How 2plumbers.ca Works

What happens when you call

The number on every page of this site is answered around the clock by an AI-assisted assistant operated by PatchLead. It answers under the 2plumbers.ca name, tells you that you are speaking with an automated assistant and that the call is recorded, and asks what has gone wrong.

It then confirms your first name, your postal code, whether the property is a home or a business, and, for a home, whether you own or rent it. That is the whole qualification. It exists to match you with a plumber who covers your area and takes your kind of job, and to give that plumber the basics before they pick up.

Once a plumber is found, the assistant tells you who you are being connected to and transfers the call. The assistant leaves the call at that point; you and the plumber talk directly about the problem, the timing and the price. Nothing is booked, quoted or promised on your behalf.

One plumber at a time, not a list

Your call goes to one plumber. Your details are not sent to several companies at once and are not sold on afterward. If the first plumber does not answer, the system tries another, but each one is tried in turn, and only the one who actually talks to you is involved.

That is also why we cannot offer you a choice of plumbers, a second opinion or a call with a different company through the same line. The service connects one call to one available plumber; anything after that is between you and them.

If no plumber is free

Sometimes every plumber covering your area is on a job or outside their working hours. When that happens the assistant tells you on the call, rather than leaving you on hold. Your request stays open, and our system phones you again once a plumber in your area is free, inside calling hours.

You are welcome to call the line again at any time; it is answered 24/7 and a plumber may have become available in the meantime.

Using the online request

The form on the home page is for work that can wait: a slow drain, a dripping tap, a water heater you are planning to replace. You choose same-day or planning ahead, pick the issue, give your postal code, name and number, and verify the number with a four-digit code sent by text. The whole thing takes about a minute.

What happens next is a phone call, not an email. You receive a confirmation text from (437) 523-7772. Then, during calling hours, our system phones you from a local Ontario number. When you answer, a short recorded message offers three choices: press 1 to be connected live to a plumber now, press 2 and we try again in about a day, or press 3 to be removed from our list permanently.

If you chose planning ahead and picked a preferred date, mention it to the plumber when you are connected; the date is for that conversation. If you would rather not wait for the call, phone the line instead: the same plumbers answer.

Overnight, weekends and holidays

The phone line is answered at every hour of every day, including holidays. Whether a plumber can be connected at 3 a.m. depends on whether one covering your area is on call at that hour; many are, for emergencies, and the assistant checks before transferring you.

Calls we place to you, after an online request, are made during daytime hours in your own time zone, and not on statutory holidays. A request sent outside them is phoned when they next open. If you would rather not wait for that call, phone the line instead: it is answered at any hour, and the plumbers it reaches are the same ones.

Who the plumbers are, and what we require of them

The plumbers in our network are independent businesses. They are not our employees, we do not set their prices, and we do not perform, inspect or guarantee their work. What they agree to, in writing, when they join is to hold the licences, permits and insurance their work requires in Ontario.

For plumbing that means a Skilled Trades Ontario certificate of qualification as a plumber, trade code 306A, or supervision by someone who holds one; plumbing is a compulsory trade in this province. For any work on the gas side of a water heater it means a TSSA gas technician certificate. We do not verify each licence ourselves, so ask the plumber for their licence number before work starts. A licensed tradesperson expects the question and answers it.

How PatchLead is paid

You pay nothing to use this service, and there is no fee added to your bill. The plumber quotes you their own price for the work, and you pay them directly.

PatchLead is paid by the contractors. A plumber in our network pays a flat fee per qualified call: a call we connected that they answered and that lasted long enough to be a real conversation. Calls that go unanswered, and calls too short to be useful, are not charged. That is the whole business model, and it is why the service is free to homeowners.

Recording and your information

Calls are recorded, and the assistant says so at the start. Recordings are used to resolve disputes between a plumber and PatchLead about a call, to check the quality of the service, and for the purposes set out in our privacy policy.

The information you give, your name, number, postal code and description of the problem, goes to the one plumber you are connected to and is kept by PatchLead as described in the privacy policy. It is not sold to lead marketplaces or data brokers. You can withdraw consent, ask what we hold, or have it corrected at any time through the privacy choices page.

For contractors

Licensed plumbers who want live, one-at-a-time calls from homeowners in the areas they serve can apply through PatchLead, the company that operates this site. Applications are taken at patchlead.ca, not on this page: this site is for homeowners.

Questions before applying can go to support@patchlead.ca, or call (437) 523-7772 and say you are a contractor.