Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. Service calls in San Diego start at $175 if you're lucky, but most legitimate outfits charge $225-$300 just to show up. That's before we touch a wrench. Water heater replacement? You're looking at $1,800 for a basic 40-gallon tank, but if you want tankless (and yeah, with our mild winters here, they make sense), prepare to drop $3,200-$4,000 installed. I've seen homeowners go pale when I give them the hydro-jetting quote for their main line - $450-$900 depending on access and how bad the roots invaded. Here's the thing though: San Diego clay soil is BRUTAL on sewer lines. Those old Orangeburg pipes from the 60s? They're collapsing like wet cardboard. A full main line replacement runs $8,000-$15,000, and I've done jobs that hit $22,000 when we had to tunnel under driveways. Emergency calls after 6 PM or weekends? Tack on another $150-$200 to whatever the base rate is. Some guys charge DOUBLE. That's not price gouging (well, sometimes it is) - it's the reality of pulling a tech away from dinner with his family.

We've got a shortage. A BAD one. Half the plumbers I started with 25 years ago either retired to Arizona or their backs gave out. The trade schools aren't pumping out enough apprentices, and the ones who do graduate? They're getting poached by commercial outfits offering $85k+ right out the gate. What's this mean for you? Wait times are INSANE. Need a non-emergency repipe? You might wait three weeks. I've seen homeowners call eight different companies before finding someone available within a week. And here's where it gets sketchy - this shortage created an opening for what I call "cowboy plumbers." Guys with a pickup truck and a YouTube education. No license (California requires a C-36 license, by the way). No insurance. They'll quote you half my price, then disappear when the work fails inspection. I've re-done SO many botched jobs from these clowns. One guy in Clairemont used PVC where code CLEARLY requires copper for hot water lines. The homeowner saved $400 upfront, then paid me $2,800 to rip it all out and do it right. Do the math on that savings.

Pipe bursts don't wait for business hours. They happen at 2 AM on Thanksgiving. Here's the cold hard truth: San Diego doesn't get hard freezes like Chicago, but we DO get pipe bursts. Why? Pressure surges from the city main, corrosion in 50-year-old galvanized pipes, and (this one's big) those cheap angle stops under toilets and sinks that everyone ignores until they catastrophically fail. I got called to a house in North Park last month - the homeowner woke up to water POURING through the ceiling light fixture. A supply line to the upstairs bathroom toilet blew. $4,300 in damage to the ceiling below, plus my emergency fee of $375 and $220 in parts and labor to fix the actual pipe. First thing you do when a pipe bursts? SHUT OFF THE MAIN WATER VALVE. Sounds obvious, but I'd say 60% of panicked homeowners don't know where theirs is located (usually outside near the street or in the garage). Second - take photos for insurance BEFORE you start cleanup. Third - call a real plumber, not your brother-in-law who "knows about pipes." Water damage spreads FAST in drywall. Every minute counts. Most legit emergency plumbers in San Diego can get to you within 90 minutes, even at 3 AM. If someone quotes you a 6-hour arrival window for a burst pipe, hang up and call the next guy.

Our clay soil expands and contracts with moisture changes. Not as extreme as Texas, but enough to crack sewer lines and shift foundation plumbing. I've pulled tree roots out of main lines that were as thick as my forearm - those big eucalyptus and ficus trees everyone loves? Their roots HUNT for water, and they'll infiltrate any tiny crack in your sewer pipe, then expand until the whole line is clogged. We're also 10 miles from the ocean in most neighborhoods (less in coastal areas like La Jolla and Pacific Beach), and that salt air? It corrodes the hell out of outdoor fixtures, hose bibs, and any exposed copper. I've replaced more corroded water heater elements in coastal homes than I can count. And let's talk about the infrastructure - huge chunks of San Diego were built between 1950-1980, which means we've got aging galvanized pipes that are rusting from the inside out, reducing water pressure to a sad trickle. Plus those Orangeburg pipes I mentioned earlier (basically tar paper rolled into a pipe shape - what were they THINKING?). If your house was built before 1975 and you've never had a sewer scope done, you're playing Russian roulette. The average lifespan of those pipes was 50 years. Do the math. A sewer scope inspection costs $275-$350 and can save you from a $12,000 surprise when your main line collapses into itself.

