Emergency plumbing calls answered 24/7
Plumber in Houston, TX
Same-Day & 24/7 Emergency Plumbing
Burst pipes, slab leaks, sewer backups, clogged drains and water heater failures, fixed by local Houston plumbers. We find the cause first, put the price in writing before any work starts, and work to the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code with Houston’s amendments.
Written price before any work
Same-day service across Houston
Texas-licensed plumbers (TSBPE)
Emergencies go first
Burst pipes, sewage and gas calls triaged ahead of routine work
Diagnosis before repair
Camera, acoustic and pressure testing before anyone cuts concrete
130+ ZIP codes covered
All of Houston plus cities within about 20 miles
Built to Houston code
2021 UPC with local amendments, permits pulled when required
Plumbing emergency?
Water on the floor right now? Do this before you call a plumber
Quick answer
Shut off the water first, then call. Most Houston homes have a main shut-off where the line enters the house, and the city-side valve sits in the meter box near the curb. Once the water is off, call (832) 678-7978 and we’ll talk you through the rest while a plumber heads your way.
Burst or leaking pipe
Leaking water heater
Sewage coming up a drain
You smell gas
About Houston Plumbings
Who is Houston Plumbings?
We’re a Houston local plumber: experts in plumbing for homes, rental properties and businesses, and we fix the problems Houston homes actually have. Slabs move on clay soil. Ground in the west and north is still sinking. A pipe that’s fine in August splits in a January freeze. Water hard enough to scale a tankless heater in a couple of years comes out of most taps.
That’s why we diagnose before we sell. Drains and sewer lines get a camera. Hidden leaks get acoustic, thermal and pressure testing before anyone touches concrete. You get the cause, your options and the price in writing. Then you decide.
Every job is done to the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as Houston adopted it, with local amendments effective January 1, 2024. Permits go through the Houston Permitting Center, or your city’s permit office if you live outside Houston. Texas plumbers are licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE), and you can check any plumber’s license on the TSBPE website. We’d tell you to do that with anyone you hire, us included.
Houston Plumbings at a glance
Phone
(832) 678-7978, answered 24/7
Based in
Porter, Texas 77365, just north of Kingwood along I-69
Service area
All of Houston plus cities within about 20 miles: 130+ residential ZIP codes
Response
Same-day service; emergencies first
Pricing
Written estimate before any work starts
Licensing
Texas-licensed plumbers (TSBPE); ask for the license number on every job
Code
2021 Uniform Plumbing Code with Houston amendments
Customers
Homeowners, landlords, property managers, home buyers, restaurants and businesses
Why Houston homeowners call us
What Houston homeowners run into with plumbers, and what we do instead
We hear the same complaints on almost every call. Prices nobody explains. Floors broken open to “look for” a leak. A plumber who can’t come for a week after a freeze. Here’s how we handle each one.
What you’ve probably run into
What you get from Houston Plumbings
Our plumbing services
Plumbing services in Houston, TX: residential and commercial
From a running toilet to a full repipe or a clogged sewer main, one call covers it. These are the plumbing services our Houston plumbers handle for homes and businesses across the Greater Houston area.
Emergency plumbing service
Plumbing leak repair and slab leak detection
Rooter and drain cleaning
Sewer repair and replacement
Water heater repair and installation
Re-piping service
More plumbing services we handle every week
Slow drain repair
One slow sink usually means a clog in the trap or branch line. Every drain slow at once points to the main line. Hair, soap, grease and mineral buildup cleared.
Clogged sewer pipe and drain blockage
Grease in your sewer lateral, root cutting, sewer clog removal and video pipe inspection for backups through tubs, floor drains and cleanouts.
Toilet repair and installation
Running, noisy and weak-flushing toilets. Flappers, handles, fill valves, wax ring leaks, cracked porcelain and new toilet installs.
Faucets and sinks
Kitchen, bathroom, shower, tub and outdoor faucet repair and installation, sink replacement, frost-free hose bibs and fixture installs.
Garbage disposals and appliance plumbing
Humming, jammed or leaking disposals, dishwasher connections, refrigerator water lines and washing machine hoses.
Gas leak detection and gas lines
Gas leak detection and repair, gas line installation, generator gas lines and quick connects, and pressure tests so CenterPoint can restore service.
Water lines and low water pressure
Water line and main line repair and replacement, low pressure diagnosis, pressure reducing valves (PRVs) and main shut-off valve replacement.
Sump pumps, ejector pumps and wells
Sump pumps for crawl spaces and low lots, sewage ejector pumps for fixtures below the sewer line, and well pump and pressure tank plumbing.
Backflow prevention installation and inspection
Backflow devices on irrigation and business lines, annual testing by a TCEQ-licensed tester, and irrigation and outdoor leak repair.
