Galvanized replacement, copper pinholes, slab leaks, pressure regulators, and the underground service line from the meter.
Anything carrying water under pressure, from the meter to the fixture. Houses here built before about 1960 still have galvanized steel that rusts closed from the inside; slab-built homes from the sixties and seventies hide their copper in the concrete. We find leaks before opening anything, and reroute overhead far more often than we break a slab.
A mystery puddle, a spinning water meter, or a water bill that keeps climbing usually means a hidden leak. We locate leaks in walls, slabs, and yard lines with minimal disruption and repair them properly the first time. More on leak detection & repair in San Jose.
Many San Jose homes built before the 1970s still have original galvanized pipes that rust from the inside out, causing low pressure and discolored water. We repipe homes with copper or PEX, working room by room to keep your household running. More on whole-house repiping in San Jose.
Too much water pressure wears out fixtures and appliances early; too little makes every shower a disappointment. We test your pressure, replace failed regulators, and upgrade old shut-off valves so they work when you need them. More on water pressure & valves in San Jose.
The line running from your meter to the house is the one nobody thinks about until the water bill jumps or a wet patch shows up in the lawn that will not dry out. Older San Jose services were run in galvanized steel or thin-wall copper, and after fifty or sixty years in our soil they start weeping at the joints. We pull new water services in copper or PE, tie in at the meter, pressure-test the new line, and put the yard back. More on underground water mains in San Jose.
A lot of San Jose housing stock predates the sizes that are on the shelf today. When a fitting on a 1920s or 1950s system fails, the usual answer from a supply house is that the part has not been made in forty years, followed by a quote to repipe the whole run. Often that is not necessary. We cut, thread, and fabricate to match what is already in the wall, so a repair stays a repair. If a full repipe really is the better call, we will tell you that too. Either way, you should get the choice. More on obsolete pipe sizes & fabrication in San Jose.
Houses across Almaden, Blossom Valley, Cambrian and Santa Teresa were built slab-on-grade with the copper buried in the concrete. When one of those lines gives up there is a slab on top of it. We pressure-test, isolate the hot and cold sides, and pinpoint the spot acoustically before anybody touches concrete. Nine times out of ten we abandon the failed run and reroute overhead, which is faster and cheaper than breaking the floor. More on slab leak detection & repair in San Jose.
A pressure regulator is a diaphragm and a spring working constantly, and ten to fifteen years is a normal life. When it goes, street pressure comes through unrestricted, and in the foothill zones around Almaden, Santa Teresa, Berryessa and Alum Rock that can be well past what a house is built for. The tell is a run of small failures: toilet fill valves and supply hoses giving up in quick succession, and pipes banging when an appliance shuts off. More on pressure regulator replacement in San Jose.
The most expensive ten minutes in a plumbing emergency is the ten minutes spent looking for a shut-off that then refuses to turn. Old gate valves seize, and worse, some turn and then will not seal again. Finding that out on a Tuesday costs almost nothing; finding it out with water coming through a ceiling costs a great deal. Swapping a tired main valve for a quarter-turn ball valve is the cheapest insurance in the house. More on shut-off valve replacement in San Jose.
Describe what it is doing and we will tell you. Phone consultations do not cost anything, and if it is something you can sort out yourself we will say so.
We take emergency calls around the clock, seven days a week. Call at any hour and you get Dave, not an answering service reading off a script.
