How does plumbing pricing work at Drain Detectives?

Cost depends on the actual repair, the accessibility of the line or fixture, and whether a permit and inspection are involved, which is why we diagnose before quoting. Drain Detectives charges a service call fee to come out, diagnose, and quote, applied to the work if you go ahead. You will know the options and the price before anything starts, and current plumbing coupons can be applied when the work is written up.

Licensed Plumber • Macomb, Oakland & St. Clair Counties

Licensed Plumber in Metro Detroit for Repairs, Replacements, and Emergencies

Q: Do you work on commercial buildings?

Yes. Drain Detectives serves restaurants, retail, offices, multi-unit residential, and property managers throughout Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, and southern St. Clair County, including scheduled grease line maintenance.

Drain Detectives is a family owned, licensed, bonded, and insured plumbing company based at 18260 Malyn Blvd in Fraser, Michigan. We handle residential and commercial plumbing repair across Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County, and southern St. Clair County, including leaking and burst pipes, water heaters, water service lines, sewer lines, sump pumps, and fixture replacement. Emergency service is available 24 hours a day.

Request service Macomb: (586) 296-0036 Oakland: (248) 645-2448

Licensed, bonded, insured
Family owned
Residential & commercial
24/7 emergency response
Camera diagnostics on site

Water running right now? Shut off the main valve, stop using fixtures on the affected line, and call us. Do not wait for business hours.

(586) 296-0036 (248) 645-2448

Start here

What Your Symptom Usually Means, and Who Fixes It

Most plumbing calls start with one observation. Find yours below to understand the likely cause before you pick up the phone. If two or more rows describe your home at the same time, treat it as a main line issue and call rather than waiting.

General guidance only. A camera inspection or on-site diagnosis confirms the actual cause.
What you notice	Most likely cause	Best first step
One sink, tub, or shower drains slowly	Localized clog in the trap or branch line, usually hair, soap, or food waste	Drain cleaning
Several drains are slow and toilets gurgle	Restriction in the main sewer line rather than any single fixture	Camera inspection
Water appears at the basement floor drain	Main line blockage backing up at the lowest opening in the house	Sewer cleaning & repair
The same clog returns within weeks of snaking	Grease, scale, or root regrowth coating the pipe walls, not a single obstruction	Hydro jetting
No hot water, or a puddle under the tank	Failed heating element, thermostat, relief valve, or a corroded tank	Water heater service
Low water pressure throughout the house	Corroded galvanized supply piping or a compromised water service line	Water line repair
Basement takes on water during heavy rain	Sump pump failure, a stuck float, or a frozen or blocked discharge line	Sump pump service
Running toilet, dripping faucet, humming disposal	Worn internal components that are cheaper to replace than to keep running	Fixture repair
Active leak, burst pipe, or sewage backup	Emergency. Damage compounds by the hour and often is not covered once neglected	Emergency plumbing

Plumbing repair & installation

What Our Licensed Plumbers Repair and Replace

Drain and sewer work is what we are known for, but our plumbers carry a full repair scope. If it moves water into, through, or out of your building, we work on it.

Leaking and burst pipes

Pinhole leaks in copper, split lines behind drywall, and pipes that failed in a hard freeze. We locate the break, repair or repipe the run, and get water back on.
Leak repair
Water heaters

Repair and replacement for no hot water, rust colored water, popping and rumbling from sediment, pilot problems, and tanks that have started to weep at the base.
Water heater service
Water service and supply lines

Repair and replacement of the line running from the street to your home, plus interior supply piping that has corroded and choked off pressure.
Water lines
Sewer lines

Backups, root intrusion, bellied or offset joints, and collapsed sections. We inspect first so the repair matches the actual failure.
Sewer cleaning & repair
Toilets, faucets, and disposals

Rebuilds, replacements, and new installs. The small jobs that quietly waste water and run up a bill every month.
Toilets Faucets Disposals
Sump pumps and basement water

