Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. Service calls in Philadelphia run $175-$300 just to get a licensed plumber to your door. That's BEFORE we touch a wrench. Water heater replacement? You're looking at $1,800-$4,000 depending on whether you want a standard 40-gallon tank or one of those fancy tankless units (which I'll get to later). Drain cleaning with a basic snake - maybe $200-$350. But if your main line's backed up and we need to bring in the hydro-jetting equipment? That's $400-$800 easy. Pipe burst repair can run anywhere from $500 for a simple patch job to $3,000+ if we're tearing into walls in your Fishtown rowhome. Here's the cold hard truth - most homeowners have NO idea what things actually cost until water's pouring through their ceiling at 2 AM. I've seen people argue about a $250 service call while their basement fills up. Don't be that person.

Philadelphia winters will DESTROY your pipes if you're not careful. I've seen more burst pipes in January and February than the rest of the year combined. Here's what happens - temperature drops to 15°F (which we get almost every winter now), water in your pipes freezes, expands, and BOOM. Cast iron pipes in these old Philly rowhomes? Forget about it. They're already corroded from 80+ years of use. When a pipe bursts, you've got maybe 5-10 minutes before serious water damage starts. SHUT OFF YOUR MAIN WATER VALVE. I cannot stress this enough. It's usually in your basement near where the line comes in from the street. Every homeowner should know where this is (most don't). Emergency calls during a freeze? You're paying premium - $350-$500 just for us to show up, and that's if we can even get to you. During the 2024 freeze we had 40+ calls backed up. The real killers are pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces, and unheated basements. I tell everyone - let your faucets drip when it's below 20°F. Costs you maybe $5 in water. Saves you $5,000 in repairs.

There's a MASSIVE shortage of licensed plumbers in Philly right now. I'm talking 25-30% fewer Master Plumbers than we had a decade ago. Why? Because kids don't wanna learn trades anymore (they all think they're gonna be YouTube stars or whatever). The plumbers who ARE out there? Half of 'em are handymen with a wrench calling themselves plumbers. NO LICENSE. NO INSURANCE. These cowboy plumbers will charge you $100 for a service call, do a hack job, and disappear when your ceiling caves in three months later. I've spent THOUSANDS of hours fixing their mistakes. Always - and I mean ALWAYS - check for a PA Master Plumber License. It should have an MP number. Call the state to verify if you have to. The labor shortage means wait times are longer (sometimes 3-5 days for non-emergency work) and prices are higher because demand is insane. Good plumbers can pick and choose jobs now. We're not hurting for work.

Philadelphia's got housing stock from the 1920s-1940s all over the place. Gorgeous homes. TERRIBLE plumbing by modern standards. Here's what I'm replacing constantly - cast iron drain pipes that are corroded through (the entire main line in some cases, which is a $8,000-$15,000 job), galvanized steel supply lines that are rusted shut (restricts water flow to a trickle), ancient terracotta sewer lines in the yard that tree roots have infiltrated, and original fixtures that just gave up decades ago. The P-trap under your sink? That's the curved pipe that holds water to block sewer gases. In old houses these are often lead or corroded beyond recognition. Sump pumps in basements - critical in Philly because we get 40+ inches of rain per year and these old foundations leak. A sump pump failure during a heavy rain? You're looking at thousands in water damage. I replaced one last month in Manayunk - homeowner didn't even know they HAD a sump pump until their basement flooded. Cost them $1,200 for a new pump plus $400 for the emergency call. Could've been prevented with a $150 annual maintenance check.

Every homeowner asks me about tankless water heaters now. They saw some HGTV show and think it's gonna solve all their problems. Look, tankless units are great IN THEORY. Endless hot water, more energy efficient, takes up less space (huge in these narrow Philly rowhomes). But here's what the salesman doesn't tell you - installation costs $3,000-$4,500 in most Philly homes because we need to upgrade your gas line (the existing 1/2 inch line won't cut it), add proper ventilation, and possibly upgrade your electrical for the ignition system. Your old tank water heater? Maybe $1,800 installed. Also, tankless units require annual maintenance (descaling, especially with Philly's hard water) or they'll fail in 5-7 years instead of lasting 15-20. That maintenance runs $150-$200 per year. I've seen $4,000 tankless units completely destroyed after 3 years because nobody maintained them. The calcium buildup is INSANE. Do the math - is the energy savings worth the extra upfront cost and maintenance? For large families, maybe. For a couple in a 2-bedroom? Probably not.

Customer calls me - "I had my drain cleaned six months ago and it's clogged again." Yeah, because some hack ran a snake through it, poked a hole in the blockage, and called it a day. That's not drain cleaning. That's a temporary fix. Real drain cleaning means hydro-jetting - we send a high-pressure water jet (3,000-4,000 PSI) through your pipes that SCOURS the walls clean. Gets rid of grease buildup, soap scum, hair, and even tree roots. Snaking just pokes through the middle. It's like the difference between sweeping your floor and actually mopping it. Hydro-jetting your main line runs $400-$800 in Philly. Snaking? $200-$350. But here's the thing - hydro-jetting lasts 3-5 years. Snaking lasts 6-12 months before you're clogged again. I've seen homeowners spend $1,500 over three years on repeated snaking when one $600 hydro-jet would've solved it permanently. The catch? Old terracotta or damaged pipes can't handle hydro-jetting pressure. We need to camera inspect first ($200-$300) to make sure the pipe won't blow apart. That's why experience matters.

I'm gonna give you the insider knowledge that'll save you thousands. NEVER hire a plumber without a physical business address in the Philadelphia area (not just a PO box). Check their license with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Get THREE estimates for major work (anything over $1,000). If someone's price is 40% lower than everyone else, RUN. They're either unlicensed, uninsured, or gonna use garbage parts from the discount bin. Ask what parts they're using - brand names matter. I use Kohler, American Standard, Rheem. If they say "commercial grade" without a brand name, that's a red flag. Get everything in writing - scope of work, parts list, labor costs, timeline, warranty (should be minimum 1 year on labor, manufacturer warranty on parts). For emergencies (pipe bursts, sewage backups, no water), you don't have time to get estimates, but you STILL check their license before they start work. I've seen DANGEROUS CHEMICAL misuse by unlicensed hacks - using sulfuric acid drain cleaners that eat through old pipes, mixing chemicals that create toxic fumes, using PVC cement in areas that require CPVC. This stuff can kill you or burn your house down. Philadelphia has specific code requirements that differ from suburbs - proper venting, backflow prevention, lead-free fixtures. A plumber from Bucks County might not know Philly code. Hire local. Hire licensed. Hire insured.