Water softeners and filtration
Water softener installation, whole-house water filtration and under-sink drinking water filters for Houston’s hard water.
Bathroom and kitchen remodeling plumbing
Rough-in plumbing and slab trenching for new layouts, moving sinks, showers, tubs and toilets, and permits where the job needs them.
Commercial and industrial plumbing
Commercial maintenance, drain cleaning and jetting, grease trap cleaning for restaurants, restroom repairs and plumbing inspections.
Not sure what you need? Describe the problem and we’ll tell you what it likely is.
Local knowledge
Why do pipes fail in Houston? The local causes we see every week
Most plumbing failures here trace back to six local conditions. Knowing which one hit your house tells us what to check first and keeps us from guessing.
Clay soil that moves your slab
Houston sits on expansive clay that swells when it’s wet and shrinks in drought. A University of Houston study of 453 Southeast Texas slab foundations found they move with the seasons. Dry growing seasons sped up settlement, and wet winters partly reversed it.
What it breaks: Slab leaks, separated joints and sagging (“bellied”) sewer lines.
Ground that’s still sinking
The Harris-Galveston Subsidence District’s 2025 report shows parts of Katy and Fulshear sinking more than 2 cm a year. One Katy GPS station has dropped about 14 inches since 2007.
What it breaks: Buried water and sewer lines under strain, and sewer slope changes. It’s worst in Katy, Cypress, Jersey Village, Spring and Tomball.
Freezes in homes built for heat
A hard freeze means 24°F or colder for two hours or more, and about half of Houston winters since 1969 have had one. In February 2021 it hit 7°F, and the city estimated a quarter of its water customers had leaks. More hard freezes followed in January 2026.
What it breaks: Attic and exterior-wall pipes, hose bibs, irrigation backflow assemblies and garage water heaters.
Floods, hurricanes and lift stations
Hurricane Harvey dropped close to 50 inches in four days and flooded about 160,000 Harris County homes, 68% of them outside the 100-year floodplain. When Beryl cut power in 2024, sewage backed up in Kingwood yards and homes. Tropical Storm Arthur brought 8 to 12+ inches in June 2026.
What it breaks: Sewer backups through floor drains and cleanouts, flooded water heaters and contaminated fixtures.
Hard water
Houston’s 2025 main system ran about 90% surface water from Lake Houston, Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston. Hardness ranged from 2.5 to 13.4 grains per gallon and averaged 7.9.
What it breaks: Scale inside tank and tankless water heaters, faucet cartridges, shower valves and toilet fill valves.
Old pipes in older homes
About 47% of City of Houston homes were built before 1980, and the 1970s alone account for 192,199 of them. Many still have their original galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains.
What it breaks: Rusty water, low pressure, pinhole leaks, rotting cast iron under the slab and root-filled clay sewers.
What’s probably in your walls, by the year your Houston home was built
| Built | Typical pipes | What usually fails | Where you’ll find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1950 | Galvanized supply; cast iron and clay drains; many pier-and-beam homes | Rusted lines, brown water, broken clay sewers, crawl-space freezes | Houston Heights, Montrose, Woodland Heights, the older wards |
| 1950s | Galvanized supply; cast iron drains under the slab | Cast iron rotting from inside, roots, slab leaks | Oak Forest, Sharpstown, Meyerland, Timbergrove, Lazybrook |
| 1960s–1970s | Galvanized or copper supply; cast iron drains | Original galvanized, failing cast iron, slab leaks as copper ages | Spring Branch, Westbury, Alief, Clear Lake, Kingwood |
| About 1978–1995 | Polybutylene (gray plastic) supply in many homes | Sudden failures; some insurers and lenders object to it | 1980s subdivisions across the suburbs |
| 1995–2010 | Copper or CPVC supply; PVC drains | Aging water heaters, pinhole leaks, hard-water scale | Older parts of Katy, Cypress, Pearland, Sugar Land, Spring |
| 2010 and newer | PEX supply; PVC drains; tankless heaters | Warranty-gap repairs, scaled tankless units, settling sewer lines | Newer sections of Katy, Cypress and other fast-growing suburbs |
Remodels change everything, so we confirm pipe materials on site before quoting.
2026 pricing
How much does a plumber cost in Houston in 2026?