Look, I've been underbidding scammers and getting underbid by cowboys for two decades. Here's your checklist: Licensed C-36 contractors in California have a license number you can verify on the CSLB website (takes 30 seconds). If they hesitate to provide it? Walk away. Insurance - they should carry both liability and workers comp. If some dude falls through your ceiling and he's uninsured, congratulations, you're getting sued. Branded truck and uniform? Not mandatory, but it's a good sign they're invested in their reputation. Written estimates - anyone who gives you a price without seeing the job in person is either psychic or lying. I've had homeowners tell me "the other guy quoted $800 over the phone" for a job that turned out to need $2,400 in parts alone. Reviews matter, but read the NEGATIVE ones carefully. If every bad review mentions surprise charges or incomplete work, that's your red flag. One more thing: if a plumber shows up and immediately starts fear-mongering about your pipes needing total replacement when you called about a dripping faucet? That's the classic upsell scam. Get a second opinion. I've seen these predatory outfits (usually franchises with massive advertising budgets) quote $6,000 for repiping when the actual fix needed was a $45 cartridge replacement. It makes my blood boil because it makes ALL of us look like crooks.

Burst pipe? CAN'T WAIT. Sewage backing up into your house? CALL NOW (and for the love of god, don't use chemical drain cleaners - that stuff is DANGEROUS and can splash back in your face if the clog is solid). Gas line leak (you smell rotten eggs)? Evacuate and call the gas company AND a plumber. Water heater leaking from the tank itself? That's gonna get worse fast - same-day service needed. But here's what CAN wait: A slow drip from a faucet (annoying, wastes water, but not an emergency). Running toilet (costs you on the water bill, but it's not gonna flood your house). Low water pressure in one fixture (probably just a clogged aerator - unscrew it and clean it yourself). Gurgling drains that still drain (early warning sign, get it checked within a week or two, but it's not a midnight emergency). I've had people call me at 11 PM because their garbage disposal is humming but not grinding. That's not an emergency - you probably just need to hit the reset button on the bottom of the unit or clear a jam with an Allen wrench. Save yourself the $375 emergency fee and call during business hours. The exception? If you've got a houseful of Thanksgiving guests and the only toilet just stopped flushing. That's a judgment call, and I won't blame you for making it an emergency (I've been that holiday hero more times than I can count).

Your water heater needs flushing every 12-18 months. NOBODY does this. Then they call me when it's making sounds like a dying whale because sediment built up so thick the heating element burned out. That's a $400-$600 repair that a $150 maintenance flush would've prevented. Same with angle stops - those little valves under sinks and toilets that shut off water to individual fixtures. They're cheap ($8-$15 each), but if you never turn them, they seize up. Then when you DO need to shut off water to replace a faucet, the valve breaks and now you've got a spraying pipe and no way to stop it except the main shut-off. Replace them every 10 years or exercise them (turn them off and on) twice a year. P-traps under sinks dry out if you've got a guest bathroom nobody uses - pour a cup of water down those drains monthly or you'll get sewer gas smells creeping into your house. Sump pumps (less common in San Diego than other places, but if you've got one)? Test it before rainy season. Pour water in the pit and make sure it kicks on. I've seen flooded basements because someone assumed their sump pump worked after sitting dormant for three years. And for the love of all that's holy, don't plant trees within 10 feet of your sewer line. Those roots WILL find it, and you WILL pay me $4,000+ to hydro-jet and possibly replace that section of pipe. An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure every single time, but homeowners don't think about plumbing until water is somewhere it shouldn't be.