Taps, Toilets and Small Plumbing
The drips and the wobbles, not the geyser.
A dripping tap is a washer, and it is a twenty minute job. It is also the reason people wait three weeks for a plumber to fit them in between geyser replacements, and the drip keeps running the whole time.
Small plumbing is exactly that: the fittings you can see and reach. Washers, cartridges, toilet seats, fill and flush valves, shower heads, waste traps, and the silicone around a bath or basin edge.
Sample photoTypical price
R350 to R800labour
Send a photo of the tap, toilet or fitting and you get a price for the job. A washer is not priced like a valve replacement, and the photo settles which one it is.
Every job is quoted at a fixed price before work starts, so there is no hourly rate and no meter running. Labour only. Materials and fittings are quoted separately and approved by you before anything is bought.
How pricing worksTypical jobs
What this usually turns into
- Dripping tap, washer or cartridge replaced1 hr
- Toilet seat replaced45 min
- Toilet fill or flush valve replaced1 hr
- Shower head or handset replaced45 min
- Waste trap, plug or basin waste1 hr
- Resealing a bath, basin or shower edge1.5 to 2 hrs
Times are on site, not including travel, and they are a guide rather than a promise: a job that reveals something once it is open takes longer, and you hear about it before it carries on. Every job is quoted at a fixed price before work starts, so adding to the list changes the quote rather than running up a meter.
What is covered
Included in the visit
- Washers, cartridges and tap re-seating
- Toilet seats, fill valves and flush valves
- Shower heads, handsets and hoses
- Waste traps, basin wastes and plugs
- Silicone and sealing around baths, basins and showers
- Tightening and reseating loose fittings
Where the line is
This is where the honest line sits and it matters. Burst pipes, geysers, hot water cylinders, moving or installing pipework, and anything behind a wall are registered plumber work under South African law. I do not do them and I will not pretend to. If your job turns out to be one of those, you get told straight away and the visit stops there rather than halfway through with the water off.
Small plumbing questions
Can a handyman legally do plumbing in South Africa?
For minor maintenance on existing fittings, yes. Repairs and installations that form part of the water installation, including anything involving pipework or a geyser, must be done by a qualified plumber registered with the relevant authority. I stay clearly on the maintenance side of that line.
My tap still drips after a new washer. Why?
Usually the seat inside the tap body has a ridge worn into it, so the new washer seals against a damaged face and fails again in a week. The seat needs re-cutting or the cartridge needs replacing instead. Tell me which tap it is and I will bring both options.
There is a damp patch on my ceiling. Can you look at it?
I can tell you what I can see, but a leak from above or from inside a wall needs a plumber to find and fix it. I will not open a ceiling to guess at it. What I can do is the repair afterwards, once the leak is sorted and the area has dried.
The silicone around my bath is black and peeling. How long does that take to redo?
Around an hour and a half to two hours, because the old seal has to come out completely and the joint has to be dry before the new one goes in. Doing it fast over a damp joint is why it goes black again within a year.
While you are at it
Book small plumbing in Gqeberha
Send the job with a photo or two and you get an honest price and a sensible slot. Add anything else from your list while you are at it.