Pump replacement, discharge line repair, backup systems, and waterproofing when the water is getting in from outside the plumbing entirely.
Sump pumps Waterproofing
Underground and excavation work

When a line cannot be repaired from the inside, we excavate, replace the failed section, and restore the area.
Excavating Septic
Drains, jetting, and diagnostics

Cable machines for a blockage, hydro jetting for buildup on the pipe walls, and camera inspection when nobody should be guessing.
Drain cleaning Hydro jetting

Before you hire anyone

What "Licensed Plumber" Actually Means in Michigan

Plumbing is one of the trades Michigan regulates directly, and for good reason: bad plumbing does not just waste water, it can contaminate it. Licensing runs through the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and its Bureau of Construction Codes, and work is performed to the Michigan Plumbing Code.

Journeyman plumber. An individual license earned through documented apprenticeship hours and a state exam.
Master plumber. A higher individual license requiring journeyman experience plus the state master exam.
Plumbing contractor. The business level license, which must have a licensed master plumber as the responsible individual.

A company advertising plumbing work should hold all three layers where they apply. You can confirm any Michigan plumber's license status, type, and expiration yourself through the state's free lookup at LARA's license verification tool. We recommend checking, and not only on us.

Permits and inspections

Many of the jobs homeowners assume are simple are permitted work in Macomb and Oakland County municipalities, including water heater replacement, water service line replacement, and most sewer repairs. Permits exist so an independent inspector confirms the work before it is buried or closed up. A plumber who suggests skipping the permit is transferring risk onto you, and it tends to surface at closing when the buyer's inspector asks for the paperwork.

Requirements vary by city, so we confirm the local process for your address as part of scheduling. Ask us when you request service.

Why here, why so often

The Plumbing Problems Metro Detroit Homes Keep Having

Working the same counties for years means the failures repeat. Four conditions drive most of what we see between Fraser and Farmington Hills.

Aging supply and drain piping

A large share of the housing stock across Warren, Roseville, Ferndale, Royal Oak, and Detroit predates 1960. Galvanized steel supply lines corrode inward and strangle pressure. Cast iron drain stacks scale and crack. Neither fails on a schedule, and both are the real cause behind a lot of mystery pressure and drainage complaints.
Clay tile sewer laterals and tree roots

Older laterals were laid in clay tile sections with joints. Mature trees on those same streets find the joints, and roots re-enter the same spot season after season. A cable opens a path through it. Jetting cleans the wall. A camera tells you which one you actually need.
Freeze and thaw cycles

Southeast Michigan swings across the freezing point repeatedly each winter. Pipes in unheated crawl spaces, garages, and exterior walls split, and sump discharge lines ice over right when meltwater arrives. Most burst pipe calls we take were preventable with insulation and a shutoff on the outdoor spigot.
Hard water and spring rain

Regional water hardness leaves scale in water heaters, fixtures, and valves, which shortens equipment life. Then spring rain arrives, groundwater rises, and any weakness in the sump system or the sewer lateral shows up in the basement at the same time.

What happens after you call

How a Service Call Works

Describe the symptom

Call either county line or send the details through the form. Tell us what you see, when it started, and whether it is one fixture or the whole house. That determines what we bring on the truck.
Diagnose the cause

We find the actual failure before quoting a fix. For recurring or whole-house issues that usually means a camera inspection, because guessing at a sewer line is how homeowners end up paying twice.
Choose the repair

You get the options, what each one addresses, and what it costs before work starts. If a temporary fix makes sense while you plan a larger repair, we will say so.

Have this ready and the visit goes faster

Know where your main water shutoff is, and whether it turns.
Note when the problem started and what has changed since.
Clear access to the affected fixture, the basement floor drain, and the water heater.
Have any prior plumbing work or inspection reports handy if the issue is a repeat.
Mention any current coupon before the work is written up, not after.

