About Lafayette Express Plumbing in Lafayette, CA

We are a dispatch line, not a showroom. Our address is 3640 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Lafayette, CA 94549, and the phone is staffed around the clock for emergency plumbing calls. When a pipe bursts at 2 a.m. or a sewer line backs up on a holiday, the line is open.

The plumbers we send are licensed plumbers, and the work is done by licensed and insured professionals. We say that plainly because it is the part that matters when someone is working inside your walls and under your floors. You can verify the licence yourself, and the section below shows how.

We handle urgent calls first, and we offer same-day appointments when available for jobs that can wait a few hours. Planned work such as a water heater swap or a repipe also starts with a call, so the plumber can ask the right questions before anyone shows up.

The process is short on purpose. Here is what happens when you phone the line.

1. You call and tell us what is happening: where the water is, whether it is still running, and whether anyone is in danger.
2. We tell you what to do while you wait. That usually means shutting off the right valve, turning off power near water, and keeping people away from wet electrical areas.
3. We line up a licensed plumber for your address in Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Walnut Creek or Pleasant Hill and tell you what to expect next.
4. The plumber looks at the problem on site, explains the options, and gives you a clear price before work starts. You decide whether to go ahead.

Timing depends on traffic on Highway 24 and Mt. Diablo Boulevard, so we explain on the call what is realistic for your address.

Most calls fall into a few groups. Water and drain emergencies lead the list: burst pipe repair, drain cleaning, hydro jetting for stubborn clogs, and leak detection when you can hear or see signs of water but cannot find it. Sewer problems have their own pages for sewer line repair, sewer line cleaning and camera sewer inspection.

Water heaters are the other big group. We dispatch for water heater repair, water heater replacement, new water heater installation and tankless water heater work. Fixtures and smaller repairs include toilet repair, faucet repair and garbage disposal service.

Larger projects round out the list: repiping, slab leak repair, water line repair, plumbing installation, water softener and filtration questions and commercial plumbing for shops and offices. The full list lives on the services page.

Dispatch runs from Lafayette, and we cover the neighbouring towns around it. Drive time varies with traffic, so we do not quote minutes.

Everything starts with a phone call, because an emergency should be one conversation with a person. The website has no forms, booking tools or chat. If you cannot get through, call back.

We do not quote price numbers without understanding the job. A leaking supply line and a failing main line can sound alike on the phone but cost very different amounts. The plumber confirms a clear price on site before work starts.

We are not a gas emergency service. If you smell gas, leave the building, call 911, then call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. Do not use matches, lighters or flashlights inside, and call us only after the gas utility says the area is safe. See the PG&E gas leak safety page for their steps. Licensed plumbers on our calls work to the California Plumbing Code, which is based on the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), and we do not skip steps it requires.

These are the agencies behind your water, your sewer and your permits. Knowing which one owns which problem saves a lot of phone calls.

• EBMUD supplies water in Lafayette. Read the EBMUD water quality report, which lists Lafayette plant hardness at 16 mg/L, very soft water.
• For a suspected leak or a high bill, use the EBMUD guide for leaks and high bills. EBMUD handles leaks on the street side of the meter, and you handle the house side.
• If water is leaking on EBMUD's side of the meter, call EBMUD Emergency Dispatch at 1-866-403-2683 and press 1.
• Central San serves Lafayette sewers, and the property owner owns the whole lateral to the main. Keep the Central San home guide where you can find it, and learn where your cleanout is.
• Most sewer lateral work beyond routine cleaning needs a Central San permit. Their permit counter is (925) 229-7371.
• For permits on other work, ask the City of Lafayette. Its permit page lists water heater repair and replacement at single-family homes as exempt from a building permit, and the city contracts with the Contra Costa County Building Inspection Department. Permit rules vary, so ask the Lafayette building department before you start.
• Before anyone digs near buried lines, call 811 (USA North 811) first.

A plumber can tell you which of these applies to your problem. If you are not sure whose pipe is leaking, call us and we will talk it through.

If water is running, a drain is backing up or the hot water is gone, call (855) 575-2890 and tell us what you see. For anything that is not urgent, the contact page lists what to have ready when you phone.