Burst pipe, a flood, water through the ceiling or no water at all? Don't fight a language barrier in a crisis. Call our English-speaking line — day or night — and we dispatch the nearest vetted plumber to you.
Price agreed before any work starts · No surprise invoices · Vetted local pros
Some jobs can wait until morning. These ones shouldn't — if you recognise any of them in your Paris flat, it's worth calling now before water does more damage.
Water spraying from a joint, a split pipe behind a wall, or a steady leak you can't stop. The longer it runs the more it costs you and the neighbours below, so this is a turn-off-the-water-now job. Burst pipe & water leak →
Water staining or dripping through your ceiling from the flat above — a classic Paris dégât des eaux. It may be the neighbour's pipework, so the source needs tracing and the building's syndic may get involved for insurance.
The only toilet in the flat won't flush, the bowl is rising or it's spilling onto the floor. Stop flushing and call — in a one-bathroom apartment this can't wait. Blocked toilet →
Nothing comes out of any tap. It might be a closed valve, a frozen or burst pipe, or a problem on the shared riser (colonne montante). With no water in the flat you can't wash, cook or flush, so it's an urgent diagnosis.
Your water heater (chauffe-eau or ballon) has gone cold in the middle of a Paris winter — a tripped circuit, a failed element or a leaking tank. Not life-threatening, but with no backup it's an urgent call, especially overnight. Drainage issues →
A drain gurgling, a bad-egg sewage smell, or dirty water rising back up a sink, shower or toilet. That points to a blockage deep in the waste pipe or shared drain and shouldn't be left to spread through the flat. Blocked drain →
Find your stopcock (robinet d'arrêt) — usually under the kitchen sink, in a cupboard or near the water meter — and turn it clockwise to shut off the water. If you can't find a local valve, look for the main one by the meter (compteur d'eau) for the flat. Put down buckets and towels, lift anything valuable off the floor, and if water is anywhere near sockets or the consumer unit, switch that circuit off. Then call us straight away on 07 56 96 88 61 — a burst pipe or flood gets worse by the minute, and we treat these as priority call-outs.
Once help is on the way, a few simple steps protect your flat — and the neighbours below — and can stop a small leak becoming an expensive one. None of this requires any plumbing skill.
If water is reaching electrical sockets or the consumer unit, keep clear of the wet area and switch off that circuit if you can do so safely. If you ever feel unsafe — a ceiling sagging under water, or a serious flood — call the French emergency services on 112 first.
From the moment you call to the leak under control — no French required, no confusion at the door.
Tap to call and talk to a real English-speaking agent — not a menu. Tell us where you are and what's happening: a pipe has burst, the toilet's overflowing, there's water coming through the ceiling.
We match you with the nearest available vetted plumber, brief them on the problem, and confirm a clear price with you before anyone is sent. You'll know who's coming and a realistic estimate of when.
Your plumber finds the source, stops the water and puts it right — then talks you through what was wrong so it doesn't catch you out twice.
Across central Paris a plumber is usually close by — often within the hour. We always give you the honest estimate on the call rather than a guaranteed time we can't keep, because traffic and the hour of the night genuinely affect it.
The honest answer is that it depends on the job and the time — but you should never be left guessing. As a rough guide, most emergency call-outs in Paris fall in the €90–€250 range, and we agree the exact price with you before any work begins.
A few things drive where you land in that range. A straightforward visit — clearing a blocked sink or toilet, stopping a simple leak, swapping a worn tap or flexible hose — sits at the lower end. More involved work — tracing a hidden leak inside a wall, repairing a burst pipe, jetting a heavily blocked drain or replacing part of a water heater — takes longer and uses more parts, so it costs more. The time of the call-out matters too: night, weekend and public-holiday rates are higher than a weekday afternoon, which is normal across the trade in France and set out in advance, not sprung on you afterwards.
What stays constant is the way we handle the money. The price is confirmed with you on the call, in English, before the plumber is dispatched — so there's no surprise invoice in a language you can't read at 2am. For larger jobs (a re-pipe, a water-heater replacement), French law entitles you to a written quote, or devis, and a clear receipt for what you pay. If a job turns out to need more than the emergency make-safe, the plumber will explain it and quote it before doing the extra work, not while you're standing in a flooded kitchen.
A plumbing emergency is stressful enough in your own language. In French, at night, with water spreading across the floor, it becomes genuinely costly: you can't clearly describe a burst pipe or a dégât des eaux from upstairs, so the wrong help turns up; you can't tell whether the price is fair; and you're asked to sign an invoice you can't read. Every minute you hesitate because you can't explain the problem is another minute the water keeps running.
Putting a calm English-speaking voice between you and that situation removes almost all of it. You explain the problem clearly the first time, we brief the plumber so the right person arrives with the right kit, and the price is agreed up front. It's the same promise behind our wider English-speaking plumber service — and in an emergency it matters most. When you're ready, browse our full Paris plumbing coverage across all 20 arrondissements.
Whether it's 3pm or 3am, a weekday or a national holiday, there's always an English-speaking agent ready to take your call and get help moving.