Find Houston-area plumbers — and see which ones we've confirmed with the business.

Hiring a plumber in Houston

Plumbing is one of the few trades in Texas with real licensing behind it. The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners licenses plumbers, and a company doing residential work operates under a Responsible Master Plumber — the RMP number. It is public and you can verify it with the state in about a minute.

Ask for the RMP number before anyone opens a wall. A plumber who has one will tell you immediately.

What Houston soil does to your plumbing

Houston sits on expansive clay. It swells when it is wet and shrinks when it is dry, and it moves your foundation with it — which means it also moves the drain lines running underneath. Cast iron installed before the mid-1970s is often at the end of its life here, and the failure pattern is slow: a bellied line that holds water, then repeated backups that clearing never quite fixes.

The single most useful thing you can ask for is a camera inspection after a drain clearing. A clog that comes back three times in a year is not a clog, it is a symptom, and a camera tells you which one you have before you pay for a fourth visit. Some drain specialists include the camera as standard; that is worth paying attention to, because it is normally an upsell.

Two more Houston notes

• Hard water. Most of the region runs hard, and it shortens water heater life and furs up fixtures. If a plumber recommends a softener, ask them to show you the grain hardness for your address rather than quoting a general figure.
• Emergency pricing. Ask whether the after-hours rate is a flat call-out or an hourly premium, and get the number before they dispatch. At 11pm on a Sunday nobody wants that conversation on the doorstep.