Quick answer
Published 2026 Houston ranges put plumbers at about $85 to $165 an hour, or $180 to $320 an hour after hours. Bigger jobs are priced by the job: slab leak repair runs about $1,800 to $6,000, and sewer line replacement usually lands between $3,000 and $7,000. We give you a written price for your job before any work starts.
| Plumbing job in Houston | Typical 2026 range |
|---|---|
| Plumber, per hour / after hours | $85–$165 / $180–$320 |
| Leak detection | $120–$280 |
| Water leak repair | $275–$1,500 |
| Slab leak repair | $1,800–$6,000 |
| Water heater repair / tank replacement | $170–$450 / $1,200–$2,500 |
| Tankless water heater installation | $2,200–$4,500 |
| Sewer line repair (about 40 ft, 3–5 ft deep) | $2,400–$4,000 |
| Sewer line replacement | $3,000–$7,000 typical; $55–$95 per foot |
| Emergency main sewer clog | $1,310–$4,930 |
| Whole-house repipe | $4,500–$35,000 |
Ranges come from 2026 published Houston price guides (CostCheck USA, ServiceAgent, Angi and local plumbing company price guides). They’re not quotes. Your price depends on your home.
What moves the price
How we keep it fair
Get your estimate now
Tell us what’s going on and we’ll give you a straight answer on what it should cost.
How it works
What happens when you call Houston Plumbings?
Five steps, from the first ring to a fixed problem, with no surprises along the way.
1
You call (832) 678-7978
We ask what’s happening, walk you through shutting off water or gas if needed, and set a time. Emergencies go to the front of the line.
Why it matters: The first ten minutes decide how much water ends up in your walls.
2
We diagnose before we sell
Drains and sewer lines get a camera. Hidden and slab leaks get acoustic listening, thermal imaging and pressure testing. Pressure problems get a gauge on the line. Hard-water complaints get a hardness test.
Why it matters: You pay to fix the actual problem, not a guess.
3
You get a written scope and price
We show you what we found, explain the options and put the price in writing. You approve before anything starts.
Why it matters: No price surprises, and paperwork your insurer or HOA can read.
4
We do the work to code
Repairs follow the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code with Houston amendments. Permits go through the Houston Permitting Center or your city when the job needs one. New or repaired gas lines are inspected before CenterPoint restores service.
Why it matters: Work done to code holds up at inspection and when you sell.
5
We test, clean up and document
We pressure-test or flow-test the repair, run the camera again after jetting, clean up the work area, and leave you photos and notes. That’s the paperwork you need for an insurance claim or a water bill adjustment request.
Why it matters: You can prove the leak was fixed.
Service area
Areas we serve around Houston
Houston Plumbings is based in Porter (77365) and serves all of Houston plus the cities within about 20 miles: more than 130 residential ZIP codes. We cover everything from inside Loop 610 to Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway, along I-10, I-45, I-69 and US-290, and from the Texas Medical Center and the Galleria to Bush Intercontinental, Hobby Airport and Johnson Space Center.
Houston neighborhoods
Houston Heights, Montrose, River Oaks, Memorial, Spring Branch, Oak Forest, Timbergrove, Meyerland, Braeswood Place, Westbury, Sharpstown, Alief, Westchase, Energy Corridor, Champions, Acres Homes, Fifth Ward, East End, Glenbrook Valley, South Belt, Sunnyside and Clear Lake.
ZIP codes: 77002 · 77004 · 77006 · 77007 · 77008 · 77009 · 77019 · 77024 · 77025 · 77027 · 77036 · 77055 · 77057 · 77063 · 77077 · 77080 · 77089 · 77096 · 77098
Cities and communities near Houston
Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Spring, Cypress, Jersey Village, Katy, Cinco Ranch, Sugar Land, First Colony, Stafford, Missouri City, Fresno, Pearland, Pasadena, South Houston, Deer Park, Galena Park, Channelview, Aldine, Bellaire and West University Place.
ZIP codes: 77339 · 77345 · 77338 · 77346 · 77373 · 77379 · 77429 · 77433 · 77449 · 77450 · 77478 · 77479 · 77477 · 77459 · 77581 · 77584 · 77502 · 77587 · 77536 · 77401 · 77005
Counties we cover
Harris County (Houston and most of the cities above), Fort Bend County (Sugar Land, Missouri City, Stafford, Fresno and part of Katy), Brazoria County (Pearland), and Montgomery County, where our Porter base sits.
Who we help
Plumbing help for every kind of Houston property
Owners of older Houston homes
1950s–1980s slab homes inside the Loop and Beltway, where galvanized supply lines, cast iron drains and slab leaks drive the big decisions: patch or repipe, spot repair or a new sewer line.
Suburban families
Newer homes in Katy, Cypress, Pearland, Sugar Land and Spring. Water heaters, softeners, tankless scale, fixture repairs and warranty-gap problems, scheduled fast.
Landlords and property managers
About 58% of City of Houston households rent. We handle tenant emergencies, unit turns and drain problems, with photos and clear invoices for owners.
Home buyers and sellers
A sewer camera scope and pipe-material check during your option period. Polybutylene, galvanized and broken cast iron are cheaper to find before closing than after.
