Plumber in Converse and Universal City, TX

Towns that grew up beside Randolph

Universal City began as farmland bought in 1929 by investors betting on the coming airfield, and Randolph Field opened in 1931. Building took off after 1957, when Air Training Command moved its headquarters there and on-base housing ran short. The Rose Garden subdivision broke ground that year, and the town incorporated in 1960. Its mayor notes that many veterans who served at Randolph stayed on.

Converse, across Loop 1604 from the base, went from fewer than 1,400 residents in 1970 to more than 27,000 in 2020, so most of its homes are younger.

Older Universal City houses

A Rose Garden-era home is now past sixty, and some original plumbing may remain. Houses then commonly had galvanized steel water pipe, which narrows with rust from inside, and cast iron drains, which scale, split along the bottom and admit roots. Watch for:

• weak flow or brown water at some faucets;
• a main drain that slows every few months or gurgles;
• a sewer smell with no obvious source;
• stop valves that won't turn, or drip once turned.

A camera inspection shows whether one section needs a sewer line repair or the whole run should go, and repiping restores the pressure that rust took.

Newer Converse homes and builder coverage

Converse's newer homes typically sit on slabs with plastic supply and drain lines. Installation slips tend to surface early. Before that builder coverage runs out, a plumbing walk-through is worth booking. Typical findings:

• a water heater with no drain pan, or a relief line that dead-ends in a wall;
• an expansion tank that has lost its air charge;
• a toilet that rocks on a low flange.

While the builder's coverage lasts, take what we find to the builder first; once it ends, we can make the repairs.

Slab leaks on shifting clay

Much of Bexar County's ground is dark, cracking clay that the Handbook of Texas rates high for shrinking and swelling. Soil like this pulls back in dry summers and swells after rain, and over the years that movement can crack a pipe joint under a slab. The yard line from the meter sits in the same soil; see water line repair.

Clues: a hiss with every tap closed, a bill that jumps, or a warm patch on the floor. We use leak detection to find the spot before any concrete is cut; then we repair through the floor or reroute through the attic. More on slab leaks and foundation leaks.

Water and sewer: who handles which part

The City of Universal City supplies its own water, mostly from the Edwards Aquifer, with Carrizo-Wilcox water through the Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation as an alternate source. Its sewage east of roughly Pat Booker Road is treated by the Cibolo Creek Municipal Authority, the rest by the San Antonio River Authority. In Converse, your water bill names your supplier.

If neighbors are backing up too, call the sewer provider listed on your utility bill first. If it's only your house, the clog is usually in your own line; drain cleaning clears it. Hard water is common here; see hard water and softeners.

When it can't wait

Water you can't stop, a burst pipe, a gas smell or sewage rising in a drain: call at any hour and we send our on-call plumber right away. Anything else is booked when it suits you. Meanwhile:

1. Close the main shutoff: the house valve if you have one, or the valve in the meter box by the street.
2. For a leaking water heater, close the cold inlet on top and turn it off.

Renting near the base? Find the shutoff in your first week, and report any leak to the property manager.

See burst pipe steps and emergency plumbing.

Local questions

Call for service in Converse or Universal City

• Slab leaks and new water lines
• Water heater repair and replacement
• Clogged drains and sewer lines
• Gas line repair and toilets

New customers save $50 and a new water heater installation is $150 off (terms on the coupons page). Next door: Schertz and Cibolo, or see all service areas.