MVP Plumbing works in Liberty and across Liberty County. Two jobs out here so far: a water leak under a house where an old freeze repair had let go, and a slow bathtub drain cleared of hair. Licensed master plumber, MPL 38224. Call 832-334-2836, 24 hours.
What have you actually done in Liberty?
Job notes · Liberty — leak under the house, old freeze repair replaced
A water leak underneath the house. The CPVC line had been repaired at some point after a freeze using a dresser coupling, and that was where it was leaking. We cut out a small section, put in new CPVC, and strapped it so the line could not move.
Job notes · Liberty — slow bathtub drain
A bathtub draining slowly. We ran a small hand machine down the line and cleared it, and removed hair from the tub shoe to get it draining properly.
A dresser coupling is how you get through the week, not a repair
This is worth explaining, because if you own an older house around here there is a reasonable chance one is under it.
A dresser coupling clamps over a pipe. Nothing is glued, nothing is soldered — it grips and seals with a gasket, and it can be fitted in minutes on a wet line by somebody who needs the water back on now. Which is exactly the situation after a hard freeze: a split line, a house with no water, and a queue of other houses in the same state.
So they get fitted, the water comes back on, and everybody moves on. The trouble is that a gasket clamped round a pipe is holding under pressure by friction, and it is now the weakest point on that line. Sooner or later it seeps, and because it is under the house nobody sees it until the meter or the bill says something.
It was fitted to get the water back on after a freeze. Years later it was still there, and it was the thing leaking.
The proper repair is not complicated: cut the affected section out, put new pipe in, glued and supported. On this job that was a small section of CPVC. Nothing dramatic — the point is that it is now pipe rather than a clamp.
Why we strapped it
Because a line that can move is a line that will eventually leak, and strapping is the cheapest part of the whole job.
Pipe under a house that is not properly supported flexes every time water moves through it and every time the ground shifts. That movement works at the joints, year after year, until one lets go. Fitting new pipe without supporting it means the repair is on a clock.
It is the same principle we work to under a slab, where new drain pipe gets anchored into the concrete with hangers so backfill cannot settle underneath it and create a belly. Same idea, different depth: hold the pipe where it is meant to be and it stays there. See water line repair and under-slab drain repair.
Worth checking after any hard freeze. If your house lost water in a freeze and somebody got it back on quickly, it is worth knowing what they actually did. A clamp fitted in an emergency is fine as an emergency measure. Left under the house for years, it is a leak waiting for a quiet moment.
A slow bathtub is almost always hair
The other Liberty job, and we are including it because the honest version of this call is short.
A tub that has gradually got slower is hair, nearly every time. It collects in the tub shoe — the fitting directly under the drain — and in the first stretch of line beyond it. The fix is a small hand machine down the line and clearing the shoe out by hand. On this one, both.
What it is not is a camera inspection, and it is not a jetting job. We size the machine to the line: a small drum for tubs and lavatories, a mid machine for kitchen sinks and washing machines, a large one for main sewer lines. Turning up to a tub full of hair with the big machine is theatre.
We camera a line when something actually warrants it — a line that keeps backing up, a suspected break, a belly the water is sitting in. A hairball does not warrant it. See drain cleaning and sewer camera inspection for where the line is.
Everything we do out here
Water heaters · tankless · drain cleaning · hydro jetting · sewer lines · water line repair · leak detection · repipes · fixtures and toilets · water treatment · gas · 24-hour emergency. Full list on services.
Getting out here
Liberty is the far end of our normal run, up past Dayton. We work up there and we are happy to come, but we will be straight with you about a very small job a long way out — sometimes there is somebody closer who should do it, and we would rather say that than charge you for the drive.
We answer 24 hours. For a burst line, the first thing we will do is walk you through shutting the water off before we even leave. See 24-hour emergency plumbing, or ask for a quote.
Common questions
What is a dresser coupling, and why is one on my water line?
It is a slip coupling that clamps over a pipe without being glued or soldered. They turn up as freeze repairs, because after a hard freeze people need water back on quickly and a dresser coupling does that in minutes. It is a way of getting through the week, not a permanent repair, and on a Liberty job we found one under the house that had started leaking.
So how do you repair it properly?
Cut the affected section out and put new pipe in, glued and supported. That is what we did on that job - a small section of CPVC replaced, and strapped so the line could not move.
Why does strapping the pipe matter?
Because unsupported pipe moves, and movement works joints loose over time. Strapping is the cheap part of the job and it is the part that decides whether you are looking at that repair again. We take the same approach under a slab, where new drain pipe gets anchored so backfill cannot settle a belly into it.
My bathtub is draining slowly. Is that a big job?
Usually not, and we would rather tell you that than sell you something. On a Liberty tub it was hair - a small hand machine down the line, and hair cleared out of the tub shoe. Ten minutes, not a camera inspection and not a jetting job.
Would you camera a slow tub drain?
No. We camera a line when something warrants it - a line that keeps backing up, a suspected break, a belly. A tub full of hair does not warrant it, and adding one to that invoice would be selling you a picture of a hairball.
Do you come out to Liberty for small jobs?
Call and ask, and we will be straight with you. Liberty is in our service area and we work up there. Sometimes the honest answer on a very small job a long way out is that there is somebody closer who should do it, and we will say so rather than take the trip.
Last updated · written by a licensed master plumber, MPL 38224