Frequently asked questions

Yes. Coldsnap Plumbing & Heating holds Saskatchewan journeyman plumber licence SK-JP-118472, carries Prairie Mutual — $5,000,000 general liability, and maintains WCB coverage under account WCB 0442891. We will show you all three on request, and you should ask any contractor for them before work starts.

Yes, genuinely 24/7 — a person answers, not a voicemail box. After-hours call-out is a flat rate quoted on the phone before we dispatch, and it is credited against the repair if you approve the work.

Flat rate, quoted in writing before we start. You approve a number, not an hourly meter, so a job that takes longer than expected is our problem rather than yours. If we open something up and find a genuinely different job underneath, we stop and re-quote before continuing.

Regina and roughly 60 km around it — including White City, Pilot Butte, Lumsden, Balgonie. If you are outside that, call anyway; we will tell you honestly whether we can get there in a useful timeframe.

For planned work — a renovation rough-in, a water heater replacement, a backwater valve — yes, the estimate is free. For diagnostic call-outs, where the work is finding out what is wrong, there is a call-out charge that gets credited against the repair.

Labour is warrantied for two years, and parts carry the manufacturer warranty, which we register for you. If something we installed fails inside that window, we come back and fix it at no charge.

Yes. After-hours call-out is a flat $189, which covers travel and the first hour on site. It is credited against the repair if you approve the work. We tell you the number on the phone before we dispatch — there is no surprise on the invoice.

Inside Regina, typically 60 to 90 minutes. Outside the city — Lumsden, White City, Pilot Butte, Balgonie — allow 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on highway conditions. During a deep cold snap, when everyone calls at once, we triage by severity: active flooding and no-heat go first.

Shut off the water main. For a burst pipe, open the lowest tap in the house to drain the line and reduce pressure. Move anything valuable off the floor. If water is anywhere near the electrical panel, do not touch it — shut off power at the breaker only if you can reach it while standing somewhere dry, and tell us when you call.

A single fixture — kitchen sink, bathroom sink, tub or toilet — runs $149 to $279. A main sewer line clear with hydro-jetting runs $320 to $480. Camera inspection is included with any main-line job rather than billed separately.

Rarely, and it makes our job harder. Caustic cleaners generate heat that can deform plastic joints, and if the line is fully blocked, the chemical just sits there — so whoever opens that line is working in a pool of it. For a slow drain, near-boiling water and a plunger is a safer first try.

Usually not. Roots enter at a joint, and jetting cuts them back. If the camera shows an intact pipe with root intrusion at one joint, jetting plus an annual clear keeps it working for years. Replacement is the answer when the camera shows a collapsed, offset or bellied section — and we will show you the footage rather than ask you to take our word for it.

Eight to twelve years for a standard tank. Regina water is hard, so scale accumulation is the usual limit. Flushing the tank annually and replacing the anode rod around year five reliably adds a few years.

It depends on the household, and we will give you a straight answer rather than upsell. Tankless makes sense for high hot-water demand, for households wanting endless hot water, or where floor space is genuinely tight. It costs roughly two to three times a tank installed, and on hard Regina water it needs annual descaling. For a two-person household with normal usage, a good tank is usually the better financial decision.

Sulfate-reducing bacteria reacting with the magnesium anode rod. It is unpleasant but not dangerous. Swapping to an aluminium-zinc anode rod fixes it in most cases, and that is a repair rather than a replacement.

Most often a failed igniter or a dirty flame sensor — the furnace tries to fire, fails, and the blower runs anyway. Before you call, check that the thermostat is set to Heat rather than On, and that the exhaust vent outside is not packed with snow. If both are fine, it needs a technician.

Once a year, ideally in early autumn before the first hard freeze. An annual clean-and-check catches a failing igniter, a cracked heat exchanger, or a blocked vent while it is still an appointment rather than an emergency. It is also a condition of most manufacturer warranties.

On every heating visit, without being asked and at no extra charge. A cracked heat exchanger is the failure that matters most, and it is not something a homeowner can see. If you do not have a CO alarm on every level of the house, that is the cheapest safety purchase you will ever make.

Yes, but distance decides the cost. Within about a metre of the existing stack is usually straightforward. Beyond that, the drain needs re-sloping — a consistent fall of roughly 2% — which normally means opening the floor. On a concrete slab that means cutting and re-pouring. Ask us before finalising the layout, not after.

For new fixtures, relocated drains, or anything altering the DWV system, yes — the City of Regina requires a plumbing permit, and we pull it. Like-for-like replacement of an existing fixture in the same spot generally does not. Skipping a required permit becomes a problem when you sell the house.

Routinely. We coordinate rough-in around framing and inspection, then return for the finish once tile and cabinetry are in. Give us the schedule early — plumbing rough-in has to pass inspection before anything gets closed up.

If your basement has any plumbing fixture or floor drain below street level, it is worth having. Regina has a history of sewer surcharge during heavy summer storms, and a backwater valve is the only thing that stops that reversing into your basement. Many insurers now ask about it, and some reduce sewer-backup premiums when one is fitted.

Twice a year, and always before spring melt. Pour a bucket of water into the pit and confirm the float rises, the pump starts, moves water, and shuts off cleanly. If it hums without pumping, or cycles rapidly, call before the melt rather than during it.

The City has run a Home Flood Protection Program offering a rebate toward backwater valve and sump pump work, but eligibility, amounts and whether it is currently open change year to year. Verify current terms on the City of Regina website before booking. We provide the itemised documentation these applications require.