Plumbers
Low pressure, rusty water and mystery leaks trace back to original galvanized pipe. We test first, then repair the section or repipe, your call.
Crestview plumbersPlumber, AC Repair & Electrician in Crestview, Austin, TX
Straight Answers for Crestview’s Postwar Ranch Homes
Between Burnet Road and North Lamar, the houses are seventy years old and the problems are predictable. Radiant fixes them with the price agreed before we start.
Service Area
Crestview, TX
Region
Austin & Central Texas
Plumbing, Cooling and Electrical for a 1950s Neighborhood
Crestview is a north-central Austin neighborhood, not a town, tucked between Burnet Road and North Lamar just south of Anderson Lane. It went up in the years after World War II as modest ranch houses on modest lots, and that is still the bones of the place, even as second stories, back additions and the occasional full rebuild have changed the skyline of individual streets. The Red Line stops at Crestview Station, and the Burnet Road restaurants are a walk away, which is a big part of why people stay and remodel rather than move.
Remodeling is also why they call Radiant. A kitchen expansion exposes galvanized supply lines that should have been replaced twenty years ago. A new bathroom needs a drain that the original cast iron cannot take. An added bedroom pushes the closet air handler past what it can cool. A tankless water heater or an EV charger needs circuits a 1950s panel does not have. Our plumbers, HVAC technicians and licensed electricians all cover Crestview, so you are not lining up three contractors for one project.
Every visit works the same way. A licensed, background-checked technician diagnoses the actual problem, explains it without jargon, and hands you a price before touching anything. You decide. If the honest answer is that a repair will hold for a few more years, that is what we will tell you. The Home Comfort Guarantee backs it.
- Ranch-house specialists Low attics, closet air handlers, crawlspaces and slab-on-grade all show up on the same block here, and we work in all of them.
- Plumbing, HVAC and electrical One licensed company for the three systems a remodel touches, with the same upfront pricing on each.
- Home Comfort Guarantee Accurate quotes honored for 72 hours, manager-reviewed HVAC installs, and a no-backup promise on drains.
Services We Bring to Crestview
The repairs and upgrades that seventy-year-old houses ask for, available any hour.
AC Repair
Closet air handlers and short duct runs struggle when a house gets bigger. We fix the breakdown and flag the design problem if there is one.
Fix my ACElectrical
Two-prong outlets, breakers that trip in the kitchen and panels with no room left. Licensed electricians, permitted and inspected work.
Electrical serviceDrain Cleaning
Cast iron drains and clay sewer lines under mature trees. We clear the stoppage and camera the line so you know whether it will hold.
Clear the drainFurnace Repair
Gas furnaces in hall closets and small attics, checked for cracked heat exchangers and failing igniters before the first cold front.
Furnace helpWater Heater Repair
Garage and closet tanks that have gone quiet, started rumbling or sprung a drip. Repaired when it makes sense, replaced when it does not.
Water heater serviceLeak Detection
Clay soil moves slabs and stresses old pipe. We locate slab and wall leaks electronically so the repair stays small.
Find the leakAC Installation
When the retrofit system is done, we design the replacement around the house you have now, including any additions, and finance it if you like.
Replacement optionsLocal Knowledge
What a Crestview Ranch House Is Working With
Galvanized and cast iron. The postwar builders used galvanized steel for supply and cast iron for drains, and both are near or past the end of their life. Galvanized corrodes shut from the inside, which is the low pressure you feel in the shower. Cast iron scales, then cracks along the bottom. A pressure test and a camera tell us how much is left. When the answer is not much, a whole-house repipe is a one-time fix instead of a leak every year.
Cooling that came later. Most Crestview houses got central air well after they were built, so the air handler is in a hall closet and the ducts go wherever they would fit. Returns are usually too small. Add a second story or a big back addition and the original system simply cannot keep up. A proper load calculation, sealed ducts and sometimes a second small system are the fixes; a bigger single unit rarely is.
Clay under the slab. The ground in this part of Austin holds enough clay to swell after a wet spring and shrink through a dry August. Foundations move with it, and the pipe in and under the slab does not always move gracefully. Sudden warm spots on the floor, a water bill that jumps, or a drain that starts slowing after a drought are worth a leak check.
Panels and circuits. A 1950s panel often has no spare slots and no grounding to speak of. Kitchen breakers trip, outlets are two-prong, and a modern remodel stacks new load onto old wire. Our Austin electricians evaluate the panel before you commit to appliances.
Winter. Crawlspace pipe and hose bibs on the north side froze across the neighborhood in February 2021. Insulation and a shutoff you can reach in the dark are worth an afternoon.
Crestview and North-Central Austin
Burnet Road to North Lamar, Justin Lane to Anderson Lane, along with Brentwood, Allandale and the surrounding north-central streets.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Austin
HVAC
Last Chance HVAC Tune-up $59
Expires 12/31/2026
Austin
Plumbing
$50 Off Your Plumbing Call
Expires 12/31/2026
Austin
Electrical
$750 Off Electrical Panel Upgrade
Expires 12/31/2026
Both Locations
HVAC
Up to $200 off Duct Cleaning
Expires 12/31/2026
Both Locations
HVAC
$99 Furnace Tune-Up
Expires 12/31/2026
Both Locations
Whole-Home
$50 Off Any Service
Expires 12/31/2026
Nearby Service Areas
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the water pressure so weak in my 1950s Crestview house, especially when two things run at once?
