It's running right now
Shut the water off before you call us.
Really: in that order. Every minute before the valve closes costs more than our drive time, and a crew leaves for you in under 90 minutes either way.
24h emergency418 555-0128Three moves, in this order
- The valve under the fixtureUnder the sink, behind the toilet, on the water heater line. Clockwise, until it stops.
- The main shutoffIn the basement, street side, just past the meter. Red wheel or lever. It cuts the whole house.
- The power, if the water is risingIf water reaches outlets, trip the main breaker. If it is already touching the panel, don't go down: 1 800 790-2424.
Find the main shutoff on an evening when nothing is leaking. A valve that refuses to turn is a twenty-minute daytime repair — and the number-one reason a water leak becomes a major loss.
What every plumber's site should show
- RBQ 5432-1098-77Subcategory 15.5, mandatory
- CMMTQ memberSubcategory 15.5 is exclusive to it
- Under 90 minOn site, both shores, day and night
- Liability insurance$2M, certificate on request
In Quebec, plumbing work requires an RBQ licence carrying subcategory 15.5, and that subcategory is issued through the Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec. The number can be checked online in thirty seconds. A site that doesn't show it wastes those thirty seconds — and the City's subsidy requires the licence in writing.
Do you qualify for the subsidized backwater valve?
Québec City reimburses the installation of a backwater device. Thirty seconds of questions give you the answer, and the reason when it's no. No competitor in the region shows this.
The program targets buildings put up before February 1, 2015 — the ones built without a valve.
Eligible — up to $350 reimbursed.
The program reimburses 100% of eligible costs up to that ceiling, to a maximum of $1,500 per building. Applications are processed in order of receipt until the funds run out: that's no reason to rush the choice of device, but it is a reason not to wait until spring.
Get a quote for a valveWhat the file has to contain
- Your current municipal tax account, or the deed of acquisition.
- An itemized invoice: device cost, labour, model and part numbers, taxes. Ours comes out that way because it is meant to be read by somebody other than you.
- The contractor's declaration on the back of the form, signed. It requires the appropriate RBQ licence — this is the point where an installation done by a brother-in-law sinks the whole subsidy.
A summary of Québec City's subsidy program for residential backwater devices as published. Amounts, exclusions and available funds change from year to year, so we check the program's current state on the day we quote. This is not a decision by the City.
Water heaters
The second most frequent water loss, and the only one you can put a date on in advance. A tank gives no warning: it seeps from the bottom for a few days, then lets go all at once.
The date is on the label
Serial number, on the side. The first two or four digits give the year and week of manufacture. If you can't work it out, send us a photo of the label and we'll send back the number.
Replace before, not after
A planned replacement happens in a morning, with no demolition and no claim. The same unit letting go at night takes the basement floor with it, and the deductible is still yours to pay.
The drain pan and the drain
A pan under the tank, piped to a drain, turns a rupture into a puddle. It's a few dozen dollars fitted at the same time as the unit, and it can't be added afterwards without undoing everything.
Tankless: price isn't the right question
A tankless heater cannot rupture, but it needs an electrical service or a gas line most houses don't have. We look at what you have before discussing it, not the other way round.
Drain clearing
What you can try, what does nothing, and what makes it worse. The sorting is short, and it costs us calls.
Try it
One fixture blocked, and the rest of the house drains normally
A plunger, properly, about thirty strokes. Then very hot water, not boiling — boiling water cracks porcelain and softens PVC joints.
Never
Chemical drain opener in a bottle
It does not dissolve a grease or root plug: it sits on top of it. Then somebody — us — opens the pipe and takes lye to the face. Plenty of contractors decline the call if any went in. We ask first.
Call
Several fixtures at once, gurgling in the toilet when the shower runs, or water coming up in the basement
That's no longer a fixture, it's the main drain or the connection to the street. A plunger can do nothing, and every extra litre goes down into your basement. It's also the symptom that justifies a backwater valve.
Camera in the main drain before digging, always. A root gets cut, a collapse gets excavated, and both produce exactly the same basement backup — but not the same bill.
Areas we serve
Both shores, with the same times at night and on weekends as during office hours. The bridges are in the arithmetic: that's why the South Shore is 90 minutes and not 45.
- Québec — Montcalm · Saint-Sacrement · SilleryArrival timeunder 45 min
- Québec — Limoilou · Vanier · DubergerArrival timeunder 45 min
- Québec — Sainte-Foy · Cap-RougeArrival timeunder 60 min
- Québec — Charlesbourg · BeauportArrival timeunder 60 min
- L'Ancienne-Lorette · Saint-AugustinArrival timeunder 60 min
- Lévis — Desjardins · Saint-RomualdArrival timeunder 90 min
- Lévis — Saint-Nicolas · Charny · PintendreArrival timeunder 90 min
- Boischatel · Sainte-Brigitte-de-LavalArrival timeunder 90 min
Free quote
For anything that isn't running right now: a backwater valve, a water heater, planned drain clearing, a bathroom renovation, or a second opinion on a quote that looks expensive to you.
- 24/7 emergency
- 418 555-0128
- RBQ
- 5432-1098-77
- CMMTQ
- CMMTQ member
- Master pipe mechanic
- 905 avenue Saint-Sacrement, Québec, QC G1N 3X8