If you happen to live in an old house where the plumbing hasn't been changed for decades, you will almost certainly encounter problems with the plumbing sooner or later. When that time comes, you will undoubtedly have to face up to the fact that you need to spend a lot of money by calling a professional plumber to fix the problem. Unless of course, you're one of those DIY GI Joes who can survive in the jungle and only need a screwdriver and a monkey wrench to fix these problems themselves.

However funny that may sound, there are actually quite a lot of people who can find the proper hardware in DIY stores and offer a cheap solution to the problem.

But are all plumbing issues as easy to solve just by using the proper tools? There are times when even the most experienced or capable handymen cannot solve intricate plumbing issues that are the result of long-time corrosion or improper handling. These times you realize you have to resort to the oldest trick in the book, meaning…you just have to call the plumber.

Let's try to define when that appropriate time is. 

1. You Don’t Have Any Hot Water

If the water is never warm enough to take a bath – and this keeps repeating lately, you should probably check the heater. Maybe there is a short fuse in the electric panel or the heater has just broken down after so many years of use. In that case, you should probably call a professional plumber unless, of course, you know how to install a new water heater yourself. Good luck with that then, as that’s no small feat.

2. When Your Plumbing Sounds Like a Foghorn

It might prove difficult to pinpoint the cause of the problem as it might affect your toilet, faucets, or the water heater itself. Well, if you’re one of the lucky house owners with noisy plumbing sounding like a loud foghorn, then it probably means that there's a serious problem with your pipes. Even the most experienced jack of all trades won't be able to find the problem and fix it himself. That's the time when you realize that you need the services of a qualified plumbing professional.

3. Low Water Pressure

If the water is only trickling down from your tap, then there might be a serious problem with your pipes. Unless of course, the water company has announced a water shortage in your area for a certain time, due to maintenance. Don't try to fix the pipes by yourself because you might end up destroying the walls of your house, causing major damage, for which you will have to call other repairmen in the end.

There are of course many other plumbing challenges that most people cannot even imagine trying to fix themselves and so they always call a professional. These are just the most serious ones. You will find out that sometimes, the wise thing is to spend some money by calling a professional plumber and not try to fix the problem yourself. After all, if you try meddling with it for too long without a result, it might lead to causing more serious problems in the end, which will eventually hurt the budget that you were so passionately trying to save in the first place.