Plumbing Questions, Straight Answers

No. Coming out and looking costs you nothing. You pay for work you approve, not for the truck showing up.

After hours emergency service available. Call the number and if it is an emergency, say so.

Yes. Tankless is the new thing, and we teach customers the value of having one when it fits the house. We swap tank for tankless, and we still repair and replace the standard gas and electric tanks.

Yes. Hill Country water is hard on pipes and fixtures. Water heaters and water softeners are the work we want more of, and we install and service the softener ourselves, so you are not stuck with a box off a store shelf.

About fifty miles out of Spring Branch: Kerrville down to Boerne, North San Antonio, Bandera, Pipe Creek, Leon Springs, New Braunfels, Canyon Lake and Bulverde.

Within an hour or two. David watches the phone and the email himself, and that window is one he already keeps.

Usually yes, if the tank itself is not leaking. Thermocouples, elements, valves and thermostats are repairs. Water from the tank body means a new heater. We tell you which one, with the price, before any work.

You get the price before any work, and coming out and looking costs you nothing. Gas or electric, tank or tankless, the size, an attic spot and the code parts all set the price. On a long drive out, we talk about the trip on the phone first.

A tank heater lasts 10 to 15 years, and tankless more than 20, per the Department of Energy. Hard water shortens that. Draining the tank and a water softener help it last.

Follow the maker of your heater. Rheem and Bradford White say drain a few quarts every month. A. O. Smith says drain and flush every 6 months. We can show you how on your tank.

Go tankless if you want hot water that doesn't run out and plan to stay a while. It costs more to put in and lasts longer. We check your gas line, venting and water first, and we say so if a tank fits better.

After hours emergency service available. A leaking tank, or no hot water in a freeze, counts. Call the number and say it is an emergency.

Yes. From the shop in Spring Branch we cover Boerne, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Bergheim, Leon Springs and North San Antonio. We go about 50 miles out. Not sure about your town? Call and ask.

The size of the unit sets the price. Two things set the size: how hard your water is and how many people live there. We test first, and you hear the price before any work starts.

If you see white crust on faucets, spots on glasses or scale in a kettle, your water is hard. Most water around here is. We can test it at your tap and tell you the number.

One sized to your hardness and your water use. Sizing starts with how many people live in the house and how hard the water tests. Very hard water needs the unit set up for it.

It helps anything that heats water. In one study, gas heaters on soft water built up almost no scale. Less scale means your water heater and dishwasher work less hard.

Often, yes. A stuck valve, a crust in the salt tank or a leak at a fitting are repairs. If the unit is past fixing, we tell you straight and price a new one.

Yes. A softener takes out the calcium and magnesium that leave scale. A filter works on taste, smell or grit. Many homes use both, and we tell you which problem you have.

David teaches people not to buy a softener off a store shelf. A softener works when it is sized to your water and set up right, so we test first and size one to the house.

Yes. From the shop in Spring Branch we cover Bulverde, Boerne, New Braunfels, Bergheim, Leon Springs and North San Antonio. We go about 50 miles out, so call and ask.

The price follows what failed and how hard it is to reach. A running toilet is a small job, and a slab leak is a bigger one. A line that keeps clogging may need hydro jetting. You hear the price before any work.

Turn off every tap inside and out, then watch the meter for 10 minutes. If it moves, water is leaking somewhere. Stains, mildew or damp spots around the slab point the same way.

Most homes can shut off at the water meter. Find it and learn how it turns before you need it. We can show you on any visit.

Usually a worn flapper, the rubber seal in the tank. Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If color shows in the bowl after 10 minutes, it leaks.

Shut off the main water to the house first. Then call us. After hours emergency service is available, so say it is an emergency when you call.

Low at one tap? Often a clogged aerator or a worn cartridge in the faucet. Low everywhere can mean a leak on the property, so we check the meter first.

Yes. If you smell gas, get out first and don't touch a light switch. Once you are safe, call us. We check the line and fix what we find.

Yes. From the shop in Spring Branch we cover Bulverde, Leon Springs, Boerne, New Braunfels, Bergheim and North San Antonio. Farther out? Call and ask.

A worn cartridge or washer is the small fix, and it costs less than a new faucet. A shower valve in the wall takes more work. You hear the price before any work starts. Coming out and looking costs you nothing, so the first answer is free.

Usually a worn washer, gasket or cartridge inside the valve. The drip gets past the worn part even with the handle off. Replacing that part most often stops it.

The water to the shower goes off first. Then the handle and trim come off, and the old cartridge pulls out. The new one has to match the valve, so we bring the right part.

