Cities We Serve
Austin Area:
San Antonio Area:
Not seeing your area? Give us a call at (833) 656-4056
The Busiest Plumbing in the House
More Water Runs Through Your Kitchen Than Anywhere Else
The kitchen sink handles dishwater, grease, coffee grounds, the disposal, the dishwasher discharge and, in a lot of homes, the refrigerator’s water line, all through one cabinet and one drain. When something in that cabinet fails, the kitchen stops working and the floor under it starts getting wet. Radiant’s licensed plumbers have been sorting out kitchen plumbing across Austin, San Antonio and Central Texas since 1999, from a five-minute trap reseal to a full remodel rough-in.
Two local things make kitchen plumbing here a little harder than it looks. Our water is hard, so aerators, cartridges, dishwasher inlet valves and ice-maker solenoids scale up and fail early. And grease that goes down the drain warm sets up cold inside the line, which is why a kitchen drain that “slows down every few months” usually has a buildup that a plunger can’t reach. We fix the symptom you called about and tell you plainly what is likely to come next, so you can decide with the numbers in front of you.
Every kitchen job comes with a written price before we start and the Home Comfort Guarantee behind it. If a drain we clear backs up again and it is related to our work, we come back and make it right at no charge.
- Every line under the sink Supplies, shutoffs, trap, disposal, dishwasher tailpiece, filter and fridge line. One plumber, one visit, no hand-offs.
- You approve the price first We diagnose, explain the options and put the price in writing. Nothing gets replaced until you say so.
- Home Comfort Guarantee If we cannot resolve the problem, you receive a 10% inconvenience refund, up to $1,000.
What to Watch For
Kitchen Plumbing Problems Worth a Call
Most kitchen failures announce themselves quietly first. Catching them at this stage is the cheap version.
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The sink drains slowly on both sides
A clog past the trap, in the branch line behind the wall. Grease and soap scum narrow it a little every year until the plunger stops helping.
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The cabinet floor is damp or swollen
A weeping supply connection, a cracked trap or a disposal seal. Particleboard cabinets swell fast, so this is worth a same-day look.
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A sewer smell from the drain
Either grease and food rotting in the line, or a trap that has lost its water seal. Both are fixable; only one needs a drain machine.
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Weak flow from the kitchen faucet only
Usually a scaled aerator or cartridge, or a partly closed shutoff valve. If it is the whole house, that is a water pressure question.
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Water standing in the dishwasher after a cycle
The drain hose, the disposal knockout or the air gap is blocked. It is a plumbing problem more often than an appliance problem.
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The ice maker stopped or the fridge water tastes off
A kinked or scaled supply line, a failed saddle valve or a filter long past its date. Saddle valves are a common source of slow leaks behind the fridge.
What We Handle
Kitchen Plumbing Repairs, Replacements and Rough-Ins
From the shutoff valves to the drain behind the wall, and the remodel work that ties it all together.
- Sink and drain repair Traps, tailpieces, basket strainers, drain lines and the leaks that show up as a warped cabinet floor.
- Kitchen faucets and sprayers Cartridge and sprayer repair, pull-down hose replacement, and new faucet installation with proper supply lines and shutoffs.
- Garbage disposals Jams, leaks, dead motors and full replacements, sized for how your household actually cooks.
- Dishwasher hookups Supply, drain and air gap or high loop, done so the dishwasher drains and never siphons dirty water back in.
- Refrigerator and ice-maker lines Replacing saddle valves with a proper shutoff, running new lines and adding an inline filter where the water calls for one.
- Gas lines for ranges and cooktops Running or extending gas to a new range, with a shutoff at the appliance and a pressure test before it goes into service.
- Remodel rough-in Moving the sink to the island, adding a pot filler or prep sink, and updating old drain lines while the walls are open.
- Under-sink filtration Reverse osmosis and filter systems installed with a dedicated faucet, plumbed so they do not steal pressure from the main tap.
How It Works
A Kitchen Plumbing Visit, Start to Finish
Straightforward, priced in advance, and cleaned up when we leave.
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Tell us what the kitchen is doing
A slow drain, a leak, a new appliance to hook up, a remodel plan. We book a window that fits your day, any day of the week.
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We check the whole cabinet
The plumber looks at supplies, shutoffs, trap, disposal and dishwasher connection together, because a kitchen leak often has two sources.
