Plumber in Houston: an independent guide to costs, permits and hiring

No public agency publishes Houston-only plumbing prices, so the table below uses national ranges from established cost guides. Use it to judge whether a written quote is in a normal range, not as a price anyone has promised you. Access, pipe material, the age of the house, slab foundations and permit fees can all move a real quote up or down.

Nights, weekends and holidays cost more. HomeGuide says after-hours and holiday work is often billed at double or triple time. For a longer breakdown by job, see our Houston plumber cost guide.

Some problems can wait for a weekday estimate. Others get more expensive by the hour. These are the ones worth acting on quickly:

• Water spreading from a pipe, fitting or tank. Close the main shutoff first, then deal with the cause. Our emergency checklist walks through it.
• A gas smell near a water heater or range. Leave on foot. CenterPoint Energy tells Greater Houston customers to get to a safe place and then call its gas leak line at 713-659-2111 and 911, and not to report a leak online.
• Signs of a slab leak: a warm or damp spot on the floor, the sound of running water when every fixture is off, a sudden pressure change or an unexplained jump in the water bill. HomeAdvisor lists all of these as warning signs.
• Sewage at a floor drain or toilet.Houston Public Works says to check the sewer cleanout near the street. Sewage standing at the cleanout means a city problem to report to 311; a dry cleanout points to a blockage in your private line.
• An aging tank water heater that leaks, rumbles or delivers rusty water. HomeGuide puts typical tank lifespans at 8 to 12 years.

Texas licenses plumbers at the state level through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE) under Chapter 1301 of the Texas Occupations Code. License levels include Responsible Master Plumber, Master Plumber, Journeyman Plumber and Tradesman Plumber-Limited, and apprentices must be registered.

1. Search the name or license number in the Texas plumbing license search. You can also search by city or county.
2. Ask who the Responsible Master Plumber is. Under Section 1301.351 of the Occupations Code, anyone who advertises or offers plumbing services must use a Responsible Master Plumber. TSBPE says that person must carry at least $300,000 of general commercial liability insurance and must make sure service vehicles show the company name and the RMP's license number.
3. Look for the license card. Section 1301.351 also requires license and registration holders to carry the license or registration on their person while doing plumbing work.
4. Ask who pulls the permit. Inside the City of Houston, the Houston Permitting Center says a water heater permit must be obtained by a master plumber registered with the city. Get it in writing who will pull it.
5. Get written bids and pay in stages. The Texas Attorney General advises getting written bids from more than one contractor, never signing a contract with blanks in it, and not paying in full until the work is finished and you have inspected it.

Our plumbing services overview covers drain cleaning, water heaters, leak detection and slab leaks, sewer line repair and emergency plumbing, each with cost ranges, permit notes and questions to ask. The service area pages cover Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, Cypress, Spring, Pasadena and Humble, where utilities and permit offices often differ from the City of Houston. The homeowner guides go deeper on slab leaks in clay soil, cast iron drain pipes, storm-related sewer backups, costs and choosing a plumber.

One Houston-specific item worth knowing: Houston Public Works says the city owns the water service line from the main to the meter, while the property owner owns the line from the meter into the house. It also notes that federal law banned lead service lines in the late 1980s, so homes built after 1989 should not have one, and it offers an online check of your service line material.

Plumber Houston Pros is an independent homeowner information website. We are not a plumber or a contractor, we hold no Texas plumbing license, and we do not perform, price, schedule or guarantee any work. We have no phone line and no field staff.

To reach a plumber, call one of the licensed contractors listed on this page or see all listed contractors. Questions about this guide or a correction: email hello@plumberhoustonpros.com. We do not take service requests and do not pass messages on to contractors. A reply usually points you to the license search and the questions on this site. More detail is on our about page and the contact page.