Plumber in Lancaster, TX

An old town with mostly younger houses

Lancaster is one of the four cities that founded the Best Southwest partnership in southern Dallas County, with Duncanville, DeSoto and Cedar Hill, and the 2020 census counted 41,275 people. First settled in 1844, the city keeps its 1911 Interurban Building, once home to the interurban railway, as its visitors center.

Census Bureau estimates for 2020 to 2024 count about 15,500 housing units with a median build year of 1991: about one in five built before 1970, nearly half from 1970 to 1999 and about a third since 2000. The 2000s were the busiest decade, and close to four in five are detached houses.

City neighborhoods include Millbrook Estates, Rolling Meadows, Lancaster Mills and Glendover Estates. Landmarks include the Historic Town Square (badly damaged in the April 1994 tornado), Lancaster Regional Airport on Ferris Road, Bear Creek Nature Park and the Dallas College Cedar Valley Campus.

Common plumbing problems by build year

Before 1970

Galvanized steel water pipe rusts shut from the inside, leaving weak, tinted water, and cast-iron drains scale up and crack. A camera inspection shows a drain's condition before anyone digs, and repiping replaces supply lines past saving.

1970 to 1999

The largest group in town. Copper from these years can get pinhole leaks, and the gray polybutylene found in some houses of this era usually gives out at its crimped joints first. Suspect water under the slab? Leak detection pins down the spot so slab leak repair opens as little floor as possible; the FAQ below lists the warning signs.

2000 and later

The piping is mostly plastic, but the parts around it are aging. A tank water heater that came with a 2004 house is past 20 years old, appliance hoses turn brittle and buried sprinkler lines crack. See water heater repair or replacement.

All sit on the expansive clay common in Dallas County, which shrinks in drought and swells after rain and strains buried sewer and water lines.

Lancaster water, sewer and billing rules

Lancaster buys its water from Dallas Water Utilities, and the city's Utility Billing department puts water, sewer, stormwater and trash on one monthly bill. Two city rules matter when something leaks:

• Winter averaging. Your average water use from December to February sets the most sewer use the city bills you for in the year starting April 1, so a toilet running all winter keeps sewer charges up for twelve months.
• Leak adjustments. Utility Billing may credit part of a high bill after a concealed leak: in a buried service or sprinkler line, in a wall or under the house. Toilets, faucets and sprinkler heads normally don't qualify, each address gets one credit a year, and the city wants a receipt with the repair date and location.

Report a stoppage you think is in the city's sewer main to the City of Lancaster's Water Utility Field Operations office. Lancaster issues its own permits and inspects under the 2021 International Plumbing Code, so when a job needs a permit, the plumber doing the work pulls it with the City of Lancaster, not Dallas.

Services Lancaster customers ask for

• Water line repair for buried service lines
• Drain cleaning and sewer line repair
• Toilets, faucets and water pressure
• Commercial plumbing for shops, offices and restaurants

How emergencies work in Lancaster

Office hours 8 AM–11 PM daily · 24/7 emergency service. If a pipe bursts, sewage backs up or water won't stop, call (844) 313-1397 at any hour and we send our on-call plumber right away. Meanwhile, close the main shut-off and open a low faucet. More help: burst pipe, sewage in the tub, overflowing toilet.

DFW's average first freeze comes around November 22, and Winter Storm Uri burst pipes across the Dallas area in February 2021. Wrap exposed pipes early; see the freeze prep checklist and frozen pipes.

Lancaster plumbing FAQ

Book a plumber in Lancaster

When you call (844) 313-1397, give us the ZIP (75134 or 75146) and what you've noticed so far. New customers save $50. Seniors, military members and first responders save 10%. The dispatch fee is $0 when you go ahead with a repair, and a new water heater is $150 off (terms on the coupons page). Other towns: all service areas.