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A plumbing emergency is a problem that threatens to severely damage your home or put your family at risk if not addressed immediately. If leaving the issue until regular business hours will cause more damage, it's an emergency. Examples include burst pipes, major leaks, significant drain clogs, a lack of hot water, a suspected gas leak, an out-of-control water heater, or a sewer line backup forcing gases into your home. Many home insurance policies will cover sudden and unexpected plumbing emergencies, provided they are not caused by homeowner negligence.

Depending on the layout of your bathroom, you may be able to replace a shower valve without removing the tile. The existing hole needs to be large enough to remove your old valve and fit your new valve. If the hole is too small, you’ll need to cut into the wall and remove some of the tile.

The average cost to hire a plumber is typically between $45 and $200 per hour, with a common average rate around $125 per hour. This cost can vary based on your location, the plumber's experience, and the complexity of the job. Rates are often broken down by experience level: an apprentice may charge $45 to $90 an hour, a journeyman $60 to $110 an hour, and a master plumber $80 to $200 an hour. While hourly rates are standard, some plumbers may charge a flat fee for routine projects or offer project-based pricing. It's also common for plumbers to charge a minimum service or trip fee. For reference, some typical flat-rate costs for common jobs include: drain unclogging ($220), leaky faucet repair ($270), burst pipe repair ($400), toilet repair ($300), and water heater repair ($600). Note that these rates are for standard service hours; emergency, holiday, and after-hours calls will cost significantly more.

A back pressure valve is a control valve used on production vessels, such as separators, treaters, and free water knockouts. The valve holds pressure until a set point is reached, and then releases upstream pressure to reset. Back pressure valves are not safety mechanisms. Instead, they are regulators designed to keep the fluid, gas, or liquid mixture in a system at a certain pressure level to prevent bursts and other incidents.

Meanwhile, a backflow preventer is a safety mechanism that kicks in when the pressure has already failed and contaminated water flows in the reverse direction. Most backflow preventers consist of two one-way valves, or check valves assembled together. This design only allows water to pass through in one direction but not the other.