Plumbing emergencies in Wellington have a habit of arriving with the weather. A southerly drives rain sideways for two days, a gully trap starts to bubble, and the hot water cylinder picks that night to split its seam. Or it is a perfectly calm Tuesday at 3am and a braided hose under the kitchen sink has let go. Either way you need two things quickly: the water stopped, and a qualified plumber on the road.
Our emergency plumbers cover Wellington City, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and the Kāpiti Coast around the clock, including public holidays. You pay for the repair, and you agree that price before anyone picks up a tool.
Pricing: quotes are free, and every job gets a fixed price before we start, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Emergency Plumber Jobs We Handle Across Wellington
- 24 hour emergency plumber
- After hours plumber
- Burst pipe call-outs
- Overflowing toilet
- No water at all
- Sewage backing up
Is it an emergency, or can it wait until morning?
A slow drip under a basin can usually wait for a booked visit. Anything that is actively damaging the house, or has taken away something your household cannot do without, is urgent. Call us straight away for any of these, and for burst pipes in particular, because every minute adds to the water in the framing:
- A burst or split pipe, or water spraying from a fitting
- Water coming through a ceiling, light fitting or wall lining
- Wastewater rising in a shower, bath or outdoor gully trap
- A toilet that overflows every time it is flushed
- A hot water cylinder leaking from the base, or a relief valve pouring
- A smell of gas near a hob, fire or water heater (get out first, then call)
The first five minutes: shutting off the water
Turn the water off at the toby. In most Wellington homes it sits in a small plastic box near the front boundary, often in the grass berm, and turns clockwise to close. If it is seized or buried, an isolation valve on the cylinder or under the sink may stop the leak while we are on the way. If the water is near light fittings or power points, switch that circuit off at the switchboard.
Next, take photos for your insurer, move rugs and electronics, and put towels or a bucket under the drip. If water is pouring from the footpath or berm rather than inside your boundary, the fault is probably on the public network. In Wellington City, the Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua that is run by Tiaki Wai (formerly Wellington Water), on 0800 842 549. On the Kāpiti Coast it is Kāpiti Coast District Council. We will tell you on the phone if it sounds like their side rather than yours.
How It Works
What happens when you call us
A person answers, not a recording. We ask a few quick questions, talk you through isolating the water or gas, and dispatch the nearest available plumber. You get their name and an estimated arrival time by text.
On site, the first priority is making things safe: stop the water, protect the area and check that nothing electrical is at risk. If the leak is hidden inside a wall or under a floor, we use leak detection gear to find it before anything is cut open. Then we diagnose the cause and give you a fixed price for the repair. If the proper fix needs a part we do not carry, we make a temporary repair so you have water overnight and come back with what is needed.
What affects the cost of an emergency job
The repair price depends on what we find, and you hear that price before we start. These are the things that move it most:
- Time of day: after-hours and public holiday work has a higher rate, which we tell you on the phone
- Access: a pipe under a timber floor with a crawl space is quicker to reach than one behind tiles or in a slab
- Steep or awkward sites, where tools and parts have to be carried up a long flight of steps
- Parts: a hose, valve or fitting is on the van, a whole cylinder may not be
- Whether a temporary fix is needed tonight and a permanent one the next day
Common Wellington emergencies
Housing across the region shapes what goes wrong. Older villas and cottages in Thorndon, Mt Victoria and Newtown can still have runs of original pipe and clay drains that fail with little warning. Many of these homes sit on piles with a subfloor you can get under, which makes a leak under the house quicker to reach. Post-war state housing in Naenae, Tītahi Bay and Porirua has had decades of patch repairs, and newer townhouses in places like Wainuiomata tend to fail at flexi hoses and push-fit joints in tight cupboards.
Weather is the other big driver. Wellington's wettest months bring a rise in overflowing gully traps, especially where a downpipe still runs into the wastewater system or roots have narrowed the drain. Keep water use to a minimum until we arrive, then we clear the blocked drains and find out why they backed up. After a decent earthquake it is also worth a quick look under the house for weeping joints on rigid pipe, before a small leak becomes a big one.
Why Choose Cheeky's Plumbers for Emergency Plumber
A person answers, 24/7
Real people pick up day and night, talk you through shutting off the water or gas, and text you the name of the plumber on the way.
Fixed price, even after hours
We diagnose first and then quote a fixed price. Where the scope cannot be known until something is opened up, we price the finding stage first and the fix once we can see it.
Stocked vans, fewer return trips
Vans carry drain cameras, jetters, locators and common fittings, and if a part is not on board we make a temporary repair so you have water overnight.
Across the whole region
We cover Wellington City, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and the Kāpiti Coast, and send the closest available plumber rather than whoever is next on a list.
Emergency Plumber FAQs
Is it more expensive at night or on a public holiday?
There is an after-hours rate. We tell you what it is on the phone before we dispatch, so nothing on the invoice is a surprise.
Where is my toby and how do I turn it off?
Usually in a small plastic box near your front boundary, often in the berm. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If it is seized or you cannot find it, call us and we will talk you through other options.
Water is bubbling up in the street. Is that my problem?
Probably not. Leaks on the public side of the toby are fixed by Tiaki Wai on 0800 842 549, or by Kāpiti Coast District Council on the Kāpiti Coast. Leaks on your side are yours, and that is where we come in.
Will my insurance cover an emergency plumbing job?
Many policies cover sudden water damage, but the repair to the failed pipe itself may or may not be covered. We give you photos and a written report to support the claim.
Can a handyman fix it in an emergency?
Sanitary plumbing is restricted work in New Zealand and must be done by someone authorised by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. Unauthorised work can also put your insurance cover at risk.
Emergency Plumber Near You
Find your suburb for local emergency plumber information, response times and nearby areas.
Related Services
Leak Detection
A hidden leak can run day and night and quietly rot the framing behind your walls.
View serviceBurst Pipes
Burst pipes cause more water damage in Wellington homes than almost anything else, especially in older villas and bungalows with galvanised steel or early polybutylene pipe.
View serviceRepiping
Old galvanised steel and grey polybutylene pipes fail with age.
View serviceLow Water Pressure
Weak showers and slow-filling baths are usually caused by a failing pressure valve, a partly closed toby, scaled-up pipes or a hidden leak.
View serviceBlocked Drains
Blocked sinks, showers, toilets and gully traps cleared fast.
View serviceHot Water Cylinders
Hot water cylinder replacement across Wellington.
View serviceSee all plumbing services or every service we offer.