Plumbing questions, honest answers.

We cover Ashgrove and the wider Brisbane and South East Queensland region — including Bardon, The Gap, Paddington, Newmarket, Wilston, Red Hill, Spring Hill, the Brisbane CBD, and surrounding suburbs. If you're on the edge of our footprint, give us a call and we'll be straight with you about whether sending a plumber out makes sense at our rates or whether a local in your area is going to be more affordable.

Our office and standard plumbing hours are 7am to 5pm Monday to Saturday. Our emergency line is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including public holidays. Standard-rate work runs during the office hours; out-of-hours calls are at a published premium rate, told to you on the phone before we attend. Sundays during the day are emergency-only — we'll still come out, just at the after-hours rate.

Yes. Every plumber on the team is fully licensed and insured — public liability insurance, the relevant Queensland trade licences (plumbing, gas, drainage), and the additional tickets needed for any specialised work. We're happy to provide certificates of currency on request, particularly for commercial or property-management customers who need them in their files. Using a licensed plumber matters because unlicensed work voids home insurance and fails council inspections at sale time.

Card payments on-site (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), bank transfer, and direct debit for ongoing customers. For most residential work we invoice on completion — nothing to pay until the work is finished and you're happy. For larger projects we agree a payment schedule upfront. We don't ask for cash, and we don't ask for a deposit just to come and quote — quoting is free.

Call or message us with what's happening and we'll either give you an indicative range over the phone (for known fixes like a hot water replacement) or book a free on-site visit (for anything where we need to see it). The on-site quote is written, fixed-price wherever possible, and sent to you the same day. There's no obligation to proceed and no booking fee to get the quote.

Yes. All workmanship from Submerge Plumbing & Gas is guaranteed. If something we installed or fixed fails because of how we did it, we come back and put it right at no charge. Manufacturer warranties on parts (taps, hot water units, valves) are passed through to you separately, and we'll register the equipment for those warranties on the day so the clock starts cleanly. We keep job records so when you call back later, we already know what was done.

We give a clear written quote before any work starts. For minor jobs we charge an upfront call-out plus an hourly rate; for larger jobs like re-pipes or full bathroom plumbing we provide a fixed-price quote after a free site visit. There are no hidden charges — what you sign off on is what you pay. We talk through what's included, what isn't, and any judgement calls before we lift a tool, so you can decide with full information. If we discover something on the day that changes the scope, we stop and talk to you before continuing.

Yes. Submerge Plumbing & Gas covers Ashgrove, Bardon, The Gap, Paddington, Newmarket and the wider Brisbane and South East Queensland region. If you're inside that footprint we can usually have a plumber to you the same day for non-emergency work. For postcodes on the edge of our service area, give us a call and we'll let you know straight away — we'd rather tell you upfront than send a tradie hours away.

For non-urgent residential plumbing in Brisbane we usually have someone on-site within one to two business days. We'll book a clear two-hour arrival window and send a courtesy text when the plumber is on the way, so you're not stuck waiting around all day. If you're flexible we can sometimes fit you in the same day when another job wraps up early — just let us know when you call.

Every plumber on the Submerge Plumbing & Gas team is fully licensed and insured. We carry public liability cover and our plumbers carry the Queensland licences required for the work we do — gas, drainage, plumbing trade. We're happy to show you the paperwork on request. Using a licensed plumber matters because unlicensed work can void your home insurance and fail council inspections at sale time, both of which cost a lot more than doing it right the first time.

We take card payments on-site (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), bank transfer, and direct debit. For most residential jobs we invoice on completion, so there's nothing to pay until the work is finished and you're happy with it. For larger projects we'll agree a payment schedule upfront — usually a small deposit, a progress payment partway through, and the balance on completion. We don't ask for cash.

A free quote includes an on-site visit (no charge for travel), a full written breakdown of the work, a fixed price wherever possible, and clear notes on anything we recommend you address now versus down the track. We'll point out things we've spotted that aren't strictly part of what you called us for — without being pushy about it. If you want a second opinion before booking, we expect you to take it. Good plumbers compare well.

