Open 24/7 · Austin, TX
Plumber in Austin, TX
Need a plumber in Austin? Austin is the biggest city we cover, and a lot of its homes are rentals, slab houses and garage water heaters. Ring at any hour, name the symptom, and see what can be booked for today.
Emergency? Call now, 24/7(737) 717-0737- Call and give the addressMention if you rent, so the right person is told about the repair.
- Describe what you seeStain, smell, noise, no hot water or a bill that makes no sense.
- Leave with a planLeaks, drains and heaters can often be booked for the same day.
A plumber in Austin for the jobs city homes call about most
Four services cover most Austin calls. The full list of what we handle is further down this page.
Leak detection
Finds the wet pipe behind a wall or under a slab before the damage spreads.
Leak detection details →Water heater repair
Gets hot water back when the tank, element or burner fails.
Water heater repair details →Drain cleaning
Clears slow lines and the clogs that keep returning.
Drain cleaning details →Water softener installation
Answers the scale that moderately hard water leaves on fixtures.
Water softener installation details →What is happening at your Austin address?
Pick the closest match. Red cards need a quick response.
Why call a plumber in Austin through one number
A big city has big gaps between a request and a repair. A phone call closes them.
- Open 24/7Pipes fail at night and on weekends. A person picks up at any hour.
- Same-day slotsTell the dispatcher what is wet or dead and ask what is open today.
- Every plumbing job on one lineWater heater, drain, leak, toilet and gas line all go through the same call.
- Rental-friendly questionsWe ask who owns the home, since a tenant often needs the landlord’s go-ahead.
- A call, not a formYou speak with a person. Nothing to type while water is on the floor.
Calling a plumber in Austin: this line against a search results page
Six differences that matter when a fixture is already failing.
| UsOnion Creek Plumbing | vsMany other plumbing companies | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | Open 24/7A midnight leak is answered at midnight. | Office hours, then voicemail |
| Reaching someone | Someone answers the phoneState the trouble one time and leave with a next step. | A contact form and a wait |
| How soon | Same-day service is availableSewage and running water jump the queue. | A slot next week |
| Jobs covered | Heaters, drains, leaks, fixtures, gas and sewer on one numberNo second search when the first fix reveals another problem. | One trade per company |
| Local knowledge | Knows the city supplier’s hardness range and that renters need the owner looped inIt changes what we ask first. | Generic advice for any city |
| Price clarity | What drives cost is spelled out further down, and pricing is a question for the phone call.You see the reasoning first. | A number with no reasons |
Based on what is typical. Individual companies vary.
How a call from Austin runs
Four short steps from ring to plan.
You call
At any hour, from any part of the city.
You describe the problem and the building
House, apartment, duplex or business? Slab or raised floor? Where is the heater?
A visit is lined up
Same-day service is available. Water in the wrong place gets served first.
The plumber walks you through it
The fault, the work involved and the things that change the cost.
What moves the price of a plumber in Austin
The factors are the same everywhere. These are the ones callers in Austin run into most.
Size of the job
Swapping a toilet fill valve is short work. Opening a wall to reach a leak is not.
Access
A heater in an attic, a line under a slab or a cleanout buried in landscaping all add effort.
Parts
Water heater size and type, valve grade and fixture style change what is bought.
Diagnosis
A symptom with several possible causes may need a camera or pressure test before repair.
Timing
A burst pipe needs action now. A dripping faucet can wait for the plumber’s schedule.
Have this ready for the call
- Street address plus unit or suite
- The building owner or manager
- Location of the main shutoff, if known
- What you saw, heard or smelled
Ask about pricing when you call.
Call now, 24/7(737) 717-0737Austin Water, the Colorado River and what comes out of your tap
Where the water comes from
Austin Water takes its source water from the Lower Colorado River as it passes through Lake Travis and Lake Austin, then treats it at three plants named Handcox, Davis and Ullrich. That is the main city supply. Not every Austin mailing address is a city customer, though. Neighbouring communities have their own suppliers, so the name on your bill is the quickest way to know who to ask about your water.
For a plumber, the source matters less than what is dissolved in it. River water treated at a plant behaves differently in a water heater than hard well water does, and the range below tells you what to expect.
| Item | What Austin Water reports | What it means at home |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Lower Colorado River via Lake Travis and Lake Austin | Surface water, treated at city plants |
| 2025 hardness range | 70 to 126 ppm, about 4.1 to 7.4 grains per gallon | Moderately hard, varies by season and plant |
| 2025 average | 93 ppm, about 5.4 grains per gallon | Scale appears slowly, not overnight |
| Your address | Depends on your supplier | Check your bill before you compare numbers |
What moderately hard water does to fixtures
A range of 4 to 7 grains is not the heavy scale some Hill Country towns fight, but it still leaves a film. Expect chalky rings on shower glass, spotting on dark faucets, and a thin crust on the heating element of a tank water heater. The crust matters more than it looks. It insulates the element from the water, so the element runs hotter and fails sooner, and the tank bottom collects flakes that rumble when the burner fires.
