Emergency plumbing repair
Burst lines, active leaks, no water, sewage backing up. We isolate the problem, stop the damage, then repair.
Licensed plumbing contractor · West side
We find what's actually wrong before anyone quotes you a repair.
Master Plumbing & Drain works the Culebra corridor, Great Northwest, Alamo Ranch and the west side out to 1604. Camera in the line, pressure on the system, eyes on the water heater. You see what we see, then you get a price, then we start. Not the other way around.
Diagnostics documented. Permits pulled where the city requires them.
- Same dayEmergency dispatch across the west side
- WrittenScope and price before any work begins
- CameraLine inspection included on every drain call
- WarrantyParts and labor covered in writing
What we handle
Residential and light commercial, repair and replacement. If it carries water, gas or waste through your property, it's on this list.
Drain cleaning and clog removal
Kitchen, laundry, tub and main line stoppages cleared mechanically, then scoped to confirm the line is actually clear.
Sewer camera inspection
Video down the main line with footage marked, so you know the distance and depth before anyone breaks concrete.
Sewer line repair and replacement
Spot repairs, full replacements and tunneling on collapsed or root-choked cast iron under slab homes.
Hydro jetting
High-pressure scouring for grease-packed kitchen lines and lines with recurring stoppages that snaking keeps reopening for a month at a time.
Water heater repair and replacement
Thermocouples, elements, valves, anode rods and full swaps. Hard water shortens tank life here, so we check scale on every call.
Tankless water heater installation
Gas sizing, venting, condensate and the descaling schedule that tankless units in this water absolutely require.
Slab leak detection and repair
Pressure isolation and acoustic locating to pinpoint the break, then reroute or open the slab depending on which costs you less.
Whole home repipe
PEX or copper replacement for homes with failing galvanized, pinhole leaks or water pressure that drops every time a second fixture opens.
Water and yard line replacement
Service line from the meter to the house, including the stretch under driveways that most companies would rather not quote.
Gas line repair and installation
New runs for ranges, dryers, pool heaters, generators and outdoor kitchens, pressure tested and permitted.
Pressure regulator replacement
City pressure on the west side can run high enough to shorten the life of every fixture in the house. A failed PRV is often the real cause.
Toilet, faucet and fixture work
Rebuilds, replacements, shutoff valve swaps and the supply lines that fail quietly behind a vanity for months.
Water softener and filtration hookups
Loop tie-ins, bypass installation and drain routing for softeners and whole-house filtration.
Find your shutoff now, not while the water is running
The single biggest factor in what a burst line costs you is how many minutes the water ran. Go look for these three things this week, while nothing is wrong. It takes ten minutes and it is the most useful thing on this page.
1. The house valve
Usually on the garage wall near the water heater, or on the exterior wall closest to it. Round handle or a lever. Turn it clockwise to close.
2. The hose bib side
On many west side slab homes the shutoff sits on the outside wall right where the service line enters, often within a few feet of a hose bib.
3. The meter box
Concrete or plastic lid near the curb. Inside, past the meter dial, is a valve that needs a meter key. Last resort, but it stops everything.
The first five minutes of a leak
- Close the house valve. Clockwise until it stops.
- Open the lowest faucet in the house to drain pressure out of the lines.
- If the water is anywhere near an outlet, panel or the water heater, kill the breaker.
- Photograph everything before you move a single thing. Your insurance will want it.
- Call us and describe where the water is coming from, not what you think broke.
Why west side plumbing fails the way it does
The west side is really two housing stocks with two completely different failure patterns, and the repair that's right in one is wrong in the other.
Inside Loop 410, through the older neighborhoods off Culebra and Bandera, you're dealing with cast iron drain lines installed in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Cast iron scales from the inside until the pipe wall goes paper thin, then the bottom channels out entirely. Add mature live oaks and hackberries pushing roots into every joint and you get the same house calling about the same main line stoppage twice a year. Snaking that line is a subscription, not a repair. Camera it, find out how much pipe is actually left, and make one decision.