Yes. All workmanship from Submerge Plumbing & Gas is guaranteed — if something we installed or fixed fails because of how we did it, we come back and put it right at no charge. Manufacturer warranties on parts (taps, hot water units, valves) are passed through to you separately, and we'll register your equipment for those warranties on the day. We keep a record of every job so if you call back in two years we already know what we did and what was used.

Yes. Submerge Plumbing & Gas works with offices, retail tenancies, hospitality venues, body corporates and small industrial sites across Brisbane. We can be flexible with timing — early-morning, after-hours and weekend work is common for us, because we know shutting down a working venue mid-trade isn't an option. We'll work to your facility manager's site induction process and provide SWMS and insurance certificates before we start.

Yes. We offer ongoing maintenance contracts for commercial and multi-residential properties. We'll do a baseline audit of the plumbing across the site, set up a recurring inspection schedule (quarterly, six-monthly or annual) and keep a maintenance log you can show at audit time. Our maintenance contracts are deliberately simple — no lock-in beyond a notice period, transparent hourly rate for any extra work, and no surprise call-out fees during normal contract hours.

For commercial customers on a maintenance agreement, we target a one-hour on-site response during business hours and same-day response after hours. We know that a burst pipe or sewer overflow on a commercial site costs you trade revenue every minute, so we triage commercial emergencies ahead of routine residential work. If we can't make a target response time we tell you straight away so you can make the call about a stop-gap or relocating staff.

Yes. We issue all required compliance documentation — backflow prevention testing, gas certificates, hot water plant inspections, drainage certificates — and lodge them with the relevant Queensland authority where applicable. You receive a copy as a PDF for your facility records. If you're preparing for a sale, audit or insurance review we can produce a consolidated plumbing compliance summary on request.

Commercial work is usually quoted as a fixed price per scope after a site walk, rather than hourly. For maintenance contracts there's a flat monthly fee that covers scheduled inspections plus a discounted hourly rate for any reactive work. We give you a written rate card upfront so anyone in your business can authorise routine work without having to chase a quote. Out-of-hours work is at a published premium rate, agreed before the call-out.

Yes. Submerge Plumbing & Gas carries public liability insurance and our plumbers carry the relevant trade licences for the commercial work we take on. We can provide a current certificate of currency for your records and induction system. If your site requires additional insurances or specific induction tickets, tell us in the quoting call and we'll confirm whether we already hold them or what the lead time is to get them.

Yes. After-hours and weekend commercial plumbing is part of what we do — restaurants, retail and offices that can't shut for a weekday call-out. We charge an after-hours premium that's quoted upfront, never as a surprise on the invoice. For maintenance customers we plan disruptive work into your quietest trading window wherever possible, and we always restore the site to a working state before we leave.

Yes. We're set up to work with property managers, real-estate agencies and body corporates across Brisbane. We can quote, attend, complete and invoice using your job-management system, and we know how to deal with tenants directly when you can't be on site. We'll send photos and a clear write-up after every visit so the file is up to date for the owner.

We invoice the agency or property manager directly — never the tenant. You can choose monthly statement-style billing or per-job invoicing, whichever fits your trust accounting. We provide invoice line items in the format your software needs, including job ID, address, and tradie name, so reconciliation isn't a chase. For trust-account compliance we keep all original receipts and quotes on file for seven years.

Yes. We can be your first-call after-hours plumber so the tenant doesn't have to escalate through you. We'll triage the call, confirm whether it's a true emergency or a next-business-day issue, and only proceed if the cost falls within the limit you've set with us. Anything above that limit gets a call back to you before work starts. We document the conversation and our decision in the job notes.

Yes. For ongoing property managers we do scheduled plumbing and gas safety checks at change-of-tenancy or annually. The report covers leak detection, drain flow, hot water unit age, gas appliance condition, and any visible corrosion or compliance issues. The owner gets a clear plain-English document with photos. This is genuinely useful in disputes — it lets you point to exactly what was working when the tenant moved in.

