Plumbing Service in Vancouver
Some plumbing is a straightforward swap and some of it legally requires a certified plumber and a permit. Knowing which is which before work starts saves both money and trouble at resale.
What requires a licensed plumber in BC
Replacing a tap, a toilet or a trap on existing plumbing is maintenance. Altering the pipework itself — moving a drain, changing supply routing, adding a fixture where none existed — falls under the plumbing code and requires certified work and, in most municipalities, a permit and inspection.
We are straight about where we sit in that: we do not hold a plumbing licence. Certified plumbing work is performed by a licensed subcontractor we bring in, and we coordinate the job around it — scheduling, access, making good afterwards. You will be told before the visit who is attending and what they are licensed for, and you are entitled to ask them to show it on the day.
Common callouts and typical cost
The frequent ones are dripping taps, running toilets, slow or blocked drains, leaking traps under sinks, and failed shutoff valves discovered the moment somebody tries to use them. Most are resolved in a single visit.
Plumbing is charged at the licensed trade rate of $185 an hour with a two-hour minimum, so $370 covers a straightforward visit. Most callouts land between $370–$2,600 — a tap or trap replacement at the bottom, re-piping under a vanity or relocating a supply line at the top. We will always tell you the likely cost before starting, and if a job turns out to be larger than it looked we stop and talk to you rather than continuing and presenting a bigger bill.
Shutoff valve location
Find your main shutoff now, before you need it. In a house it is usually where the supply enters, often in a basement or crawlspace; in a condo it is commonly in a service cupboard or above the ceiling access panel. Individual fixtures have their own stops under the sink or behind the toilet.
Older stop valves seize if never turned. It is worth exercising them occasionally, and worth knowing that a seized valve turns a simple tap change into a larger job because the water has to be isolated further upstream.
When a permit is required
Permits generally attach to alterations rather than repairs, and requirements differ between Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and the other municipalities we work across. We check the local requirement for your address rather than assuming.
Unpermitted plumbing alterations surface during a sale and can be expensive to resolve retrospectively. Where a permit is needed we will say so, even though it makes the job slower and dearer than doing it quietly.
What this costs
$370–$2,600 for most callouts
Performed by a licensed subcontractor at $185/hr with a two-hour minimum. Fixture swaps sit at the bottom of the range; re-piping a vanity or relocating a supply sits at the top. Permit-gated work is quoted separately.
Materials are always separate from labour and passed on at cost. Quotes are free and written, and the full rate card is published rather than given out on request.
Common questions
Do plumbing repairs need a permit in Vancouver?
Straight repairs and like-for-like replacements generally do not. Altering pipework — moving a drain, adding a fixture, rerouting supply — generally does, and the requirement varies by municipality, so we check for your specific address.
What can a handyman legally do?
Maintenance and like-for-like fixture replacement on existing plumbing. Anything altering the plumbing system itself needs a certified plumber. We will tell you which side of that line your job sits on before starting.
Do you offer emergency callouts?
Yes. We work every day, 6am–10pm, and inside those hours an urgent leak is fitted in the same day wherever we can. Outside them, emergency attendance is charged at $265 an hour with a two-hour minimum, and we will say on the phone whether your job genuinely warrants it. If you have an active leak right now, shut off the water at the main first — that limits the damage regardless of how quickly anyone can attend.