Broken Pipe Repair in Lago Vista, TX

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Broken Pipe Repair in Lago Vista, TX

A broken pipe can flood a room in minutes and soak floors, walls and insulation before you find it. Shut off the main water valve first, then call Real Texas Plumbing at (512) 662-2949. We repair broken, burst, frozen and leaking pipes for homeowners in Lago Vista, Jonestown, The Hollows and around Lake Travis. Pipe repair starts at $700, frozen or burst pipe repair starts at $800, and you get the price in writing before any work begins.

Our phones are answered Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 8 PM and Saturday 8 AM to noon. Broken pipe calls go to the front of the schedule. Real Texas Plumbing is rated 4.9 on Google from 144 reviews, and you can read them here. For sewage backups, no water at all, or a grinder pump alarm, see emergency plumbing.

What should I do first when a pipe breaks?

Shut off the water, then call a plumber. Stopping the water limits the damage while you wait for a repair.

1. Shut off the main water valve. It is usually where the water line enters the house: on an outside wall, in the garage, in a utility closet or near the water heater. Turn a round handle clockwise until it stops. A lever handle is closed when it sits crosswise to the pipe. Not sure where yours is? Our guide to finding and shutting off your main water valve walks you through it.

2. Open the lowest faucet in the house, such as a tub, shower or outdoor spigot, to drain the lines and take pressure off the break. Flush the toilets once.

3. Turn off the water heater if you drained the lines. Switch off the breaker for an electric heater, or set a gas heater to pilot, so it does not run dry.

4. Stay away from electricity. If water is near outlets, the breaker panel, or a light fixture under a wet ceiling, do not touch them. Switch off a breaker only if you can reach it without standing in water. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

5. Photograph the damage, then move what you can. Take photos before you clean up, then lift rugs, electronics and furniture off the wet floor.

6. Call us at (512) 662-2949. Tell us where the water is coming from, that the main is off, and what type of pipe it is if you know. Photos or a short video help us plan the repair.

Do not keep using water and hope the pipe holds. Do not thaw a frozen pipe with a torch or open flame. Do not wrap a split pipe with tape and call it fixed. A temporary wrap buys you a few hours, not a repair.

If the house valve is stuck, missing or leaking, or the break is on the street side of your meter, call the City of Lago Vista at 512-267-1155. The City’s Utility Department maintains the water mains and responds to water line leaks. The shutoff in the meter box near the street belongs to the City, so please do not force it.

What if a pipe breaks after you close?

Shut off the main water valve, follow the steps above, and call us when we open. We answer phones Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 8 PM and Saturday 8 AM to noon. Once the water is off, the flooding stops, and we put broken pipes at the front of the schedule when you call. You can also send a request through our contact page and we will respond when we open.

How much does broken pipe repair cost in Lago Vista?

Broken pipe repair at Real Texas Plumbing starts at $700, and frozen or burst pipe repair starts at $800. Your final price depends on where the pipe is and how much work it takes to reach it. You will have it in writing before we start. These are our starting prices:

• Plumbing pipe repair: from $700

• Frozen or burst pipe repair: from $800

• Plumbing leak repair: from $389

• Outdoor plumbing repair: from $495

• Water line repair or replacement, the buried line from your meter to your house: from $2,800

The price changes with a few things:

• Where the pipe is. A pipe in a garage or open attic is a shorter job than one inside a finished wall, above a ceiling or buried in the yard.

• What the pipe is made of. Copper, PEX, CPVC and galvanized steel each need different fittings and methods.

• How many breaks there are. One split is a repair. Several failures along the same run can mean the pipe is at the end of its life.

• The ground. Digging through Lago Vista’s rocky soil takes longer than digging in soft ground.

• Access. If we need to open a wall or ceiling, we tell you where and what that means for patching before we cut.

The $65 trip charge is credited toward the repair when you schedule it. If we find something else once a wall is open, we stop and tell you before we add anything. Whole-home repiping is quoted in writing after an inspection, not over the phone.

How do we repair a broken pipe?

1. We find the break. We check the visible lines, test water pressure and watch the meter. When the leak is hidden in a wall or under the slab, we use leak detection to locate it before anything is cut.

2. We explain what we found and quote the repair in writing. You see the price and the plan before we start.

3. We repair the pipe. We cut out the damaged section and replace it with new pipe and fittings that suit the material. We do not patch pipe that is thin or corroded along its whole length.

4. We pressure test the repair and check nearby fittings and pipe of the same age for signs of the same problem.

5. We walk you through it. We show you what failed, tell you what to watch for, and give you a written invoice for your records and your insurer.

Why do pipes break in Lago Vista and around Lake Travis?

Shifting soil and rock

In much of Lago Vista, a thin layer of clay soil sits over limestone. Clay swells when it is wet and shrinks in dry spells, and that movement can pull on pipes and fittings in the ground and under the house. Digging for a fence, irrigation or a pool can also nick a buried line.

Winter freezes

Hard freezes are not common in Central Texas, which is exactly why they do so much damage. Pipes in attics, garages, exterior walls and outdoor lines are often unprotected, and Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 showed how many Texas homes have exposed supply lines. Frozen water expands, and the pressure can split copper, CPVC and PEX.

