Same Day Service Available in Fort Worth

Licensed Plumbers in Keller, TX

Exposed water main with a gate valve in an excavated trench

Plumbing in Keller has a local enemy under the house. The USDA soil survey flags high shrink-swell at 17 of the 23 points we sampled inside the city, and the pipes under a slab foundation take the strain every time that clay swells and dries. Our licensed plumbers find and fix slab leaks, clear drains, repair sewer and gas lines and handle Keller’s backflow rules, and we give you a flat, upfront price before we pick up a wrench. Call us at 817-290-3373, day or night. Outside Keller, we bring the same plumbing repairs and installations to homes across Fort Worth.

The Clay Under Keller's Slabs

The USDA’s soil data rates the Crosstell and Aubrey soils inside Keller as very limited for houses built on concrete slabs, and Crosstell turned up more often than any other soil in our sample, at 5 of the 23 points. Not all of Keller is clay: 6 points landed on sandy Gasil or Silstid soils that the survey does not flag for shrink-swell, so where a house sits changes how hard the ground works on its pipes. Clay like this swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, and a slab foundation moves with it. Keller’s housing is young, with a median home built in 1999, but that is still more than 25 years of wet and dry seasons working on the same water lines. Plumbing is one of three trades we cover in Keller, and the heating, cooling and wiring side of Keller HVAC, plumbing & electrical service runs through the same office.

Keller’s plumbing code reflects that ground. The city amends the plumbing code so that metallic piping may not sit in direct contact with concrete, masonry or corrosive soil. Where sheathing is used to keep it apart, the sheathing must be at least 8 mil thick, and where the pipe passes through concrete, it has to be installed so the pipe can move within the sheathing.

Tile floor broken open to expose drain lines in the slab

Sewer Lines and Drains Under Keller Rules

Keller sets its own depth and bedding rules for the pipe that carries waste out to the city main. A building sewer must be at least 12 inches below grade. Plastic sewer and drain pipe laid underground goes in a trench of controlled width, bedded in 4 inches of granular fill and backfilled in compacted 6-inch layers to at least 6 inches over the top of the pipe.

For slow drains throughout the house, gurgling or sewage smells, we camera-inspect the main line, then clear it with snaking or hydro jetting, or repair the section that failed.

PVC drain line exposed under a cut-open concrete slab

Signs of a Slab Leak in a Keller Home

  • A water bill that jumps for no reason
  • A warm or damp spot on the floor
  • The sound of running water with every tap closed
  • A water meter that keeps turning when nothing is on

We locate the leak with electronic and acoustic equipment before anyone opens up a floor, then recommend the least invasive repair: a spot repair through the slab, a reroute of that one line, or a repipe if the pipe itself is failing.

Permits, Licenses and Re-inspections in Keller

Much plumbing work in Texas legally requires a licensed plumber, and Keller adds its own check: a plumbing contractor must register with the city, show a current state license and carry liability insurance or a bond of $300,000 per occurrence before working there. Keller’s fee schedule lists a $100 plumbing permit for miscellaneous work such as a water heater when no building permit covers it, and a $50 re-inspection fee, charged only after an inspection fails more than once for the same violation. Our master plumber license is M-46192.

Keller Problems We Solve, and How

Irrigation backflow. Keller’s code replaces the lighter vacuum-breaker options for lawn irrigation with a double-check backflow preventer assembly or a reduced pressure zone (RPZ) assembly, and where chemicals are fed into an irrigation system, the plumbing amendments require a reduced pressure principle backflow preventer. If you are adding or changing a sprinkler system, the backflow device is part of the job, and Keller lists a $50 residential irrigation permit.

Cross connections the city can require you to fix. A Keller cross connection inspector decides what backflow assembly a property needs, and the code lists the triggers, including a property with an auxiliary water supply such as a private well, and plumbing changes made without the required permits. If a notice arrives, our licensed plumbers can make the plumbing changes it calls for.

Gas lines. We handle gas leak detection and repair. Keller requires underground gas piping to be buried at least 18 inches and new piping to pass a pressure test before it goes into service. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 and your gas utility from outside first.

A roof vent cut short. Keller amends the plumbing code so an open vent pipe through the roof ends at least 6 inches above the roof. If a reroof left a plumbing vent buried or trimmed flush, point it out when you book.

Water bought from Fort Worth. EPA drinking water records list the City of Keller system as purchased surface water, treated by the City of Fort Worth and piped in through Southlake, with the city’s old wells shown as inactive or plugged. The system serves about 46,300 people through 15,815 connections. Low pressure at a single fixture, while the rest of the house is fine, points to your own plumbing, and that is a problem our plumbers can trace.

Water Heaters and Gas Lines Across Keller

A tank water heater in a Keller attic cannot be replaced in the same spot, which is why water heater replacement in Keller often starts with where the new one can legally go. The gas line that feeds a furnace is plumbing work too, and when a no-heat call turns out to be the gas supply, our plumbers and Keller furnace technicians work it together.

Gas meter and new gas piping on the side of a home
FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

No. In our USDA soil sample, 17 of 23 points inside Keller were flagged for high shrink-swell, mostly Crosstell, Rader and Wilson soils, and 6 points were sandy Gasil or Silstid soils the survey does not flag. The clay areas are where the ground moves most with wet and dry spells.

A double-check backflow preventer assembly or a reduced pressure zone assembly. If chemicals are fed into the system, a reduced pressure principle backflow preventer is required.

From Fort Worth. EPA records list the City of Keller water system as treated surface water bought from the City of Fort Worth and delivered through Southlake, and they show the city’s old wells as inactive or plugged.

As old as the house, unless they have been replaced. The median Keller home was built in 1999, and 53 percent were built between 1990 and 2009, so most lines under Keller slabs have been in the ground for 17 to 36 years.

Keller’s plumbing amendments require an open vent pipe through the roof to end at least 6 inches above the roof. Mention it when you book, and our licensed plumbers (license M-46192) can bring it back up to that height.

Call a Keller Plumber

Book online or call us at 817-290-3373. We answer around the clock for plumbing emergencies.

◆ Help Is On The Way

The Astar Truck Will Be at Your Curb Today.

Same day appointments across Fort Worth & Tarrant County. Fully-stocked trucks, friendly uniformed techs, upfront flat-rate pricing, call now and we’ll be there.

24/7 emergency line Read our Google reviews
817-290-3373
Astar service van in the company's blue and red wrap
Avg. ETA < 90 minin Fort Worth