A two-truck plumbing shop is big enough to get real after-hours volume and too small to staff a phone all night. Usually the owner runs one truck and a tech runs the other, and whoever's phone rings after six decides on the spot whether to go. That works until the owner is worn out, the tech feels used, a burst pipe goes to voicemail, and a dripping faucet gets a truck at midnight. This playbook is the plumbing side of the problem: which calls really need a truck tonight, a rotation two people can live with, what to charge, what to say on the phone and what to text when nobody can pick up.
- Write one list of what gets a truck tonight. Fixr's examples of when to call an emergency plumber are an active leak you cannot stop, a burst pipe, or sagging in a ceiling, wall or floor. Most of the rest can be booked for the morning.
- Rotate nights by the week, with a fixed handoff time, and make the off-duty truck the backup, not a second on-call.
- Under federal rules, an employee who only has to leave word where they can be reached is not working while on call. Hours past 40 in a workweek are overtime at not less than one and one-half times the regular rate.
- HomeAdvisor says most plumbers charge time and a half to triple their hourly rate after hours. Fixr lists an emergency call-out fee of $200 to $300. Pick one structure and say it before you roll.
- Every caller you cannot reach gets a text: what to do right now, and either a callback for tonight or three times for tomorrow.
If you are still deciding how your phone gets covered at all, start with our guide to plumbing answering services, which compares voicemail, live services and AI receptionists. And if you want the short version for any trade, read what to do with after-hours calls when you cannot pick up. This guide assumes you have decided to take emergencies and want to run them well.
Tonight or tomorrow: sort the calls before they come
The worst time to decide whether a call is an emergency is at 11 pm with the customer on the line. Decide once, write it down, and give the same list to whoever might answer: you, your tech, a service or software. Fixr's plumber cost guide names three situations that call for an emergency plumber: an active water leak you cannot stop, a burst pipe, and sagging in the ceiling, walls or floors. That is a good core. Here is a starting list a small shop can adjust:
| Call | When | Tell the caller now |
|---|---|---|
| Truck tonight | ||
| Burst pipe, leak that will not stop | Tonight | Shut off the main |
| Water in a ceiling, sagging drywall | Tonight | Shut off the main, stay clear |
| Sewer backing up into the house | Tonight | Stop using water |
| Water heater leaking | Tonight, if it will not stop | Shut off its water and power |
| First thing tomorrow | ||
| No hot water, nothing leaking | Morning | Book the first morning slot |
| One clogged drain, others work | Morning | Use another sink or toilet |
| Running toilet, dripping faucet | Next open time | Close the stop valve |
Two calls sit outside the list. A gas smell is not a plumbing call tonight; whoever answers should tell the caller to leave the house and call the gas company or 911 from outside, every time. And a call from a property manager or a business with a contract may get a truck on terms you agreed in advance, whatever the problem.
The gray zone is where a two-truck shop makes or loses money: no water at all, a water heater that is not leaking in a house with a newborn, a slow leak under a sink that a towel is holding. Give whoever answers one rule for the gray zone. A simple one: if the caller can stop the water or live without the fixture until 8 am, book the first slot of the morning and say so. If they cannot, it goes to the on-call truck.
A simple on-call rotation for two trucks
With two people, the fair answer is usually week on, week off. Shorter swaps mean more handoffs and more dropped calls. A rotation that holds up:
- Set a handoff time. Pick one, such as Monday at 7 am, and switch the on-call phone or forwarding then, every week. No handoffs by text at 9 pm.
- Name a backup, not a second on-call. The off-week truck is called only if the on-call truck is already on a job and a second true emergency comes in. If backup calls happen often, your tonight list is too long or you need a third person.
- Promise a callback window, not an arrival time. Tell callers when the on-call plumber will call them back, and keep it. The arrival time comes after the plumber has heard the problem.
- Stock the on-call truck for the tonight list. Repair couplings and clamps for burst pipes, a drain machine for backups, shutoff keys for the street valve, wet vac, tarps. If the night job needs a part you do not carry, the right move is often to make it safe and come back in the morning.
