Austin homeowners face a specific combination of plumbing issues — hard municipal water, expansive clay soils, mature live oaks and pecans with aggressive root systems, and a housing stock that ranges from 1920s craftsman bungalows to brand-new tract homes with PEX. ABM Plumbing Company has been serving Austin homeowners with residential plumbing repairs, replacements, and installations for years, and our Responsible Master Plumber, Travis K Davis, holds Texas RMP License #16739.
Call (512) 620-8200 to schedule service in Austin.
Austin's Water and What It Does to Your Plumbing
Austin Water draws from the Highland Lakes via the Lower Colorado River Authority. The water is treated with chloramine rather than free chlorine, and it averages 184 parts per million total hardness — about 10.75 grains per gallon, classified as very hard. That hardness is mostly calcium and magnesium that builds up inside water heaters, narrows pipe diameter at fixtures and aerators, and accelerates scale formation throughout your plumbing system. Our Austin hard water survival guide covers the full effects and what to do about them.
If you're considering a water softener, our whole-house vs. point-of-use filtration comparison walks through the trade-offs. Note that chloramine, unlike free chlorine, requires catalytic carbon to remove — standard carbon filters won't do it.
Slab Leaks Are an Austin Specialty
The expansive clay soils common across Austin — particularly Eagle Ford and Taylor clays — shrink in summer and swell in winter, putting constant stress on water lines running beneath concrete foundations. The result is one of the most common service calls we get in Austin: slab leaks. Common signs include an unexplained increase in your water bill, the sound of running water when no fixtures are on, warm spots on tile or hardwood floors, and visible cracks in your foundation or interior walls.
Once a slab leak starts, it gets more expensive to fix every week. Our slab leak repair cost guide for Austin covers detection methods, repair options (spot repair, reroute, repipe), and what to expect on price.
Sewer Lines and Austin's Trees
Austin's mature live oaks, pecans, and elms make this one of the most root-intrusion-prone cities in Texas. Tree roots seek moisture, find small cracks at sewer pipe joints, and grow until they block flow entirely. Older Central, South, and East Austin neighborhoods are particularly affected because their sewer mains are often clay tile or cast iron with vulnerable joints, and the trees overhead are decades larger than when the lines were laid.
If you're seeing recurring drain backups, gurgling toilets, or multiple slow drains across the house, the problem is usually in the main line, not at any individual fixture. A sewer camera inspection is the only way to know what's actually happening down there. From there, options range from hydro-jetting and root cutting through trenchless lining to full replacement, depending on what we find. The complete sewer line guide for Austin covers all of it.
What You'll Find in Older Austin Homes
Houses built before 1950 in Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Clarksville, Allandale, and similar neighborhoods often have galvanized steel supply lines (sometimes already replaced with copper, sometimes not), cast-iron DWV stacks, and in a few cases lead service lines that Austin Water is still inventorying. Mid-century homes from the 1950s–1970s typically have copper supply and cast-iron drains. The most problematic era is actually the 1980s: polybutylene supply piping was widely installed in tract builds during that decade, and PB has a well-documented failure pattern that makes whole-house repipe the standard recommendation.
Post-2005 builds are largely PEX, which has been holding up well in Austin's hard water and clay soils.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Austin
We work across the full city — Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Mueller, South Lamar, Allandale, Brentwood, Crestview, Anderson Mill, Northwest Hills, Westlake-adjacent areas, Oak Hill, Circle C, Onion Creek, and beyond. If your neighborhood isn't listed, call to confirm coverage.
Schedule Service in Austin
Same-day service available during business hours for most calls. Texas RMP License #16739, held by Travis K Davis. Fully insured.
Plumbing Questions from Austin Homeowners
How hard is Austin's water?
Austin Water's most recent reports put hardness at 184 PPM, or 10.75 grains per gallon — classified as very hard by the USGS. Hard enough to noticeably reduce water heater life and leave scale on fixtures within 2–3 years.
I think I have a slab leak. What should I check?
The four most common signs in Austin homes: an unexplained jump in your water bill, the sound of running water with no fixtures on, warm spots on the floor (for hot-water-line slab leaks), and unexplained cracks in the foundation or interior walls. Call early — slab leaks get significantly more expensive once they cause foundation movement or flooring damage.
My 1980s home has polybutylene pipes. Should I be worried?
Yes — PB pipes from that era have a known failure pattern. The pipe deteriorates from the inside as chlorine and chloramine in municipal water break down the polymer. Failure is sudden and usually catastrophic. We recommend whole-house repipe for any home still on PB.
Do you handle East Austin's older cast-iron drains?
Yes. We do sewer camera inspection, hydro-jetting, traditional spot repair, and trenchless replacement on cast-iron mains. Cast iron from the 1920s–1960s era common in East and Central Austin tends to fail at the bottom of the pipe and at joints.
Need a Plumber in Austin?
Same-day service available during business hours. Texas RMP #16739.
Call (512) 620-8200