Aquatek Plumbing
Plumbers
San Jose
- Drain Cleaning
- Hydro Jetting
- Leak Detection and Repair
- Repiping
- +2 more
Almost every plumbing bill has 2 parts, and only 1 of them gets quoted on the phone. There is a service call fee that usually covers the first hour, and an hourly rate after that. Nights, weekends and holidays commonly run at time and a half or double. Knowing which of those you are agreeing to, and when the clock starts, is most of the difference between a fair bill and a surprising one.
| Service | Typical |
|---|---|
| Plumber hourly rateNational range | $45 to $150 per hour |
| Drain cleaningNational range | $100 to $275 per job |
| Water heater replacementNational range | $600 to $1,800 per job |
| Leak repairNational range | $150 to $850 per job |
Ranges last checked September 2026. They come down automatically when they are due to be rechecked.
Every figure above comes from a named source we can link to, with the date we last checked it. We publish ranges rather than single prices because a range is what a provider will actually give you: the same job moves with what is being worked on, the materials, how hard it is to get at and how busy the trade is locally. Treat these as the order of magnitude to expect before you call, not as a quote.
The figures here are national. Where a source publishes figures state by state, the state pages carry that local figure instead of this one. We do not scale a national number by a multiplier of our own invention.
Every range carries a review date. When that date passes the number comes down until it is rechecked, rather than sitting here undated.
Most shops charge a service call fee that covers turning up and, usually, the first hour of work. After that an hourly rate applies. The two are quoted separately and often only one of them is mentioned when you book, which is where most billing disputes start. Ask what the call fee is, what it includes, and at what point the hourly rate begins, before anyone is dispatched.
Apprentice, journeyman and master are license stages rather than marketing labels, and a master plumber costs more because the license carries more. That is not a reason to insist on the top tier for a blocked sink. It is a reason to ask who is actually coming, because a shop quoting a master rate should be sending one.
Nights, weekends and holidays commonly run at time and a half or double the standard rate. On a job that takes three hours, that is not a small premium. If the water is off and the damage is contained, asking what the first available weekday slot costs is worth doing before agreeing to a midnight call.
A leak behind a wall, under a floor or in a slab is not a harder repair than one under a sink, but it is a much larger job, because something has to be opened up and then closed again. Ask early whether the quote includes making good afterwards, or whether you are hiring a second trade to patch and paint. That answer moves the total more often than the plumbing itself does.
Settle the money questions before dispatch, not on the doorstep. What is the call fee, what does it cover, what is the hourly rate afterwards, and what does a diagnosis cost if the job turns out to be something else. A shop that answers those plainly on the phone is telling you how the invoice will read.
For anything that needs a permit, ask who pulls it. Water heaters, repipes and anything touching gas commonly do, and a job done without one is a problem that surfaces when you sell rather than when the work is finished.
On a replacement rather than a repair, get the specification in writing: capacity, fuel, efficiency and what code now requires that the old installation may not have had. An expansion tank or a drain pan appearing on the final invoice is legitimate; appearing as a surprise is not.
The table above carries the current range, and where a job sits inside it depends on the plumber’s license tier, whether the work is residential or commercial, and the time of day. Commercial work averages higher because the code compliance is stricter.
A charge for turning up, commonly quoted separately from the hourly rate and usually covering the first hour of work. Ask what it is and what it includes before anyone is dispatched, because it is the part most often left out of a phone quote.
Commonly time and a half to double the standard rate. On a job of any length that is a substantial difference, so if the situation is contained it is worth asking what the next weekday slot would cost.
Because access is the variable, not the plumbing. A leak under a sink and a leak in a slab are similar repairs with very different jobs around them. Ask whether the quote includes making good after anything is opened up.
Often, particularly water heaters, repipes and anything touching gas. Ask who pulls it and whether the fee is in the quote. Work done without a permit tends to surface when you sell rather than when it is finished.