Flushing a tank water heater once a year slows that down, and the guide to hard water in Texas homes explains what to look for. If the film bothers you, a water softener or a point-of-use filter is an option, and water filtration covers taste and sediment questions.
- Look at the showerheadTiny white crystals at the holes mean scale.
- Wipe a dark faucetA chalky wipe-off is mineral film.
- Listen to the heaterPopping or rumbling suggests sediment.
- Read your billConfirm the supplier before quoting a hardness figure.
Austin’s mix of rentals and owner-occupied houses changes who fixes what
Who calls when something breaks
Census figures put the owner-occupied rate in Austin at 43.4 percent, which means more than half of households are not owner-occupied. Home values among owners run high, too. A large rental population and a high-value owner market sit side by side in the same city, and they produce very different calls: a tenant with a dead water heater who needs the landlord to say yes, and an owner of a high-value house who wants the repair done right and explained.
If you rent, tell the dispatcher so, and have the property manager or owner reachable. If you own, say how old the fixture or heater is. Either way, the plumber starts from facts rather than guesses.
| Your situation | Say on the call | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant, single-family house | That you rent and who the owner is | The repair may need the owner to approve |
| Tenant, apartment or duplex | Unit number and building shutoff location | A leak may come from a neighbouring unit |
| Owner, older fixtures | Roughly how old the heater or valves are | Helps choose repair or replacement |
| Owner, recent purchase | That you do not know the house yet | The plumber can show you the main valve and heater |
Emergencies in a building you do not own
A burst pipe or a sewage backup does not wait for a landlord to answer a text. Close the main valve if you can reach it, move belongings off the floor, photograph the damage and call. The plumber can explain what he or she finds, and you can pass that on to the owner. Our guide on what to do when a pipe bursts lists the steps in order.
Stop the water
Main valve, or the fixture shutoff under a sink or behind a toilet.
Protect what you can
Lift rugs and electronics off wet ground.
Photograph
Take pictures before cleanup begins.
Call and tell the owner
Both calls, in whichever order is faster.
Galvanized service lines and the notices Austin Water sent
What the utility has said
In October 2024 Austin Water confirmed that its public water system contains no lead pipes. Its reports also say some galvanized service lines were identified as needing replacement, and the property owners involved were notified. That is a statement about specific addresses on a utility list, not about every home in the city, and no one can say from the outside whether your house is one of them.
Galvanized steel is an older pipe material that corrodes from the inside. The usual signs are rusty water after a morning of no use, pressure that has slowly faded, and orange stains in the sink. If you see them, ask your utility whether your service line was flagged, and book a plumber to look at the pipes inside the house.
| Sign | What it can mean | First step |
|---|---|---|
| Rust-coloured water in the morning | Interior corrosion on older steel pipe | Run the cold tap and note how long it takes to clear |
| Pressure fading over years | Mineral and rust build-up narrowing the pipe | Test pressure at an outdoor tap and an indoor one |
| Orange stain around a joint | A slow leak at a corroded fitting | Call, and keep a towel under it |
| A utility letter about your line | Your address was on the owner notification list | Follow the letter, then ask a plumber about the inside pipes |
Pipe problems you can check yourself
Start with the signs of corroded pipes to see whether what you notice fits. Run a single cold tap for a minute and compare the colour at the start and the end. Then see how the pressure at an outdoor tap compares with the kitchen. If the two disagree, low water pressure is the better page to read next. For long-term worries about old supply pipe, repiping explains the options.
- Colour testFill a clear glass from the cold tap and hold it to the light.
- Pressure testCompare an outdoor tap with an indoor one.
- Stain walkLook at joints under sinks and around the heater.
- Write it downDates and symptoms help the plumber.
Slab foundations, clay soil and summer heat in Austin homes
Why a slab changes how leaks show up
Many Texas homes sit on a concrete slab with supply lines running beneath or inside it. A leak there does not drip into a basement. It wets the soil, can lift a corner of flooring, and may show up first as a warm patch or a bill that will not settle. Clay soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry can stress buried lines over the seasons, so a joint that sat quietly for years may start to seep.