Restaurants and businesses
Grease trap cleaning, commercial drain jetting, restroom repairs and backflow testing that keep you open and on the right side of city rules.
Anyone facing a plumbing emergency
Burst pipes after a freeze, sewage after a storm, a water heater dumping into the attic. Call any hour. We’ll help you stop the damage first.
Houston weather and your pipes
When do Houston plumbing problems peak?
Plumbing in Houston follows the weather. Here’s what breaks in each season and what to do ahead of it.
| Season | Weather | What breaks | Get ahead of it |
|---|---|---|---|
| December–February | Arctic fronts; hard freezes about every other winter | Attic and exterior-wall pipes, hose bibs, irrigation backflow assemblies, garage water heaters | Insulate exposed pipes, cover hose bibs, shut off irrigation, find your main shut-off |
| March–May | Spring storms and flash floods; clay swells after heavy rain | Leaks after soil shifts, sewer backups | Camera-check older sewer lines; consider a backwater valve |
| June–September | Heat, dry spells; hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 | Slab leaks as clay shrinks, high water bills, irrigation leaks, storm backups | Watch your water meter, check pressure (40–60 psi), plan generator gas lines early |
| October–November | Late tropical systems; holiday cooking | Grease clogs in kitchen lines; water heaters strained before winter | Keep grease out of drains; flush the water heater |
Freeze tip
Should you drip your faucets during a Houston freeze?
During the January 2026 freezes, Houston Public Works asked city customers not to drip faucets. Dripping drains pressure from a system that depends on pumping stations. Wrap exposed pipes, open sink cabinets on outside walls and keep the heat on instead. If you’re on a MUD or another city’s water, follow that utility’s instructions.
Know before you hire
Houston plumbing rules, permits and insurance: what homeowners should know
Who is responsible for the sewer line?
In the City of Houston, the homeowner owns the sewer line from the house to the city connection. If roots, a sag or broken cast iron sit in that stretch, the repair is yours to pay for, so a camera inspection before buying an older home is money well spent.
Do you need a plumbing permit in Houston?
Permits from the Houston Permitting Center cover work like water heater replacement, sewer line work and major fixture installs. Homeowners may do plumbing in a home they own and live in. Suburban cities set their own permit rules.
Gas lines and CenterPoint Energy
New or repaired gas piping inside Houston needs a city gas permit and inspection before CenterPoint will restore or start service. That includes generator quick connects added after Beryl.
Backflow testing
Backflow assemblies on irrigation systems and businesses must be tested by a TCEQ-licensed tester. Houston test reports go to the Houston Public Works Cross-Connection Control Program within two business days.
Insurance and slab leaks
Policies often pay for the water damage and the tear-out needed to reach a broken pipe, but not for the pipe itself. Gradual leaks and earth movement are usually excluded, and every standard homeowners policy excludes flood. Only about 22% of Harris County homes carry NFIP flood coverage. Check your policy, and keep the leak report.
High water bills
City Council’s 2021 plan raised Houston water and sewer rates every April through 2026, about 78% for an average single-family home. KPRC’s example home using 10,000 gallons a month went from $112 in February 2021 to $249.63 in February 2025. Houston Public Works accepts adjustment requests online, and a written leak report backs yours up.
Water heater rules are changing
Under DOE standards, commercial gas water heaters must be condensing from October 6, 2026. Most residential electric tanks over 35 gallons will need heat pump technology from May 6, 2029, and gas tankless heaters move to condensing from December 26, 2029.
Is Houston tap water safe?
Houston’s 2025 lead result (90th percentile) was 5.1 ppb, under the 15 ppb action level. The main system’s average for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) was 43.6 ppb against an 80 ppb limit. A filter or softener is a comfort and appliance choice, not an emergency.
Hiring advice
How to choose a plumbing company in Houston
Whether you call us or someone else, check these before you hire.
Check these first
Red flags
Want a second opinion on a quote? We’ll walk you through it.
FAQs
Houston plumbing FAQs
Straight answers to the questions we get on the phone every day. Don’t see yours? Call and ask a plumber.
Call us 24/7: (832) 678-7978
Same-day plumbing service
Call Houston Plumbings today
Burst pipe, slab leak, backed-up sewer or no hot water? Call now for same-day service anywhere in Houston and nearby cities. We’ll tell you what it probably is, what it should cost and when we can be there.
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Prefer not to call? Send the details and we’ll call you back. For active leaks, gas smells or sewage, call now.
HoustonPlumbings
THE ONLY SOLUTION · Experts in Plumbing
Residential and commercial plumbing for Houston, TX and the cities within about 20 miles. Calls answered 24/7.
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(832) 678-7978
Porter, Texas 77365
Serving Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Montgomery counties
© 2026 Houston Plumbings. All rights reserved. Porter, Texas 77365 · (832) 678-7978