Short answer
Start with one of four categories. Forget the technical term you may not know. Water escaping or sewage entering the building is the most urgent: stop using affected fixtures and shut off the correct water supply only if it is safe to reach, then request emergency plumbing. Heat that has stopped, for the whole home, one zone, or one system, needs the equipment type, fuel, indoor temperature and any error code recorded before calling, so no-heat service can be requested with useful detail.
A problem that keeps returning, such as a repeat clog, dropping boiler pressure or ice that will not clear, usually needs real diagnosis. A temporary reset will not fix it twice. Note when it happens and what restores it. And a planned replacement should be compared against what a complete proposal covers, the building, distribution, permits, controls and warranty, not just the equipment box being installed.
Choose the problem or project
If water is escaping or sewage is entering
Start with emergency plumbing for uncontrolled water, a failed shutoff, a burst pipe or sewage entering the building.
- Active leak or burst pipe
- Frozen pipe beginning to thaw
- Sewage at a floor drain or lowest fixture
- Leaking water-heater tank
| Situation | Start here |
|---|---|
| Water escaping or sewage entering | Emergency plumbing |
| Heat has stopped, whole home or one zone | No-heat repair |
| A problem keeps returning | Diagnosis, not another temporary reset |
| Planning a replacement | The specific equipment page for that system |
If heat has stopped
Heat is not optional in a Vermont winter. Use no-heat service when the entire home, one zone or one heating system has stopped producing heat. Record the equipment type, fuel, indoor temperature, error code and whether a second system still works.
- Boiler or furnace is not running
- Heat pump is running but rooms keep cooling
- One zone is cold
- Heating and hot water failed together
If the problem keeps returning
Recurring clogs, repeated resets, pressure loss, icing and intermittent faults usually need real diagnosis. Another temporary reset will not hold.
- The same drain clogs repeatedly
- Boiler pressure keeps dropping
- Furnace starts and stops rapidly
- Heat-pump ice does not clear
If you are planning a replacement
Choose the specific equipment page to compare what a complete proposal should include. Good replacements address the building, distribution, utilities, permits, controls, commissioning and warranty, not just the box being installed. A proposal that only lists a model number and a price, without touching any of those surrounding items, is the single easiest way to end up with equipment that is technically new but never actually solves the underlying problem it was bought to fix.
Common questions
What if I choose the wrong service?
Choose the closest match and describe the actual symptoms. A professional can confirm whether the work belongs to plumbing, drains, heating, heat pumps, cooling or another specialty before you authorize it.
Is a boiler problem plumbing or HVAC?
Boiler operation and combustion belong to heating service. Domestic water piping and fixtures belong to plumbing. Hydronic piping can overlap, so describe both the leak or flow problem and the heating symptoms.
Is no hot water a plumbing or heating problem?
Use water-heater repair for a tank, tankless or heat-pump water heater. If a boiler also makes domestic hot water and space heating failed too, use no-heat service and explain both symptoms.
Do several slow drains mean a sewer problem?
They can. Trouble at multiple fixtures or the lowest drain points farther downstream than one fixture trap. Stop adding water if sewage is rising and request drain or sewer service.