Out past 1604 in Alamo Ranch, Westover Hills and the newer Culebra subdivisions, the pipe is PEX and the drain lines are PVC, so the failures move elsewhere: builder-grade pressure regulators giving out around year eight, water heaters scaled up early because nobody installed a softener loop, and angle stops under sinks that were never meant to last past the warranty period.
Both halves share two problems. The water off the Edwards Aquifer is genuinely hard, which is why tank heaters here rarely reach their rated life and why we check the anode rod on every heater call. And February 2021 taught everybody where the uninsulated lines were. We still repair freeze damage in attics and exterior walls from runs that should never have been routed where a builder put them.
Where work requires a permit, we pull it through the City of San Antonio Development Services Department. Unpermitted plumbing is the single most common thing that derails a west side closing, and it costs far more to unwind at the title company than it does to do right the first time.
How a call goes
No trip fee games, no diagnostic that mysteriously becomes a deposit on a repair you didn't approve.
You describe it
On the phone we sort emergency from schedulable and tell you honestly which one you have.
We diagnose it
Camera, pressure test or acoustic locate, whichever the symptom calls for. You watch the screen with us.
You get the price
Written scope, written number, options where real options exist. Nothing starts until you say go.
We repair and verify
Work completed, line rescoped or system repressurized to prove it, site cleaned, warranty documented.
Where we work
Based on Culebra Road near 1604, which puts most of the west and northwest side inside a short drive. Emergency response is fastest between 410 and 1604.
- Great Northwest
- Alamo Ranch
- Westover Hills
- Culebra Park
- Braun Station
- Silver Oaks
- Northwest Crossing
- Hunters Chase
- Meadow Village
- Ingram Hills
- Sky Harbour
- Woodlawn Hills
- Leon Valley
- Helotes
- Prue Road
- Stonegate
- Wildhorse
- Mystic Park
- Rainbow Hills
- Thunderbird Hills
ZIP codes served include 78251, 78250, 78253, 78254, 78228, 78229, 78238, 78240, 78245 and 78252.
Water running right now?
Close the house valve first, then call. Describing where the water is showing up gets a truck moving faster than describing what you think broke.
Call PHONE_DISPLAYQuestions we get first
Do you charge for an estimate?
For work we can quote from a walkthrough, no. Where the diagnosis itself is the work, a sewer camera run or a slab leak locate for instance, there is a charge for it, and we tell you that number on the phone before we dispatch. You own the findings either way.
How fast can you get here?
Same-day for emergencies across the west side, and typically within a couple of hours between 410 and 1604. If we cannot get to you in a window that makes sense for an active leak, we will say so rather than let you sit and wait.
My main line clogs twice a year. Is that normal?
No, and it is the clearest signal in plumbing. Repeat stoppages on the same line almost always mean pipe condition, root intrusion or a belly in the line, not habits. A camera run tells you which, and how much pipe is left. Snaking it again treats the symptom.
Do I really need a permit for a water heater?
Most replacement and relocation work in the city requires one. We pull it. The cost is minor next to what an unpermitted heater or repipe does to a sale during the option period.
How do I know if I have a slab leak?
Warm spots on the floor, the sound of running water with every fixture closed, a water bill that jumped without explanation, or the meter dial turning with the house shut off. We confirm by isolating and pressure testing, not by guessing at a spot to open.
Should I repipe or keep patching?
If you have had multiple pinhole leaks in different rooms, patching is buying time at a bad rate. One leak in one spot is a repair. A pattern across the house is a system at end of life, and we will show you why rather than assert it.
Will my water heater last longer with a softener?
Generally yes. Scale from hard water is what kills tank heaters early here. We check the anode rod and flush condition on every heater call and tell you where yours stands.
Do you work on commercial property?
Light commercial, yes. Retail, restaurant, office and small multifamily. Grease line jetting and scheduled drain maintenance can be set outside your operating hours.
Is the warranty in writing?
Yes. Parts and labor terms are documented on the invoice, with the scope of what was done and what was tested afterward. Nothing verbal.
Request service
Send the details and we will call you back to confirm a window. For an active leak, call instead. The phone is faster than any form.
Master Plumbing & Drain San Antonio
7870 Culebra Rd, San Antonio, TX 78251
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