Service area

A Plumber Near You Across Southeast Michigan

We dispatch from Fraser, which puts most of Macomb County within a short drive and keeps Oakland, Wayne, and southern St. Clair County well inside our range. These cities have dedicated pages with local detail:

Not listed? We almost certainly still cover you. Send your city and zip code and we will confirm scheduling.

Drain Detectives

18260 Malyn Blvd, Fraser, MI 48026
Macomb County: (586) 296-0036
Oakland County: (248) 645-2448
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays

Get directions • Request service online • Read customer reviews

From our blog

Read Before You Book

Written for Metro Detroit homes and the conditions they deal with.

Top 7 Warning Signs Your Main Sewer Line Is About to Fail

The symptoms that separate a routine clog from a lateral that is on its way out.
Common Plumbing Issues in Metro Detroit Homes

What aging infrastructure, hard winters, and heavy spring rain do to local plumbing.
Frozen Pipes and Winter Drain Backups

What to do in the first ten minutes, and what makes a frozen pipe worse.
Spring Drain Cleaning Checklist

The maintenance pass that prevents the calls we take every April.
What Is Hydro Jetting?

How jetting differs from cabling, and when it is worth the difference.
DIY or Pro: When to Call a Drain Cleaning Service

Where the plunger stops helping and starts pushing the problem downstream.

Common questions

Hiring a Plumber in Metro Detroit: FAQ

Is Drain Detectives a licensed plumbing company?

Yes. Drain Detectives is a licensed, bonded, and insured plumbing company based in Fraser, Michigan. Michigan plumbing licenses are issued through LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes, and you can verify any plumber's license type and status yourself using the state's free license verification tool.

Do I need a permit for plumbing work in Macomb or Oakland County?

Often, yes. Water heater replacement, water service line replacement, and most sewer line repairs are typically permitted work, and the exact requirements are set by your city or township building department rather than the county. Repairs like a faucet swap or a fixture rebuild usually are not. We confirm the local requirement for your address before the work is scheduled.

Who is responsible for the sewer line between my house and the street?

In most Metro Detroit municipalities the property owner is responsible for the sewer lateral running from the building to the connection at the public main, including the portion under the yard and sometimes under the street. That surprises a lot of homeowners during a backup. Your city's ordinance governs the exact division point, and a camera inspection tells you where the failure sits relative to it.

What is the difference between snaking and hydro jetting?

A cable machine punches an opening through a blockage, which restores flow quickly and is often the right call for a single clogged fixture. Hydro jetting uses high pressure water to scour grease, sludge, scale, and root hair off the pipe wall itself. If the same clog keeps coming back, cabling is treating the symptom and jetting is treating the cause.

How does pricing work?

Cost depends on the actual repair, the accessibility of the line or fixture, and whether a permit and inspection are involved, which is why we diagnose before quoting. We charge a service call fee to come out, diagnose, and quote, and it is applied to the work if you go ahead. You will know the options and the price before anything starts. Check our current plumbing coupons before your appointment and mention the offer when the work is written up.

Can you fix a leak without opening up my walls?

Sometimes. Access depends on where the failure is and what the pipe is made of. We locate the leak as precisely as possible first so any opening is as small as the repair allows, and we tell you what access the fix requires before we start rather than after.

Do you work on commercial buildings?

Yes. We serve restaurants, retail, offices, multi-unit residential, and property managers throughout the same service area, including scheduled grease line maintenance. See commercial plumbing for details.

What should I do while I wait for the plumber?

For an active leak or burst pipe, shut off the main water valve and open a low faucet to drain the line. For a sewer backup, stop running water entirely, including the washing machine and dishwasher, since every gallon you send down has nowhere to go. Do not pour chemical drain openers into a line that is already standing full. Then call (586) 296-0036 or (248) 645-2448.

Get a Licensed Plumber Out to Your Address

Tell us what you are seeing and we will tell you what it usually means, what it will take to fix, and when we can be there. Emergencies are answered 24 hours a day.

Request service Macomb: (586) 296-0036 Oakland: (248) 645-2448