How to describe a plumbing job

Plumbers price on what they will find, so the more precisely you describe the symptom, its location and its history, the closer the quote will be to the final bill.

Always include these five details

1. What is happening — leaking, blocked, no hot water, low pressure, noisy.
2. Exactly where — kitchen sink, upstairs bathroom, outside drain, under the floor.
3. How long it has been happening and whether it is getting worse.
4. Whether it is an emergency, meaning water is escaping now.
5. Property type and system — house or flat, combi boiler or hot water cylinder.

Wording examples

• Leak: "Slow drip from the pipe joint under the kitchen sink, started two days ago, catching it in a bowl. Cupboard is accessible, I can reach the stopcock under the sink."
• Blockage: "Downstairs toilet is filling and draining very slowly. Outside drain by the back door is standing full. No work done recently. 1960s semi."
• Low pressure: "Hot water pressure in the upstairs shower has dropped over the last month. Cold is fine. Combi boiler, roughly eight years old, no other taps affected."
• Bathroom refit: "Replacing bath, basin and toilet like for like in an upstairs bathroom, 2.2m x 1.7m. We are supplying the sanitaryware. Tiling and making good needed around the new bath."

Photos that help a plumber

The fitting itself, the pipework behind or beneath it, and the boiler with its make and model visible. If a part has failed, a close photo of it usually lets the plumber arrive with the right replacement rather than making two trips.