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You get a written price
Repair or replace, with the cost of each spelled out. The quote is honored for 72 hours if you want to think it over.
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We fix it and test it
We run water through every connection we touched, check for drips, wipe down the cabinet and haul off the old parts.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Kitchen Sink Out of Commission?
A licensed plumber can be on the way today, with no surprise fees on evenings or weekends.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
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.
★★★★★
We called Radiant Plumbing after we noticed a water leak in our kitchen. We were in a time crunch and they were able to schedule us quickly, before we left for vacation. They sent their representative, Preston Nichols, and he was excellent to deal with! He was on time, skillful, friendly, and very professional. It turned out to be a problem with our dishwasher but Preston was quick to diagnose it and set our minds at ease. While he was here, we mentioned that our one year-old water heater needed to be flushed. Preston was quick to take care of that, as well, saving us time and money in the process. Radiant charged us almost half the price another plumber quoted us for that service! While Radiant Plumbing isn’t our usual plumber, they gained a new customer. We won’t hesitate to call Radiant again in the future based on our VERY positive experience with them.
★★★★★
Had 3 different systems installed by them approx. 3 years ago for a total of approx $20k. I was quite happy with the install until the year later when they came for a maintenance call and started finding deficiencies in their own install. they wanted extra money to address those deficiencies. Now I am in the process of selling my home and an inspector has found a few items that need to be addressed and they will not even look at the report unless I schedule a $139.00 service call. Very poor customer service.. This company does not stand by their work and would not recommend.
I am revising my review of this business from 1 to 5 stars. After my original review I was contacted by the company's service manager and he made sure that I was taken care off. I had a team of 3 technicians coming to my house to double check the system and make the necessary adjustments. I was very satisfied by their attention to details and professionalism.
I am revising my review of this business from 1 to 5 stars. After my original review I was contacted by the company's service manager and he made sure that I was taken care off. I had a team of 3 technicians coming to my house to double check the system and make the necessary adjustments. I was very satisfied by their attention to details and professionalism.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Kitchen Plumbing Questions
Why does my kitchen sink drain slowly even after I cleaned the trap?
Because the clog is usually not in the trap. Kitchen drains fail in the branch line behind the wall, where grease cools and hardens on the pipe and soap scum and food particles build on top of it. The trap is just the first place you can reach. If both bowls drain slowly, or the dishwasher backs up into the sink, the restriction is downstream of the trap. We clear it with a drain machine and, for lines that have narrowed over years, hydrojetting that scours the grease off the pipe wall instead of poking a hole through it. That is the difference between a fix that lasts and one you repeat every few months.
Can you move the sink or add a second sink during a kitchen remodel?
Yes. Relocating a sink means running new supply lines and, more importantly, a new drain with a vent, which is where a lot of DIY and handyman island sinks go wrong. Without a proper vent the sink gurgles, drains slowly and pulls the trap dry. Our plumbers rough in island sinks, prep sinks, pot fillers and bar sinks to code and coordinate with your contractor so the plumbing is done before the cabinets and countertops go in. In slab homes, which is most of Central Texas, moving a drain can mean cutting the slab, so we look at the route with you before you commit to a layout.
There is water under my kitchen sink. Where is it coming from?
Dry everything with a towel, then run each thing separately: the faucet, the sprayer, the disposal, and finally a dishwasher cycle. Whichever run leaves water tells you the source. The usual suspects are the sprayer hose (drips inside the cabinet when the faucet runs), a supply connection or shutoff valve (wet all the time), the trap or tailpiece (wet when the sink drains) and the disposal body or flange (wet when the disposal runs). If the cabinet floor is already soft, turn off the shutoffs and call. We will find every source, not just the first one, because a cabinet that has been wet a while often has two.
Do you hook up refrigerator water lines and pot fillers?
We do. For refrigerators, we replace the self-piercing saddle valve that came with a lot of installs, which is a known slow-leak point, with a proper quarter-turn shutoff and a braided or copper line. For a pot filler, we run a dedicated cold line to the wall above the range with a shutoff you can reach. Because our water in Austin and San Antonio is so hard, we will also talk with you about an inline filter for the fridge and about a whole-home softener if you are tired of scale on every fixture in the kitchen.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
