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Emergency Plumber
Faerie Glen

Emergency plumber in Faerie Glen for burst geysers, burst pipes and sewage backing up at the gully. Use the form with your street address and what is leaking, and the reply comes to your phone. Meanwhile, close your own stopcock.

Water spraying from a split pipe in a garden

Request a call-out

Give your street, what is leaking and whether the water is off yet.

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Request received

Thank you. Your request is with us, and the reply comes to the number you gave to book a time window.

The first move for each kind of plumbing emergency

What to do in the first minutes depends on what you can see. None of these needs a ladder.

Water pouring through the ceiling

Almost always the geyser or a pipe in the roof space. Close the stopcock, switch the geyser off at the board and open the hot taps to take pressure off the tank, as Discovery Insure advises. Do not climb into the roof to look.

A gush or steam from the overflow outside

Discovery lists a strong gush from the overflow, with or without steam, as a sign the geyser is in trouble. Switch it off at the distribution board, keep children and pets clear of the outlet, and leave the hot water alone.

Water spraying in the garden or driveway

A buried supply line has split. Whose problem it is depends on where the split sits relative to the meter, and that is worth settling before anyone digs. The section below explains how to tell from your own side.

Sewage rising in the gully or the shower

Stop using water in the house straight away, because every flush adds to the overflow. A blockage in your own drains is yours to clear; a blockage in the City’s sewer has to be reported to the City immediately under its sanitation by-law.

The meter racing with every tap closed

Water is escaping where you cannot see it. Close your isolating valve and watch the meter. If it stops, the leak is downstream, inside the property. If it keeps turning, the leak lies between the meter and your valve.

No water at all

Check whether the City has posted an interruption for your supply zone before booking anyone, since no plumber can fill an empty main. Close any taps you opened while testing, so nothing runs unattended when the supply returns.

Before anyone digs, find out which side of the meter it is on

In a plumbing emergency the first useful question is not what broke but whose pipe it is. The City of Tshwane owns the connection pipe that runs from its main to your water meter. Everything after the meter is your water installation, and the City’s water supply by-law says an owner must maintain it at their own cost. The City’s leak guidance says the same thing in one line: the pipe work supplying your home is your responsibility.

That boundary decides who you contact. A burst on the street side of the meter, or water bubbling up through the pavement, is a City fault. Report it on 012 358 9999, which is answered around the clock, or to waterleaks@tshwane.gov.za, and keep the reference number. National regulations require a municipality to repair a major, visible or reported leak in its own system within 48 hours.

Your own isolating valve is how you test it. Where the meter sits outside the boundary, SANS 10252-1 expects an isolating valve on the service pipe no more than 1.5 m inside the boundary. Close it. If the flow stops, the fault is downstream of that valve, inside your property. If the meter keeps turning with the valve shut, the leak is on the short stretch between the meter and the valve, which is still yours.

Leave the meter itself alone. The by-law reserves the meter, its seals and its fittings for the City’s engineer, so breaking a seal is not an emergency shortcut for anyone, plumbers included. If your own valve is missing, seized or buried under paving, have it fixed once the water is under control, because the next emergency will be no easier.

Sewage works the same way. A blockage in the drainage on your property is cleared at your own cost, and a blockage in the City’s sewer must be reported to the City at once. Telling the two apart in the first conversation, before a call-out is booked, is the cheapest minute of any plumbing emergency.

Find your own stopcock before you need it, and keep the City’s fault line, 012 358 9999, written next to the distribution board.

A pipe wrench and spanners laid out on a dark workbench

Rules for the first hour of an emergency

Water damage makes people agree to things in a hurry. These keep the decisions yours.

  • The fee before the drive

    The call-out fee and what it covers are stated in the reply, before anyone sets off, so nobody arrives at your gate with a surprise number.

  • City faults go to the City

    If the leak is on the street side of the meter, you are told so and given the City’s fault line. Nobody bills you to look at the municipality’s pipe.

  • Make safe first, then quote

    Stopping the water and making the geyser safe comes first. The permanent repair is priced separately, once the cause has been found and you have had a moment to think.

  • A report your insurer can read

    What failed, where, and what was done, with each part listed. An emergency invoice that only says “plumbing” is no use to a claims assessor.

From the form to a dry floor

The form goes straight to the plumber, so describe what you can see.

  1. Send what you can see

    Street address, what is leaking and whether the water is off. A photo of the meter area or the ceiling helps the reply.

  2. Make it safe

    Water and power isolated, the source traced, and the City told if the fault is on its side of the meter.

  3. Repair and test

    The repair is priced and agreed, then done and tested before the water goes back on for good.

Emergency plumbing questions

The ones people ask with water on the floor.

How much does an emergency plumber cost in Faerie Glen?

The Kandua cost guide (September 2026) puts emergency call-outs in South Africa at roughly R600 to R1,300, with after-hours labour at about 1.5 to 2 times the normal rate. Whatever this call-out costs, the amount is stated before anyone drives out. The plumbing prices page breaks the numbers down.

Will my insurer pay for the emergency plumber?

Some insurers run their own emergency lines. OUTsurance’s Help@OUT, for example, pays the call-out fee and one hour’s labour on a burst geyser. Check your policy before booking privately, because the insurer’s own route may cost you less.

Where is my main water shut-off valve?

Where the meter is outside the boundary, SANS 10252-1 expects your isolating valve on the service pipe within 1.5 m inside the boundary. There may be another where the pipe enters the house. Look for it on a calm day, not during a burst.

Can I close the valve at the City’s meter?

No. The water supply by-law reserves the meter, its seals and its fittings for the City’s engineer. Use your own isolating valve, and if you do not have one that works, ask for one to be fitted once the emergency is over.

What should I do first when the geyser bursts?

Shut the main valve, turn the geyser’s breaker off at the board, then open the hot taps so the pressure has somewhere to go. Then catch and mop what you can, move appliances out of the way and tell your insurer. Discovery Insure also warns against inspecting the ceiling yourself, and against scalding water.

Who do I contact when sewage comes up the gully?

Stop using water first. If the blockage is in your own drains, it is yours to have cleared. If it is in the City’s sewer, report it to the City on 012 358 9999. Lifting the manhole covers on your property usually shows which side it is on.

How do I report a burst pipe in the street?

Call the City of Tshwane on 012 358 9999 or email waterleaks@tshwane.gov.za with the street address and a photo if you have one. Write down the reference number, because you will need it if you follow up.

Can I use the form for an emergency?

Yes. Put “emergency” in the message with your street and what is leaking, and the reply comes to the number you give. Work through the first-minute steps on this page while you wait.

Request an emergency call‑out in Faerie Glen

Street address, what is leaking and whether the water is off. The reply comes to your phone.

Your details

Your details are used only to answer this request. Privacy policy.

Request received

Thank you. Your request is with us, and the reply comes to the number you gave to book a time window.

Where we work

  • Faerie Glen
  • Lynnwood Glen
  • Lynnwood Ridge
  • Lynnwood Park
  • Die Wilgers
  • Equestria
  • Wapadrand
  • Olympus
  • Constantia Park
  • Waterkloof Glen
  • Menlyn
  • Silver Lakes
  • Mooikloof
  • Woodhill
  • Murrayfield