How much does an emergency plumber cost in London?
Quick answer: you pay nothing for us to come out, because there is no call-out fee. Labour is £110 for the first hour on site, then £45 for each half hour after that, with parts on top. The rate never changes at night or at weekends. Call 07861 933265 or WhatsApp us for a plumber now.
What a typical job costs
These are labour totals before parts. The clock starts when the engineer arrives at your door, not when the van leaves.
| Time on site | Daytime | 3am |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | £110 | £110 |
| 2 hours | £200 | £200 |
| 3 hours | £290 | £290 |
The two columns are identical on purpose: a burst pipe in the small hours costs what it would cost at lunchtime. Weekends and bank holidays follow the same table. A job that runs past three hours carries on in half-hour steps at £45 each.
Call-out fee or no call-out fee?
Where a plumber charges a call-out fee, it is a set sum for travelling to you and turning up. It is billed before any work starts and sits on top of the hourly rate, and it often rises after dark or at weekends. Some firms drop the name but bill a minimum number of hours instead, which works out the same.
We charge neither. Getting to you is free, and the bill is the time spent working in your home plus the parts fitted. You can work out the labour cost of a visit from the table above before you even pick up the phone.
What changes the final price
- Parts. Valves, fittings, lengths of pipe, a cistern mechanism: whatever gets fitted is added at its cost. You agree it before it goes in.
- Time on site. A simple fix may be done inside the first hour. A fault that turns out to be two faults takes longer, and the engineer says so as soon as it shows.
- Access. A pipe under floorboards, behind tiles or above a ceiling takes longer to reach than one under a sink. That time is charged at the same rate, never as an extra.
- The one set price. Swapping a close-coupled toilet like for like, in the same position, is £245 for the labour, plus the new toilet and any parts.
Everything else is charged by the hour, so the figure you pay follows the work actually done.
What’s included
- Getting to you anywhere in London and the M25 towns, with nothing charged for the journey.
- Making safe first. Stopping the water and keeping it away from electrics is the first thing the engineer does, inside the same hourly time.
- A clear diagnosis of what has failed and what part it needs, before any repair starts.
- A 12-month workmanship guarantee, and a return visit under it costs you nothing.
- No VAT added, because Emergency Plumber London Ltd is not VAT registered.
Need a plumber now?
Call 07861 933265 or message us on WhatsApp. A person answers at any hour, and a photo of the problem often tells us which part to bring.
For a plain-English breakdown of how call-out pricing works across the trade, read how much an emergency plumber costs and how to choose a plumber.
See what we attend in an emergency, from a burst pipe to a blocked drain or a hidden leak that needs leak detection, and check the areas we cover.
Call-out fee and price questions
Do you charge a call-out fee?
No. The journey to you and the arrival cost nothing, at any hour. Your bill starts with £110 for the first hour once the engineer is with you, and the parts used are added on top.
Is it more expensive at night, at weekends or on bank holidays?
No. A call at 3am on a bank holiday is billed exactly like one on a weekday afternoon. There is no night rate, weekend rate or holiday rate, so the first hour is £110 and every half hour after it is £45, whenever we come.
How is time charged after the first hour?
In half-hour steps of £45 each. A two-hour visit is the first hour plus two half hours. If opening things up shows a bigger fault than expected, the engineer tells you there and then, and you decide whether the work carries on.
Do I pay for parts separately?
Yes. Parts are not part of the hourly rate and are added at their cost. The engineer tells you which part is needed and what it costs before fitting it, and if a part has to be ordered in, you approve the cost first.
Is there a minimum charge?
Labour starts with the first hour at £110, and after that it goes up in half hours of £45. There is no call-out fee and no multi-hour minimum added on top.
Do you give fixed quotes?
No. Apart from the like-for-like toilet swap, every job is charged at the hourly rate, plus parts. That way you know the rate before anyone sets off, and you only pay for the time the job takes.
How much is a like-for-like toilet swap?
£245 for the labour to replace a close-coupled toilet with a new one in the same position, plus the toilet itself and any parts. A different type of toilet or a new position is charged at the hourly rate. More detail is in our toilet replacement guide.