- Hold the holidays separately. Split the big ones in January for the whole year, so nobody gets Christmas and New Year's both.
- Swap the next morning when it was a long night. If the on-call plumber was out until 3 am, the first job of the day moves to the other truck. A tired plumber on a ladder costs more than a rescheduled faucet.
Paying the tech for on-call time. Federal rules draw a line. The Code of Federal Regulations says an employee who must stay on call at the employer's premises, or so close that they cannot use the time for their own purposes, is working while on call. An employee who only has to leave word at home or with the company where they can be reached is not working while on call. Federal law also makes hours past 40 in a workweek overtime, paid at not less than one and one-half times the regular rate. Many shops also pay a flat on-call amount for the week, plus the call-out hours. State law can add to the federal rules, so check yours or ask your accountant before you set the policy.
Whatever you decide, put it in writing for the tech: the rotation, the tonight list, the callback window, the on-call pay and how night jobs are billed. Most after-hours friction in a small shop comes from those five things being unclear.
What to charge after hours
Night and weekend work costs you more: sleep, overtime, a disrupted next day. Price it that way. Three homeowner cost guides publish how plumbers usually charge, and they are what your caller may have read:
| What the guide says | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate after hours | Time and a half to triple the hourly rate | HomeAdvisor |
| A split some plumbers use | 1.5x evenings, 2x weekends, 3x holidays | HomeAdvisor |
| Extra for calls outside regular hours | $100 to $300 or more | HomeAdvisor |
| Emergency hourly rate | $150 is the standard | Fixr |
| Emergency call-out fee | $200 to $300, flat | Fixr |
| Transportation fee | $50 to $200 | Fixr |
| Emergency rate | A flat emergency fee plus around $150 an hour | This Old House |
Fixr also notes that some plumbers charge more on a busy night, such as a very cold night, and This Old House says companies may charge more in busy seasons like winter freezes or after heavy rain. Those are the nights a two-truck shop gets more calls than it can run, so it is fair to price them.
Pick one structure and use it every time:
- A multiplier on your rate. Time and a half on weeknights, double on weekends, triple on holidays. Easy to explain if your daytime rate is already on your price list. As an example, at $120 an hour in the day, time and a half is $180 and double time is $240.
- A flat after-hours call-out fee plus your normal job price. Simpler for flat rate shops. The fee covers the drive and the disruption; the repair is priced the way it is in the day.
Either way, say it on the phone before the truck rolls: "The after-hours call-out is this amount, and the repair is priced on site before we start." A customer who agreed to the fee at midnight does not argue with the invoice. If you have not set a daytime rate you trust yet, our guide on how to price plumbing jobs and the free plumbing labor rate calculator build one from your own costs. Then share part of the after-hours premium with the tech who ran the call; it is what keeps the rotation fair.
A short triage script for the phone
Whoever answers at night, from the owner half asleep to a live service, should ask the same questions in the same order. Six are enough:
- "Is water running right now, or is sewage coming up?" If yes, before anything else: "Turn off the main water shutoff." Our answering service guide has the full list of what to tell callers for each problem.
- "Do you smell gas?" If yes: "Leave the house and call the gas company or 911 from outside." End of the plumbing call.
- "What is the address, and is it your home?" Owner or tenant changes who approves the work. For a tenant, get the landlord's or manager's name.
- "What happened, and when did it start?" Ask for a photo by text if they can send one. It tells the on-call plumber what to bring.
- "Can it wait until morning if the water is off?" This is where your tonight list decides. If it fits the morning, offer the first slot.
- "Our after-hours call-out is this amount. Do you want us to come tonight?" Get a clear yes before dispatch, and the best number to call back.
Then the on-call plumber calls back inside the promised window, hears the problem in the caller's words and gives the arrival time. That callback is where most night jobs are won or lost, which is why the window matters more than the arrival time.