We aim for same-business-day attendance for property manager jobs flagged as routine, and within two hours for emergencies. We pick up the phone — voicemail and email-only systems are how things get missed in this industry. If we can't make the target window we tell you straight away so you can update the tenant rather than us going dark.

We hold a published rate card for property managers we work with regularly — a fixed call-out, a flat hourly rate during business hours, and a published after-hours premium. There's no markup hiding inside parts pricing. The rate card sits in your file and any of your team can authorise work without chasing a fresh quote, up to the limit you set.

Yes. All gas fitting at Submerge Plumbing & Gas is performed by a licensed gas fitter. Gas work in Queensland is licence-controlled — unlicensed gas work is illegal and dangerous, and an unlicensed gas appliance install will void your home insurance. We issue a Gas Compliance Certificate after every gas job that requires one, and you get a copy for your records and any future sale or rental of the property.

Yes. We work with natural gas (mains) and LPG (bottled). We can install, service and certify gas cooktops, ovens, hot water systems, gas heaters and outdoor BBQ connections. If you're switching from one fuel source to the other (for example, going from electric to gas hot water), we can quote the full pipework, appliance and certification work as one fixed-price job.

Most new gas appliance installs and any work that involves disconnecting/reconnecting gas appliances require a Gas Compliance Certificate in Queensland. Submerge Plumbing & Gas provides the certificate for any qualifying work we do — included in the price, not as an extra. Keep it with your home documents; selling agents and home insurers will sometimes ask for it. If you've recently moved in and can't find the certificate for an existing appliance, we can inspect and certify retrospectively.

Gas fitting is quoted as a fixed price per appliance install or per scope, after a quick on-site look. Hourly billing isn't usually appropriate for gas because the work has clear deliverables — install, certify, test. The quote includes the certificate and the leak-test. For service work (a gas heater not lighting properly, for example) we'll diagnose at the call-out fee, then quote the fix before doing it.

Treat a suspected gas leak as an emergency — turn the gas off at the meter, ventilate the room, and don't use any electrical switches. Then call us. We aim to be on-site within an hour of an emergency gas-leak call in Brisbane, day or night. If the leak is severe enough that you can smell gas across multiple rooms, call 000 and your gas distributor's emergency line first; they'll attend faster for a major leak.

Yes. We install, replace and service gas storage and continuous-flow hot water systems. We'll size the unit correctly for your household demand (continuous-flow is rated by litres-per-minute and undersizing is the most common mistake), advise on Energy Star ratings, and handle the disposal of the old unit. The install includes the gas certificate and a five-year manufacturer warranty registration where applicable.

Yes. We recommend annual servicing for gas hot water units and gas heaters, especially for rental properties where any incident triggers a hard look at maintenance records. The service includes a leak-check, burner inspection, flame-rectification check on continuous-flow units, and a written summary. Most insurers and property managers see annual service records as evidence of reasonable owner care.

Yes. Submerge Plumbing & Gas installs and services all three — gas (storage and continuous-flow), electric (storage), and heat-pump systems. We're not aligned with one brand, so the recommendation you get is based on what suits your household demand and ongoing running cost, not on what we have on the truck. Heat-pump systems in particular have shifted a lot in the last few years and there are good Queensland rebates running on the better units.

Repair makes sense if the unit is under about ten years old and the failed component is a thermostat, element, valve or anode. Replace makes sense if the tank is leaking, the unit is over ten to twelve years old, or the energy bill from running it has crept up significantly. We give you the actual numbers — repair cost, replacement cost, and expected running-cost difference — so you can decide. We're never insulted if you decide to repair.

A like-for-like swap (same fuel, similar size, same location) is usually a half-day job, with hot water restored before we leave. Switching fuel types — gas to heat pump, for example — can take a full day because of new electrical work or pipe runs. We'll always tell you upfront if the household will be without hot water overnight, and if so we can sometimes leave a temporary unit running until the new install is finished the next day.

