almost always means the tank itself has rusted through, and there is no repair for that. Turn off the power at the breaker, or the gas valve, and close the cold water valve on top of the heater to stop it refilling. Then call us. A leak from a fitting or valve on top is a different story and often is a repair.

A standard tank, eight to twelve years. Tankless, fifteen to twenty with yearly flushing. Look for the date on the manufacturer sticker. If yours is past ten and you have never had it looked at, it is worth a check before it picks the morning of a holiday to quit.

Often it is sediment. Over the years minerals settle in the bottom of the tank, taking up space that used to hold hot water and making the burner work harder. Flushing it helps if it is caught early. If the tank is old and has never been flushed, the sediment may be the only thing holding it together, and that is a replacement conversation.

When it is one sink, it is a clog in that sink. When it is everything at once, especially the lowest drains first, it is the main line out to the street or septic. Tree roots, a bellied pipe, or a break are the usual causes. A camera down the line shows exactly what and where, so you are not guessing.

We would rather you did not. It eats at older pipes and seals, it rarely clears a real clog, and it is dangerous for whoever opens that line next, which is often us. A plunger or a hand auger is safer. If that does not clear it, the clog is further down than a bottle will reach anyway.

Written estimates are free. Eric comes out, finds the actual cause, photographs what he sees, and you get a written price before anything starts. If a job turns out bigger once it is open, you approve the change before work continues. Nothing happens to your house that you did not agree to in writing.

Baltimore, Howard, Carroll, Anne Arundel, Harford and Frederick counties. Just outside that? Call anyway. Eric will tell you straight whether it makes sense.

Yes. Maryland plumbing license 02-71291 and MHIC 01-157063, and we carry insurance. You can look both licenses up with the state. Any trade Eric brings onto a job is licensed and insured too, and he checks their work.

Because most jobs touch more than one trade. A sewer line replacement means excavation, plumbing, and concrete or landscaping to put it back. With a plumber alone, you are managing the rest. With us, it is one contract, one permit, one person responsible for the result, and Eric manages every trade on the job.

For a lot of it, yes. Water heaters, sewer and water main work, and moving or adding fixtures all need a permit in the Maryland counties we work in. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and close it out. A permit is also your record that the work was done right, which matters when you sell.

More than you would think. A photo of the problem, the fixture, or the water heater label lets Eric know what he is walking into before he arrives, which means the right parts on the truck and a faster first visit. You can add photos right in the chat on this site, or text them to 443-897-0768. Send photos first and take 10% off the job.

A scheduled visit, once, twice or three times a year, where we go through the plumbing before it fails, shut off and reopen the outside lines with the seasons, and leave you a written report with photos. Plans start at $129 a year. The details are on the Services page under Plans.