Yes. The EPA says one drip a second can waste more than 3,000 gallons a year. Most drips are a washer, gasket or cartridge, which makes it a short job.

Replace it if the body is cracked, the finish is gone or parts are hard to find. Otherwise a new cartridge usually does it. Newer faucets also use less water.

Often it is scale in the aerator, the screen at the tip. Hard water leaves calcium there, which a water softener stops. If cleaning it doesn't help, the cartridge or valve may be the cause.

Yes. Under the plumbing code, a new shower valve has to be pressure balanced or thermostatic. It sits inside the wall, so we look at the access first and tell you what it takes.

Yes. From the shop in Spring Branch we cover Boerne, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Bergheim, Leon Springs and North San Antonio. Farther out? Call and ask.

The price follows the length of the line and what is in it. Grease, roots and how we reach the line all move it. You hear the price before any work starts.

Hydro jetting clears a drain or sewer line with water under high pressure. It scours the pipe wall, so the grease, scale and roots come out, not just the clog.

In sound pipe, yes. That is why we look at the line first. A cracked or broken pipe needs a repair, not a jet, and we tell you before we start.

Yes. David owns the jetting machines and wants more restaurant work. San Antonio requires a grease interceptor, cleaned at least every 90 days. We can keep the line out of it clear on a schedule.

Stop using water in the house, and don't flush or drain tubs and sinks. Then call us. A licensed plumber should look down the line and clear the clog on your side.

Usually grease, wipes or roots. A snake opens a hole, and the rest keeps building on the pipe wall. Jetting cleans the wall itself, so the line stays open longer. Keeping grease and wipes out helps it last.

Often, yes. The jet cuts through roots inside the pipe. If the roots broke the pipe, it needs a repair, and we show you what we found.

Yes. From the shop in Spring Branch we jet lines in New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, Bergheim, Leon Springs and North San Antonio. Farther out? Call and ask.

You get one price, with the permit in it, before any work. It follows the size of the house, how many fixtures it has and what the walls hide. The pipe you pick moves it too.

Leaks in more than one place, or the same pipe failing again and again, point that way. One leak is usually a repair. Stained ceilings in different rooms are another sign. We look first and tell you which one you have, and why.

The plumbing code approves PEX, CPVC and copper for water lines. Each has its place. We pick one with you, by the house, the walls we have to open and the budget.

Usually, yes. New Braunfels requires a permit to replace a plumbing system, and in San Antonio only a state licensed contractor can pull a plumbing permit. We handle it.

Yes. We set the rough-in before the tile and drywall, test it, and come back to trim out the faucets and fixtures after the finish work. We can work with your contractor or with you directly.

If the wall is open, it is the time to do it. A new shower valve must be pressure balanced or thermostatic, which holds the temperature steady. We set it before the tile.

Because a leak is cheap to fix in an open wall. The code says new water pipe is tested tight under pressure and held for 15 minutes. We do it before the drywall goes up.

Yes. From the shop in Spring Branch we cover Boerne, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Bergheim, Leon Springs and North San Antonio. Farther out? Call and ask.

Not legally. Bergheim is not incorporated and has no post office of its own. It is a crossroads community on State Highway 46, ten miles northeast of Boerne.

There is no city water here. A Bergheim house usually pumps from a private well, so the water softener and the water heater are where most of our work starts.

Bergheim's ZIP code is 78004, though buildings at the crossroads often carry a Boerne 78006 address. Either way, you are two minutes from our shop.

Yes. Our shop is on State Highway 46, 1.7 miles east of the store.

Yes. The Cordillera Ranch gate is 1.2 miles west of the Bergheim store, and those homes get the same price-first rule.

Nothing. There is no charge to come out, and you pay only for work you approve.

Three places. Boerne Utilities blends water from Boerne City Lake, Canyon Lake through GBRA and groundwater wells. Which one reaches your house depends on where it sits in the system.

Because Boerne mixes lake water and well water, and the mix changes across town. The city does not report one hardness number for that reason. We test your tap, and if it runs hard, a water softener protects the water heater and the fixtures.

Yes. A Boerne address on a private well is everyday work for us. Tell us the road when you call, and whether the house has a pressure tank and a softener.

Yes. Kendall County permits septic systems, and an aerobic system needs an affidavit and a signed maintenance contract. The county has 30 days to approve or deny an application. We handle the plumbing in the house, not the septic permit.

About 17 minutes from the shop to the courthouse, out Highway 46 and River Road. You get an honest time on the phone, and if water is spreading, we tell you how to shut it off first.

Yes. There is no charge to come out to Boerne. You get the problem and the price, and you pay only for the work you approve.

