Plumbing
Emergency Plumbing in Charleston, SC
Burst supply lines, failed water heaters and backed-up drains do not wait for business hours.
Burst supply lines, failed water heaters and backed-up drains do not wait for business hours.
Quick answer: A plumbing emergency is water you cannot stop, sewage backing into the house, or no water at all. First close the main shutoff (on a slab house usually where the supply enters, often in the garage; on a raised house often under the crawl space hatch or at the meter box), then call with the address and the problem. Charleston averages about 24 freezing nights a year, so crawl-space pipes do burst. Licensed plumbing subcontractors do the plumbing and pull their own permits; we coordinate as the SC general contractor (CLG.127339). Call (843) 718-8177.
Related: Does Homeowners Insurance Cover the Damage After a Pipe Leak? What Is Usually In, What Is Usually Out · Water Leaking Through the Ceiling: Who to Call First, and Who Repairs What Is Left.
Plan the scope: Charleston plumbing cost guide · York County cost guide · What to check before hiring a plumber.
The first thing to do before anyone arrives is find your main shutoff and close it. On a slab-on-grade house it is usually where the supply enters, often in a garage or near the water heater. On a raised house it is frequently under the crawl space hatch or at the meter box near the street. Knowing where it is beforehand is the single most useful thing a homeowner can do.
Charleston averages about 24 freezing nights a year, and roughly two of those drop to 20°F or below (NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Charleston International Airport). That is rare enough that pipes in crawl spaces, exterior walls and unheated garages routinely go uninsulated here — and often enough that it matters. Charleston Water System names the crawl space specifically in its own frozen-pipe guidance.
The December 2022 freeze is the reference case. Leaks across the system roughly doubled treated water flow, and Charleston Water System came close to issuing a boil-water notice; a spokesman described "thousands upon thousands of leaks in customers homes and in their irrigation systems." A Charleston plumber interviewed at the time put it plainly: the vast majority of the broken lines he saw were on the outside of homes, with no insulation.
We take this work across greater Charleston, from Summerville and Goose Creek to Mount Pleasant, West Ashley and the sea islands, and on the York County side around Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay and Lake Wylie. More on our plumbing services.
Once the water is stopped and the pipe is fixed, the wet drywall, insulation, subfloor and flooring are a separate job, and dryness should be confirmed with moisture readings before anything is closed up. As a general contractor we handle that drying and rebuild in the same job; photograph everything first if this may become an insurance claim. See water damage restoration.
Anything actively releasing water you cannot stop, sewage backing up into the house, or no water at all.
A dripping tap or a slow drain is not an emergency and should not be billed as one. If you can close a valve and stop the water, you have time to schedule normally.
Close the main shutoff. If the problem is at the water heater, close the cold inlet valve on top of the unit and switch off its power or gas.
Move what you can off wet flooring. Photograph everything before cleanup — if this becomes an insurance claim, those photographs are what the adjuster wants.
Yes, and the damage is disproportionate precisely because it is uncommon. Pipes in crawl spaces, exterior walls and unheated garages are often uninsulated here in a way they would never be further north.
A single night in the low twenties can burst several runs in one house, and every plumber in the region is booked the following morning.