Plumbers in Denton

The Denton County Office of Emergency Management publishes winter storm preparation guidance, and the stakes are real: Texas health officials confirmed 246 deaths related to the February 2021 winter storm. A fall visit from a plumber can cover what the guidance can't: wrapping exposed lines in the attic and garage, checking hose bibbs and showing everyone in the house where the main shutoff is.

HomeGuide puts a burst-pipe repair at $400 to $2,000 nationally, or about $150 to $250 per linear foot of pipe, before any drywall or flooring repair. Ask the plumber to price pipe insulation on the same visit.

After a Denton freeze

If you end up calling a plumber you have never used, check the license before anyone opens a wall, and get a written invoice; Texas requires one when the job is done.

State law requires every Texas city of more than 5,000 people to regulate plumbing, water heaters included, by ordinance and to require a permit. Only small jobs, such as fixing leaks or replacing faucets, ballcocks, garbage disposals or toilets, are exempt. Denton is well past that size, so a water heater or repiping job should come with a permit number.

The company's Responsible Master Plumber pulls the permit and requests inspections, and the permit office must confirm with TSBPE that the RMP's certificate of insurance is on file. Ask the plumber for the permit number and confirm it with the City of Denton. Cities may amend the plumbing code they adopt, and installed work must be inspected by a licensed plumbing inspector.

The closest published local figure is HomeGuide's Dallas guide: most residential jobs $182 to $500, about $340 on average, with hourly rates of $45 to $200 and service calls of $100 to $250. Nationally, HomeGuide says average jobs run $125 to $450 with call fees of $50 to $200. Neither is a Denton survey, so get two quotes for anything beyond a call-out.

Our Texas plumbers guide has the full cost table and license types.

1. Search TSBPE's Public License Search by name, license number, city or county. TSBPE's Find-a-Plumber map, built with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, also locates licensed plumbers.
2. Check that the proposal shows the Responsible Master Plumber's name and license number plus TSBPE's name, address and phone. The RMP must keep at least $300,000 of general liability insurance on file.
3. Look for the company name and the RMP's license number on the service vehicle.
4. Ask whether the crew includes apprentices; they must be registered with TSBPE.

A plumber may reconnect a water heater on an existing circuit, but new electrical work needs an electrician. Complaints go to TSBPE at (512) 936-5200.

Denton new builds, backflow and owner work

On new construction, or after material changes to the lines, a TCEQ customer service inspection looks for cross-connections, contamination hazards and illegal lead materials before water service starts. Testing or repairing a backflow prevention assembly takes a separate TCEQ license, good for three years, so ask to see it. If you own and live in the house, Texas doesn't require a plumbing license for work in your own homestead, but check the city's permit rules first.

If a leak turns out to be the AC drain, see AC repair in Denton; for the next town east, plumbers in Little Elm. More local notes are on the Denton page.