What to text a caller you cannot reach
Some calls will hit voicemail: the on-call plumber is under a house, driving, or already on the night's first emergency. A text back, sent as soon as you see the missed call, keeps the caller from dialing the next plumber. Our guide to what a missed call really costs covers why the first reply wins. For plumbing at night, the text has one extra job: telling the caller how to stop the damage while they wait.
If you will go out tonight:
If it can wait until morning:
Put in your own business name and the callback window you can keep. Send it from the number they called, so it reads as you and not a stranger. If you text from software, the number usually has to be registered; our guide to A2P 10DLC for contractors explains what that means. To put a dollar figure on the calls you miss now, try the free missed call calculator.
The morning after
A night on call does not end when the truck gets home. A short routine at the start of the day keeps the night's calls from going cold:
- Go through every call and text from the night. Anyone who was told "first thing tomorrow" gets a confirmed time before 8 am.
- Invoice the night jobs. Send them the same day, with the after-hours fee shown the way it was quoted on the phone.
- Book the follow-up. A night repair that made a pipe safe often needs a proper fix in daylight. Book it before the customer forgets how bad the night was.
- Ask for the review. A plumber who came out at midnight is what people write reviews about.
- Check the rotation. If the night ran long, move the on-call plumber's first job to the other truck.
Before freeze season, check that your Google hours match your after-hours policy. Our guide to SEO for plumbers covers getting the listing and emergency page ready before the rush.
How Koira answers after hours
A rotation still means someone's phone rings at night for calls that could wait. Koira takes that part. The AI receptionist answers on your Koira number at any hour, and when nobody can pick up it texts the caller back in about a minute with three open times, in English or Spanish. Ordinary jobs get booked into your day, and at night it texts you only for the things you said count as emergencies. You wake up to booked work instead of voicemails. It never invents a price; anything not on your price list comes to you as a question.
Customers can also text your Koira number, and booking by text offers times that fit the stops you already have. After the night job, the invoice goes out when you tap done, the customer can pay at the door, and an hour after they pay Koira asks for the review. The receptionist and text-back run on a Koira number that comes with Grow, at $249 a month plus usage at cost, with no per-person fee. See pricing or how a plumbing shop runs on Koira.
Questions contractors ask
What counts as a plumbing emergency after hours?
Fixr names an active leak you cannot stop, a burst pipe, and sagging in a ceiling, wall or floor. Most shops add sewage backing up into the house. A dripping faucet, a running toilet or one clogged drain can usually wait for the morning.
How much should a plumber charge after hours?
HomeAdvisor says most plumbers charge time and a half to triple their hourly rate after hours, and that calls outside regular hours cost an extra $100 to $300 or more. Fixr lists an emergency call-out fee of $200 to $300. Pick one structure and say it before the truck rolls.
How do two trucks split on-call nights?
Week on, week off, with a fixed handoff time such as Monday at 7 am. The off-week truck is the backup for a second true emergency, not a second on-call. Split the holidays at the start of the year.
Do I have to pay my tech for being on call?
Under federal rules, an employee who only has to leave word where they can be reached is not working while on call, but one who must stay at or near your premises is. Hours past 40 in a workweek are overtime. State law can add more, so check yours.
What should I text a caller I missed at night?
Your business name, that you saw the call, to turn off the main shutoff if water is running, and either a callback window for tonight or three times for tomorrow. Send it from the number they called.
Can software tell an emergency from a routine call?
It can follow the rules you give it. Koira books ordinary jobs into your day and, at night, texts you only for what you said counts as an emergency. Anything with a price you have not set comes to you.
Sources
- Fixr: Plumbing cost guide, emergency plumber cost, checked October 10, 2026
- HomeAdvisor: How much does a plumber cost, checked October 10, 2026
- This Old House: Plumber cost guide, checked October 10, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 785.17, On-call time, checked October 10, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 778.101, Maximum nonovertime hours, checked October 10, 2026
- eCFR: 29 CFR 778.107, General standard for overtime pay, checked October 10, 2026
Shane Allen writes Koira's guides for trade business owners. How we check our numbers.