There are Queensland and federal rebates available on certain heat-pump and solar hot water installs. The list changes — last we checked, the federal small-scale technology certificates discount and Queensland's climate scheme were both running. We'll only tell you a rebate applies after we've verified your unit and address are eligible. The rebate is applied as a discount on the quote, not a cheque you have to chase.

It depends on the number of people in the home and your peak-demand pattern. As a rough guide: a couple typically wants 125–170 L storage or a small continuous-flow unit; a family of four wants 250–315 L storage or a 26-L/min continuous-flow; six-plus people want 315 L storage with two heating elements or a 32-L/min continuous-flow. We'll go through your shower count, dishwasher and laundry use, and recommend specifically. Undersizing is the single most common cause of hot water complaints.

Yes. We've installed hot water units inside narrow cupboards, under stairs, on apartment balconies, and on roof areas where access is genuinely awkward. Continuous-flow units are wall-mounted and small, which solves a lot of this. If access really is the limiting factor we'll tell you on the quote and discuss whether a different fuel/location combination makes more sense.

Manufacturer warranties on hot water units are typically five to ten years on the tank/cylinder and one to three years on parts, depending on brand. We register your unit on install day so the warranty clock starts cleanly with paperwork that traces back to a licensed installer (some warranties are void if installation can't be evidenced). On top of the manufacturer warranty, our installation workmanship is guaranteed.

The big four are tree roots in the sewer line, fat and food in kitchen drains, hair and soap scum in bathroom drains, and foreign objects in toilet pans. Brisbane's mature street trees are a particular cause — root intrusion through clay or earthenware sewer joints is incredibly common in older suburbs like Ashgrove, Paddington and The Gap. A drain camera tells us in five minutes which of the four it is, instead of guessing.

Yes. For any drain that has blocked more than once, we use a CCTV drain camera to find the actual cause before quoting a fix. The camera footage is yours to keep — we'll send the file. Knowing exactly what's wrong avoids the trap of repeatedly clearing a blockage that's going to keep coming back, which is the most common complaint from people who've called multiple plumbers about the same drain.

Most blocked drains are cleared without digging — high-pressure water jetting (hydrojetting) clears tree roots, fat and most foreign material from inside the pipe. If the camera shows the pipe itself is collapsed or severely root-damaged, dig-up or pipe relining might be needed. We always quote no-dig solutions first, and only recommend digging if hydrojetting genuinely can't fix the underlying issue.

We quote a fixed price for drain clearing, not hourly. The price depends on the access type, the suspected cause, and whether you want a camera inspection included. Repeat blocks within a fixed period are covered under our workmanship guarantee — if we cleared it and the same blockage returns, we come back without charging again. We're transparent about what's included so you don't get a $400 invoice for a 20-minute clear.

Yes. Sewage backing up into the house or yard is treated as an emergency — public health risk, building damage risk. We aim for under-two-hour response across the Brisbane area, day or night. The first thing we do on arrival is stop further damage; once the house is safe we then properly clear and diagnose. After-hours work carries a published premium rate, told to you on the call before we attend.

Yes. Pipe relining is a no-dig solution where a resin liner is fed into the existing pipe and cured in place, creating a new pipe inside the old one. It's significantly cheaper and less disruptive than excavation, and the relined pipe typically has a longer life than the original. Relining works on most diameters but isn't suitable for fully collapsed pipes — the camera inspection tells us which approach applies.

Yes. Bathroom, kitchen, laundry and en-suite renovation plumbing is a regular part of what we do at Submerge Plumbing & Gas. We work both directly with homeowners and with builders, designers and bathroom companies. We can be the lead trade running the plumbing rough-in, fit-off and tiling-handover, or we can come in to do specific stages — whatever fits the way your renovation is being run.