The city runs none. It is The Texas Water Company, Water Services, Inc. or your own well. If you get no water bill, the house is on a well.

New Trinity aquifer wells in Comal County have followed Comal Trinity Groundwater Conservation District rules since January 1, 2019. Ask the district before drilling.

Septic, unless the house ties into a public sewer line. Comal County permits the septic system.

Often it is air in the line after work on a water main. Run the cold tap a minute, and call us if it keeps sputtering.

Yes. We test the water first, then size a water softener to the house, which also protects the water heater.

No. Coming out to Bulverde is free, and you pay only for the work you approve.

Yes. Kerrville is the far end of our map, 46 miles from the shop in Spring Branch, about an hour up I-10. It is a drive we already make, and there is no charge to come out.

No. There is no office in Kerrville. The shop and the trucks are on Highway 46 in Spring Branch, and the phone rings there. We drive up for the job.

On a private well, yes. City water comes from the Guadalupe River and deep wells. A house on a private well draws Hill Country groundwater, and that runs hard. Well water leaves scale that wears out water heaters early and plugs faucets, which is why a water softener is what we recommend most on a well.

Yes. After hours emergency service is available. If a pipe has burst or the house has no water, call and say it is an emergency. Kerrville is an hour out, so we will give you an honest time before we hang up.

Nothing. Coming out to Kerrville is free, even at 46 miles. We give you a price before any work, and you only pay for the work you agree to.

Yes. Kerrville for us means the city and the country around it, on city water or a well. Tell us the road when you call, and we will tell you straight if it is on our map.

Leon Springs sits inside SAWS territory, and SAWS water comes partly from the Edwards Aquifer. On a private well instead? Tell us when you call.

No. Leon Springs is an unincorporated community in Bexar County with no post office of its own, 19 miles northwest of downtown San Antonio.

Yes. The Dominion is about two miles from the old Leon Springs stage stop, same truck, same price-first rule.

Scale from hard Edwards water settles in the tank and crowds out hot water. A flush may fix it; if not, a new water heater gets a price first, and a water softener slows the next round.

About 20 minutes from the shop. You get an honest time when you call.

Yes. There is no charge to come out, and you pay only for the work you approve.

Mostly from the Guadalupe River, treated at the Gruene Road plant. The rest is Edwards and Trinity groundwater. If your house runs on a private well instead, tell us when you call.

The groundwater in the city's supply carries calcium and magnesium, and heat drops it out as scale inside the tank. A yearly flush slows it down, and a water softener stops most of it. A heater that is already failing is a water heater job we price before we start.

Yes, with the plumbing inside the house: slow drains, leaks, heaters and fixtures. If a slow drain turns out to be the septic system itself, we will tell you so, and that part goes to a septic company.

The drive from the shop to Main Plaza is about 43 minutes. You get an honest arrival time for your street, and if water is on the floor, we tell you what to shut off while we drive.

Yes. Gruene is inside the New Braunfels city limits, about nine minutes north of Main Plaza, and a house there gets the same price-first rule as anywhere else.

Nothing. There is no charge to come out to New Braunfels. We find the problem and give you a price, and you pay only if you approve the work.

Very hard. SAWS water reaching the north side typically tests 15 to 20 grains per gallon, from the Edwards and Trinity aquifers. That is enough to scale a water heater and clog aerators, which is why a water softener pays off on this side of town.

Most likely SAWS sewer. In Timberwood Park, SAWS holds the only sewer certificate. If you are not sure, tell us the street, and we will check the line when we come out.

Yes. Both are small incorporated towns just off Loop 1604, a little over six miles from Parman Library at Stone Oak, and both are on our route.

Yes. Timberwood Park is the North San Antonio subdivision west of U.S. 281 and east of Blanco Road, and Blanco Road is the way we drive in. From the shop it is about 17 minutes.

About 27 minutes from the shop to Parman Library. We give you an honest time when you call, and if water is running, we tell you where to shut it off first.

No. Coming out is free. We find the problem, show it to you and give you a price, and you pay only for work you approve.

It can be either: a private well or Texas Water Company's Spring Branch system. If you get no water bill, the house is on a well.

The Comal Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, on FM 311 in Spring Branch. We handle the plumbing inside the house.

Often, yes. Hard well water scales a water heater. We test first and recommend a water softener only if it needs one.

Yes, with the plumbing in the house. If the septic system itself is the trouble, we tell you so.

Yes. Rebecca Creek and Mystic Shores are 26 to 35 minutes out, and you get an honest time.

Nothing. There is no charge to come out, and you pay only for work you approve.