Plumber Service Area Around Carteret, NJ

We answer calls from Carteret, NJ and five nearby Middlesex County communities. Our office is at 835 Roosevelt Ave in Carteret, so Carteret and Port Reading are the shortest dispatches. Distances in the table are straight-line and approximate, and we do not promise arrival times, because traffic on the Turnpike, Route 1 and local streets changes by the hour.

Woodbridge Township surrounds Carteret on every land side. It includes Woodbridge proper, Avenel, Port Reading, Colonia, Sewaren, Iselin, Keasbey, Hopelawn and Fords. We have dedicated pages for the communities that call us most, and we also take calls from the others, including Sewaren (07077), Keasbey (08832), Colonia (07067) and Iselin (08830).

Perth Amboy is a separate city with its own city-owned water system, run under agreement by a Middlesex Water subsidiary, so some water and sewer questions there go to different offices than in Carteret. Each town page explains who to call for what, and what we handle ourselves.

Plumbing in every one of these towns follows the same state rules. Every guide on this site is written to fit the National Standard Plumbing Code that New Jersey adopts through the Uniform Construction Code plumbing subcode, N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.15.

If your address is on the edge of this list, call the line and ask us. A dispatcher can confirm coverage from your street address in a minute or two. We would rather tell you honestly that a job is outside our area than keep you waiting.

Conditions differ a lot across these towns, and the difference changes the calls we get. Port Reading sits only about 13 feet above sea level beside the tidal Arthur Kill, so basements and floor drains are the first to show water. Avenel is higher, at about 39 feet, and Fords is higher still at about 138 feet, so flooding there is less common and aging drains and water heaters lead the calls.

About 19 percent of Woodbridge Township lies in FEMA flood hazard areas, and the township bought and demolished flood-prone homes after Hurricane Sandy through the New Jersey Buyout Program. Perth Amboy has dense rental housing and a combined sewer system that was the subject of a 2012 federal and state settlement, so shared drain lines and old buildings shape plumbing work there.

Sewaren, Keasbey, Colonia and Iselin do not have their own pages yet, but a call from any of them is answered the same way. If we later see enough calls from one of those communities, we will add a page that covers its ZIP code and its own plumbing conditions in the same way as the towns above.

Some questions belong to the utility or the borough, not to a plumber. Middlesex Water Company owns the water main and, in most cases, the connection up to the meter, while the pipe from the meter or meter pit to your house is yours to maintain. Perth Amboy's water and sewer service is run separately, so a street-wide backup there should also be reported to the city.

Tenants should know that equipment such as the water heater usually belongs to the landlord. If you rent in any of these towns, tell the owner or manager about a leak as soon as you see it and keep photos of the date and the damage. We are happy to explain the findings to both of you in plain language.

Our 24/7 line works the same way in every town. A dispatcher answers, you describe what is happening, and you get steps to limit damage while the visit is arranged. Nights, weekends and holidays are treated as emergency visits, and the price is stated before work starts. Same-day appointments are offered when the schedule allows, and we never promise a specific arrival time.

What to do before we arrive, in any town

These steps apply in every town we serve. They limit damage and make the first visit faster, and they are general safety practice and not a substitute for the dispatcher's instructions.

• Close the main water shutoff if a pipe is leaking, usually where the line enters the house.
• Switch off power near standing water only if you can reach the panel without stepping in water.
• Do not use chemical drain openers on a backed-up line, and stop running water in every fixture.
• If you smell gas, leave, move at least 350 feet away and call PSE&G at 1-800-880-PSEG (7734) or 911.
• Move belongings out of the wet area and photograph the damage for your insurer.