Both. Many homeowners on smaller renovations directly manage the trades, and we coordinate with the tiler, electrician and cabinetmaker without the homeowner needing to chase. On a builder-run renovation we'll work through the builder's program. The fit-off stage particularly has tight ordering — taps, basin, toilet need to land in the right order around tiling — and we plan that in writing before site work starts.

Yes. Moving a toilet, shower or basin requires re-running drainage and water supply lines, which is more complex than a fitting swap but absolutely doable. The cost depends on access — under-floor versus slab, single versus second storey — and we tell you upfront whether the move you want is a small change or a meaningful one. Sometimes a 200mm shift saves significantly versus relocating the entire fixture.

We quote renovation plumbing as a fixed price for the rough-in stage and a separate fixed price for the fit-off stage. There's a single line item for any extras you ask us to add later. This is more honest than hourly billing on a renovation because you know the plumbing budget early, and you can compare quotes from different plumbers like-for-like. The quote breaks down what's included to the level of fittings.

Either works. Many homeowners pick the taps, basin and toilet themselves to control aesthetic and budget. We're happy to install client-supplied fittings (with a quick check that they're compliant for Queensland — not all imported fittings are). If you'd rather we supply, we'll quote at trade pricing with a small handling margin and handle the warranty registration. Either path, the install workmanship is guaranteed.

Rough-in is typically one to two days for a single bathroom, after which the room is handed to the tiler and waterproofer. Fit-off is another full day after tiling, when the taps, toilet, basin and shower are installed. Total plumbing time on-site is three to four days spread across the renovation timeline. We'll align our days to your tiler's schedule because waiting for tiling is the most common renovation delay.

Bathroom renovations involving regulated work (drainage changes, hot water relocation) require a notifiable work certificate lodged with the QBCC — not a council inspection per se. We lodge the certificate as the licensed plumber for any qualifying work, and you get a copy. Insurance and any future buyer will look for it. If your renovation falls below the notifiable threshold, no certificate is needed but we still issue you a workmanship summary.

True plumbing emergencies are: burst pipes flooding the home, sewage backing up into the house or yard, a hot water unit leaking onto electrical equipment, a gas leak, a blocked drain that's about to overflow, or no working toilet for an entire household. A dripping tap or a slow drain is annoying but not a 2am call-out. We'll triage on the phone and tell you honestly whether you need us tonight or whether it can wait until tomorrow morning at standard rate.

We aim for under-two-hour on-site response across Brisbane and inner suburbs, day or night. For genuinely urgent calls — burst mains, sewage flood, gas leak — we'll often beat that. If we can't make the target window we tell you straight away so you can decide whether to wait or escalate to another emergency service. We don't bait-and-switch on response time.

After-hours, weekend and public-holiday call-outs carry a published emergency premium that we quote on the phone before we leave for your address. The premium covers the call-out, first hour and travel; any work beyond that is at our published hourly rate. There's no separate booking fee or surprise minimum spend. The full price for the diagnosis-and-stop-the-damage portion is settled before we put a wrench on anything.

Two things help most. First, isolate water at the meter (the main shut-off is usually at the front of the property) — this stops further damage immediately. Second, move valuables and electrical items off the floor. For a gas leak, don't use any electrical switches, ventilate the room, and turn the gas off at the meter. We'll talk you through this on the phone if you're not sure where the meter or shut-offs are.

Yes. Our emergency line is staffed 24/7 every day of the year. Routine and scheduled jobs run during business hours; emergency call-outs are available outside those hours at the published premium. Christmas Day, New Year's Day and other public holidays carry the same emergency premium — we don't gouge the rates higher just because of the date.

An emergency plumber needs to be available, equipped to stop damage immediately, and decisive about the right next step. A regular plumber is fine for scheduled work where you can wait for parts and a thoughtful quote. Submerge Plumbing & Gas does both, but we run the emergency response with a stocked van that can handle the most common urgent fixes on the first visit, so a midnight call doesn't end with 'we'll be back tomorrow with the part.'