Look, I've been doing this since '01 and the sticker shock never gets easier to explain. Service call in Baltimore? You're looking at $175-$300 just for me to show up and diagnose what's leaking under your sink. That's BEFORE I turn a single wrench. Water heater replacement - and I mean a proper install, not some hack job - runs $1,800 to $4,000 depending on if you want tankless (which half my customers don't actually need but saw on HGTV). Here's the cold hard truth: emergency calls after 5pm or weekends? Tack on another $150-$250. I don't make the rules, but I've got a family to feed and a truck payment. Main line sewer work with hydro-jetting can hit $3,500-$7,000 if we're talking about that old clay pipe from the '40s that's under your yard. The guys quoting you $800 for a main line? They're either lying or they're gonna camera it, take your money, and tell you it needs more work anyway.

February 2024 damn near killed me with emergency calls. We hit 8 degrees and I had seventeen - SEVENTEEN - burst pipe calls in one weekend. The Chesapeake humidity combined with those bitter cold snaps? It's a nightmare cocktail for your plumbing. Your exterior hose bibs (that's the fancy term for outdoor faucets) WILL freeze if you don't disconnect hoses and shut off the interior valve. I've seen crawl spaces in Hampden and Canton where pipes aren't insulated at all - builders in the '50s didn't think about it. Then you've got rowhomes in Fells Point where three families share a main line and nobody wants to split the cost when tree roots invade. Spring thaw is almost worse because that's when you discover the crack that happened in January. Your basement floods, your sump pump can't keep up (or isn't working because nobody maintained it), and suddenly you're looking at $8,000 in water damage plus the plumbing fix.

Pipe bursts don't wait for business hours. They happen when you're asleep or at your kid's soccer game. First thing - and I mean FIRST THING - shut off your main water valve. You should know where it is right now (go check after you read this, I'll wait). Most Baltimore homes built before 1980 have the shutoff in the basement near the front wall or by the water heater. Can't find it? You're gonna have a bad time. I've seen 4 inches of water in a finished basement because someone spent 20 minutes looking for the shutoff while water POURED from a burst supply line. The damage clock starts immediately - drywall soaks up water like a sponge, hardwood floors buckle, and mold starts growing within 24-48 hours in our humid climate. Your insurance might cover it (read your policy - seriously), but you've got a deductible and rates might jump. A burst pipe repair itself? Could be $300 if it's accessible. Could be $3,000 if I'm cutting through tile and drywall to reach it. The restoration costs afterward? That's the real killer - $5,000 to $15,000 depending on how long water ran.

There's a massive shortage of licensed plumbers and every guy with a wrench and a pickup thinks he's qualified. I've seen some HORRIFYING work. Here's what to watch for - they don't pull permits for water heater replacements (required in Baltimore City and County). They quote suspiciously low. They want cash only (huge red flag). They can't show you a Maryland Master Plumber license when you ask. Look, I get it - my rates aren't cheap. But I'm insured, licensed, and when that water heater floods your basement because someone didn't install the T&P valve correctly, I'm still gonna be in business to make it right. These fly-by-night operations? Good luck finding them six months later. I've been called to fix botched jobs where someone installed PVC where it's not code-compliant, or used SHARK BITES on permanent installations (they're for temporary fixes, people!). The re-do costs more than hiring a real plumber the first time. Check the Maryland Board of Master Plumbers website - takes 30 seconds to verify a license number.

Not everything is an emergency, but homeowners panic over weird noises. Burst pipe? Emergency. Sewage backing up into your tub? EMERGENCY. Gas smell near your water heater? Get out and call the gas company AND me - that's life-threatening. But a dripping faucet? That can wait until Monday (though it's wasting water and money). Running toilet? Annoying but not urgent unless your water bill is $400. Here's what I need you to understand - a small leak under your sink might seem minor, but I've seen subfloors completely rotted out because someone ignored it for two years. That $150 P-trap replacement becomes a $4,000 floor repair. Water heater making rumbling noises? That's sediment buildup and it's telling you it's on borrowed time. Don't wait until it bursts at 6am on Christmas morning (yes, that's a real call I took). Sump pump should be tested every spring before storm season - $200 for a new one beats $10,000 in flood damage. Main line backing up slowly? Get a camera inspection ($250-$400) before it becomes a total blockage and raw sewage floods your basement.

Every neighborhood has its demons. Those beautiful rowhomes in Federal Hill and Locust Point? Original cast iron stacks from 1890-1920 that are rusted through. You're looking at $6,000-$12,000 to replace the main stack (and yes, we're cutting through walls). Canton and Highlandtown? Tree roots in the main line because those big oaks are gorgeous until they're not. Hydro-jetting every few years ($400-$700) beats a full line replacement at $8,000+. County homes in Towson and Catonsville? Builder-grade everything from the '80s and '90s - those water heaters are past their 10-12 year lifespan and the plastic supply valves are brittle. I replace more mixing valves in showers than I can count because the cartridges fail ($250-$400 job). Garbage disposals die because people put potato peels and grease down them (DON'T). Tankless water heaters are great in theory but our hard Chesapeake water kills them without annual flushing ($150-$200 maintenance that nobody does). And the angle stops under sinks? They're never touched for 30 years then someone tries to replace a faucet and they snap off. Now it's a bigger job.

Your water heater has a sacrificial anode rod that should be checked every few years - nobody does this and it's why tanks rust out prematurely. The shutoff valves throughout your house should be exercised (turned off and on) once a year or they'll seize when you need them in an emergency. That cleanout cap in your basement or yard? Don't let someone concrete over it or landscape over it - I need access to your main line and digging it out costs YOU money. Get your main line camera-inspected when you buy an old Baltimore home - I've saved buyers from $30,000 nightmares by finding collapsed sewers during inspection periods. The vent stack on your roof can get blocked by birds or ice - yes, that affects your drains. Your water pressure shouldn't be over 80 PSI or it's destroying fixtures and appliances - $200 pressure reducing valve installation saves thousands in damaged dishwashers and washing machines. And for the love of everything, don't use those LIQUID DRAIN CLEANERS with SULFURIC ACID - they don't work on real clogs, they just sit there eating your pipes and creating TOXIC FUMES. I've been burned by that stuff splashing back. Call a plumber with a real snake or hydro-jetter. We're expensive but we're cheaper than a hospital visit or new pipes.