Read the signs of a slab leak if any of these sound familiar. When one is confirmed, slab leak repair covers the options, and leak detection is how the exact spot gets pinned down without tearing up the floor.
| What you notice | Possible cause | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Warm floor in one spot | A hot-water line leaking under the slab | Slab leak repair |
| Meter turns with every tap closed | A leak somewhere past the meter | Leak detection |
| Sound of running water at night | A supply leak or a toilet flapper | Find a leak guide |
| Cracks and a damp baseboard | Soil movement plus a seeping joint | Pipe repair |
Heat, attics and garages
Hot summers are hard on equipment. A water heater in a garage works in a room that bakes all afternoon, and one in an attic can drip onto drywall long before anyone sees it. Hose bibs and irrigation lines sit in the sun too, and the occasional hard freeze can split an exposed outdoor pipe. If a heater sits above a ceiling, put a pan under it and check the pan monthly; the guide on how long water heaters last explains when age matters. Irrigation is the one place where a safety device is needed: backflow testing keeps lawn water from flowing back into the house supply.
- Attic heaterDrain pan and a visible pan line to the outside.
- Garage heaterKeep boxes and paint cans away from the burner.
- Hose bibsDisconnect hoses before a hard freeze.
- Sprinkler zonesA wet spot that never dries points to a broken line.
Every plumbing service for an Austin address
All of these start with the same phone call. The page links below explain each job in detail.
| Service | Austin callers usually need it when | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Water heaters | No hot water, a leak at the tank, a rumbling noise or a pilot that keeps going out | Repair, replacement, tankless |
| Leaks and pipes | Bills climb, floors feel warm, walls stain or a pipe splits | Leak detection, slab leak, burst pipe, pipe repair, water line |
| Drains and sewer | Gurgling, slow tubs, backups or roots in an older line | Drain cleaning, clogged drain, hydro jetting, camera, sewer repair, replacement, trenchless |
| Fixtures | A toilet runs, a faucet drips, a shower leaks or a disposal hums | Toilet, toilet install, faucet, shower, tub drain, disposal |
| Water quality | Scale, spots, taste or sediment | Softener, filtration |
| Pressure and repiping | Weak showers or old steel supply pipe | Low pressure, repiping |
| Gas | A gas smell or a new appliance hookup | Gas leak, gas line |
| Safety and business | Irrigation backflow device or a shop and restaurant | Backflow testing, commercial plumbing |
| Emergencies | Night, weekend or holiday failures | Emergency, 24 hour, general repair |
Plumbing services in Austin, one page each
Fifteen pages go deeper on a single service as it applies to Austin addresses. Pick the one that matches your problem.
Urgent calls
Hot water
Leaks and pressure
Drains and sewer
Fixtures
Water treatment
Business and safety
First move for six Austin situations
Water crossing a floor
Shut the main first, then phone. See how to shut off your main valve.
Sewage rising in a tub
No more water down any drain. Stay clear of the spill and ring us.
Cold taps only
Look at the breaker or pilot light, then make the call.
Drains that gurgle
Pause laundry and showers. The drain guide covers what to try first, and then phone if it persists.
Gas odour
Walk out, leave switches alone and phone from the street. See signs of a gas leak.
A bill that leapt
Try the meter test in the leak-finding guide before dialing.
We cover Austin and the towns around it
Austin is the largest city on our service map. Calls from any part of the city, and from the lake communities and Hill Country towns nearby, go to the same number.
The map is drawn around Kyle and shows where Austin and the other 17 towns sit. Dial for a plumber in Austin and the same line answers, day or night.
- 1Buda about 7 mi
- 2Maxwell about 7 mi
- 3Manchaca about 9 mi
- 4Austin about 10 mi
- 5San Marcos about 11 mi
- 6Martindale about 11 mi
- 7Lockhart about 12 mi
- 8Dale about 15 mi
- 9Wimberley about 17 mi
- 10Bee Cave about 18 mi
- 11West Lake Hills about 21 mi
- 12Cedar Creek about 21 mi
- 13Kingsbury about 22 mi
- 14Dripping Springs about 23 mi
- 15New Braunfels about 24 mi
- 16Lakeway about 25 mi
- 17Canyon Lake about 25 mi
- 18The Hills about 25 mi
Austin plumbing questions
How do I find a plumber in Austin at night?
Is Austin water hard?
What does a plumber in Austin charge?
Why do two similar jobs in Austin cost different amounts?
Can I get same-day service in Austin?
My landlord is slow. Should I wait for a leak to be fixed?
I smell gas near my water heater. What should I do?
Did Austin Water find lead pipes?
My water heater sits in the attic. Is that a problem?
Do you replace water heaters as well as repair them?
Is there a shop in Austin I can visit?
What should I have ready when I call a plumber in Austin?
Guides for Austin homeowners
Call a plumber in Austin
Night, weekend or holiday, the line is open. Ask about same-day service with a plumber in Austin.