High water pressure

Water pressure can run higher on lower lots in hilly neighborhoods. Pressure above 80 psi stresses pipes, fittings, hoses and water heaters, and it makes small weak spots fail sooner. If pressure is the cause, a pressure-reducing valve is the fix, and a repair without it only buys time.

Age and pipe material

Pipes wear out. Copper can develop pinhole leaks from the inside as the wall thins over the years. Galvanized steel corrodes from inside. Some plastic pipe from the 1980s and 1990s is known for failing at fittings. The next section explains what to look for.

Hard Lake Travis water

Lago Vista’s water comes from Lake Travis, and Lake Travis water is very hard. Hard water does not usually split a pipe by itself, but scale builds up inside pipes, valves and water heaters and makes the whole system work harder. A water softener helps protect plumbing and fixtures.

Lake homes that sit empty

A pipe that breaks in a weekend home can run for days before anyone notices. If you leave a home for more than a few days, shut off the main water valve before you go.

What kind of pipe is in my house, and how does it break?

• Copper. It lasts a long time but can develop pinhole leaks and can split in a freeze. We cut out the damaged section and replace it.

• PEX. This flexible plastic handles freezes better than rigid pipe, but fittings can leak and a hard freeze can still split it. We replace the damaged section or fitting.

• CPVC. This cream or light yellow rigid plastic becomes brittle with age and heat, and it cracks instead of bending. Cracks often show up near the water heater or at fittings.

• Galvanized steel. It is common in older homes. It rusts from the inside, which brings low pressure and rusty water, and patching one spot often leads to the next failure.

• Polybutylene. This gray plastic pipe was installed in many homes built from about 1978 to 1995, and it can fail without warning, often at the fittings. You can look for it near the water heater, under sinks and at the main shutoff, and it is often stamped PB2110. If you have it, we recommend a conversation about repiping.

Not sure what you have? We will identify it when we look at the break.

How can I tell if a pipe is broken somewhere I cannot see?

Look for these signs:

• A water bill that jumped without a reason

• A meter that keeps moving when every fixture is off

• The sound of running water in a quiet house

• Damp drywall, peeling paint, stains or bubbling on a wall or ceiling

• Warped or lifting flooring, or a warm spot on a floor

• A musty smell that does not go away

• Water pressure that dropped suddenly

• Muddy or soggy ground in the yard with no rain

Here is a simple check. Turn off every fixture and appliance that uses water, note the reading on your water meter, and wait two hours without using any water. If the reading changed, water is leaking somewhere. When the leak is inside a wall or under the slab, leak detection finds it before anyone opens a wall or cuts concrete.

Is it a broken water pipe or a sewer or grinder pump line?

Supply pipes bring clean water into your home, and drain and sewer pipes carry wastewater out. They fail in different ways. A broken supply pipe shows up as wet floors, low pressure and a spinning meter. A broken drain or sewer line shows up as slow drains, gurgling, sewage odor or soggy spots in the yard.

If your home has a grinder pump, a broken pressure line between the pump and the sewer main can cause a wet yard, a sewage smell or a pump that runs far more than it should. That is a different repair from a water line. See our grinder pump service, our grinder pump alarm repair and drain cleaning for those problems.

When is repiping smarter than repairing?

One split in otherwise healthy pipe is a repair. It is worth a conversation about whole-home repiping when you have:

• Leaks that keep returning in different places

• Pinhole leaks in more than one spot on copper

• Rusty water and falling pressure from galvanized pipe

• Polybutylene supply lines

We will tell you honestly if a repair is the right call. Repiping is not the answer to a single broken pipe.

How can I keep pipes from breaking?

• Learn where your main water valve is and turn it off and on once or twice a year so it does not seize.

• Get ready for a hard freeze. Insulate exposed pipes in attics, garages and exterior walls, cover outdoor faucets, open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls, and let faucets drip.

• Check your water pressure. If it is above 80 psi, ask about a pressure-reducing valve.

• Replace old washer and supply hoses before they burst.

• Shut off the main when you leave a lake house or second home for more than a few days.

• Schedule a yearly check. Our plumbing maintenance catches weak fittings, leaks and failing valves before they turn into floods. Water heaters fail too, so keep water heater repair in mind when a tank is old.

Where we work

Real Texas Plumbing serves Lago Vista, Jonestown, The Hollows, Point Venture, Highland Lake Estates, Northshore on Lake Travis, Lakeway, Leander, Cedar Park, Bee Cave, Anderson Mill, Austin, Round Rock, Horseshoe Bay, Marble Falls and the rest of the Lake Travis area.

• Lago Vista office: 20811 Dawn Dr, Unit 706, Lago Vista, TX 78645

• Lakeway office: 2802 Flintrock Trace, Lakeway, TX 78738

Find your community: Lago Vista · Jonestown · The Hollows · Point Venture · Highland Lake Estates · Northshore on Lake Travis · Lakeway

Related plumbing services

• Leak detection

• Whole-home repiping

• Water heater repair

• Drain cleaning

• Grinder pump service

• Water softener installation

• Plumbing maintenance

Real Home Care

Real Home Care is $45 a month and covers your plumbing, heating and cooling with one plan. Own a grinder pump? Add it for $10 more, $55 a month total.

Call (512) 662-2949 or book online. Licensed plumbers, family-owned, and a written price before any work.