What's the job?
"A plumber" is really six different jobs with six different price logics. Emergencies are a callout fee against the clock. Drains are a cheap unblock or an expensive discovery. Hot water is a four-figure replacement with published package prices. Gas is restricted work, quote only. Pick the job first: each stream has its own providers, its own prices, and its own Wellington rules.
Emergency
Burst pipe, sewage backing up, flooding, no water. You pay a premium to have someone at the door tonight, so know your toby and know what the callout fee covers.
Drain unblocking
A gully trap overflowing or a toilet that will not clear. Jetting or rodding fixes the symptom; a camera finds the cause. Recurring blockages in old earthenware pipes are a relining or drainlaying job.
Hot water
Cylinder repair or replacement. Two Wellington providers publish real package prices, so this is the stream where you can know the number before you call.
Leak repair
From a dripping tap to a hidden leak inside a wall. Visible leaks are a standard-hours booking; hidden ones go to leak detection specialists with acoustic and thermal gear.
Gasfitting
Gas hobs, gas hot water, new connections, gas leak repairs. Legally restricted work: only PGDB-registered gasfitters can do it, and none of them publish prices.
Bathroom renovation
Rough-in, fit-off, and the plumbing behind the walls. Quoted as a fixed price per project, with the plumbing component typically adding $3,000–$8,000 on top of the wider reno.
Not sure which job?
Water actively spreading, a burst pipe, or sewage coming up through a floor drain is an emergency: turn the water off at the toby and call. A slow drip under the sink or a damp patch on a wall is leak repair, and it will be cheaper booked in standard hours.
No hot water is usually the hot water stream, but check first: cold pipes into the top of the cylinder point to an electrician, not a plumber. One blocked toilet is drain unblocking; several fixtures backing up at once means the main drain and a camera.
How the streams compare
| Stream | How it is priced | Price range | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Callout fee plus time onsite | $175–$400+GST callout | Active damage: burst pipe, sewage, flooding |
| Drain unblocking | Standard unblock, CCTV extra | $150–$450 guide | Blocked toilet or gully; recurring needs a camera |
| Hot water | Fixed package or quoted install | $3,050–$5,500 | Cylinder past 10 years, leaking, or upgrading pressure |
| Leak repair | Hourly plus callout; detection quoted | $120–$250 typical | Drips, damp patches, high water bills |
| Gasfitting | Quoted per job, restricted work | Quote-based | Gas hobs, gas hot water, new connections |
| Bathroom renovation | Fixed price per project | $12k–$70k+ project | Full refresh or layout change, walls open |
Wellington rules that change the job
Most of this work is legally restricted. Sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying are restricted work in New Zealand: they must be done or supervised by someone registered and licensed with the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. Search the public register at pgdb.co.nz before you book, and ask what certification paperwork you will receive.
The villa stock hides old pipes. Wellington's villas and bungalows still run galvanised steel supply pipes and earthenware drains. Symptoms are low pressure, recurring pinhole leaks and drains that block again within months. A like-for-like fix on 80-year-old pipework is often money spent delaying a repipe or relining.
Earthquake resilience is part of the job. Hot water cylinder replacements must meet current code, which includes seismic restraints, safe trays and tempering valves. Know where your toby (mains shutoff) is before a burst pipe finds it for you.
Hills and weather punish drainage. Steep sections, high rainfall and ageing stormwater lines mean blocked drains escalate to flooding fast. If the blockage is on the public network it is Wellington Water's problem; everything on your side of the boundary is yours. Check the Wellington Water outage map before paying a callout for "no water".