Almost always it is galvanized steel supply pipe. Over seventy years, rust and mineral scale build up on the inside until a three-quarter-inch line is passing water through an opening the size of a pencil. Pressure at the meter can be perfectly normal and the shower still fades the moment the washing machine fills. We confirm it with a pressure test and a look at the pipe where it is exposed, and we check the pressure regulator too, because a failed one produces similar symptoms for far less money. If it is the pipe, the fix is replacing it, either the worst runs or the whole house, and you get both priced.
We want to add a second story to our Crestview house. Will the existing air conditioner and ductwork handle it?
Probably not, and it is worth knowing before the framing goes up. The original system was sized, loosely, for a 1,200-square-foot single-story house with a closet air handler and short duct runs. Doubling the square footage and adding a hot upstairs changes the load completely. We run a proper calculation on the finished plans and give you options: a second system dedicated to the new floor, a zoned replacement for the whole house, or ductless heads upstairs. Each has a real price attached. Details on sizing and design are on our Austin AC installation page, and installs over $3,000 are quality-reviewed by a manager.
The kitchen breaker trips when the microwave and the toaster run at the same time. Is that dangerous?
The breaker doing its job is not dangerous; what it is telling you might be. In a 1950s Crestview kitchen, one 15- or 20-amp circuit often feeds every counter outlet, so two heating appliances at once is simply more than it was built for. The concern is what has been done since: a breaker swapped for a bigger one to stop the tripping, or aluminum and copper mixed in a junction box. Our licensed electricians open the panel, check the wire gauge and connections, and usually recommend dedicated kitchen circuits. If the panel itself is out of space or out of date, we price a replacement as a separate option, not a requirement.
Do you camera the sewer line before recommending a replacement in Crestview?
Yes, every time. A sewer replacement in an established neighborhood means trenching a yard or an alley easement under mature trees, and nobody should sign up for that on a guess. After we clear the stoppage, we run a camera through the lateral and show you the footage: root intrusion at the joints, a belly holding water, a cracked or collapsed section, or a line that is honestly fine and just needed cleaning. The recommendation follows the video. Where a single section is bad, a spot repair costs a fraction of a full replacement, and either way our work carries the no-backup promise.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
Our 18 year old HVAC system finally gave out this past week, so we reached out to Radiant to see what could be done. They sent a tech out named Bryan the same day, and he did a great job looking over the entire HVAC system. He was friendly and helpful in explaining everything that he saw, and our options moving forward. We decided to replace the entire system, so we met with Jacob (same day thankfully) to find the best HVAC system for our needs. Jacob was friendly, professional, and did a great job explaining the different options on offer. Radiant was able to set-up next day install, which was much appreciated, because the temps were still going to be cold in the coming days.
The install team consisted of Carlos and Pablo, who were very courteous and professional, and were kind enough to answer any questions I had regarding the install. They did a great job installing our new HVAC system, and were tidy which is always appreciated! Before they left, they explained everything that had been done, and showed me photos of the work.
Our entire experience from start to finish was great. I appreciate that they send photos of who is coming to your home too. Friendly, kind, professional team members, and good work all the way around. Thanks Radiant!
The install team consisted of Carlos and Pablo, who were very courteous and professional, and were kind enough to answer any questions I had regarding the install. They did a great job installing our new HVAC system, and were tidy which is always appreciated! Before they left, they explained everything that had been done, and showed me photos of the work.
Our entire experience from start to finish was great. I appreciate that they send photos of who is coming to your home too. Friendly, kind, professional team members, and good work all the way around. Thanks Radiant!
★★★★★
This is the first time I’ve used radiant my neighbor recommended them…. I called them today and they set me up an appointment on the same day. I was totally shocked at that and the service call was only $39!!…. Highly recommend them Danielle showed up and he was a great guy and he put up with all my wishy-washiness and I had to hurry him because I was heading to church and he got caught in a lot of traffic getting here he even would’ve installed the part that broke but I Didn’t have the time tonight….. He was patient with me and just told me to call the office first thing in the morning and get a service call set up…. Thank you so much Radiant!!….
With another cold front coming in tomorrow now I just hope they can get me scheduled for a separate call tomorrow but I have a feeling they will. They are such a great company!!😊😊
With another cold front coming in tomorrow now I just hope they can get me scheduled for a separate call tomorrow but I have a feeling they will. They are such a great company!!😊😊
★★★★★
I had Radiant Plumbing replace my tankless water heater, damaged in the Feb. 2021 snowmageddon storm with a new unit. The process was smooth and professional from start to finish. The plumber, James, was extremely knowledgeable and thoroughly explained my options to me. The cost and time to perform the installation were just as estimated. When he was done, James explained how to maintain the system, what service would be needed and how to perform it, and answered all of my engineering geek questions. It was a thoroughly positive experience. I have used several different plumbers in Austin over the past 15 yrs, but my search is over - I will not hesitate to call Radiant next time and would recommend them unreservedly.
8/9/23 Update: I have subsequently used Radiant for a toilet repair, faucet installation (Danny), and drain work (Ezekiel) and they have continued to impress with knowledgeable, friendly plumbers and quality work.
8/9/23 Update: I have subsequently used Radiant for a toilet repair, faucet installation (Danny), and drain work (Ezekiel) and they have continued to impress with knowledgeable, friendly plumbers and quality work.
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