- LicensedTexas Master Plumber 40980
- On call 24/7Licensed plumbers for emergencies
- Brazos ValleyCollege Station, Bryan and nearby
Managing plumbing you do not live with is a different problem from fixing your own. The person who reports the fault, the person who decides what happens and the person who pays for it are usually three different people. So a manager needs more than competent work.
They need access that gets arranged, and decisions made at the right level. They also need a written record that survives a conversation with an owner six months later.
4L Contracting works with landlords, property managers and multi family communities across College Station, Bryan and the nearby Brazos Valley communities. Written pricing comes before authorized work begins.
Call 979-473-9775Request an Appointment
WHAT CHANGES WHEN THE PLUMBING IS NOT YOUR OWN HOME
The plumbing work itself does not change. A water heater in a rental fails the same way it fails in an owner-occupied house, so what changes is everything around the work. A tenant reports a symptom secondhand and may not be there when the plumber arrives. A manager has to authorize a cost without seeing the fault directly. An owner reads the invoice without ever meeting the plumber. A lease decides who is responsible for what. The pages that describe the actual repair and installation work are residential plumbing and commercial plumbing. This page describes how that work gets arranged when the property is managed. The person reporting the fault is not the person paying for it.
TURNOVER BETWEEN TENANTS, AND THE PLUMBING THAT DECIDES A MOVE-IN DATE
Turnover is where plumbing costs a manager real money, because a unit that cannot be handed over is a unit that is not earning. A few things tend to hold a turnover up. A water heater that has quietly failed while the unit was empty. A slow or blocked drain that only shows when the unit is used again. A running toilet or dripping fixture that a walkthrough catches and a previous tenant did not report. Damage found behind an appliance after it is finally moved. We would rather look at a vacant unit while the walls and floors are already being worked on. The alternative is being called back once the new tenant is in. Access is free in an empty unit and expensive in an occupied one.
What our customers say
Published exactly as written, straight from Google.
Found late Friday evening that I did not have hot water, and it was the weekend... YIKES!! Contacted 4L Contracting LLC; they came out within a couple of hours and had me working in a short time. Lee went above and beyond, letting me know about other problems identified in my attic, a problem with my chimney, and a heating vent installation problem. After he left, I found a water leak in the laundry room ceiling. He turned around and came back to my house. He found the air conditioning drain pipe was backed up. He blew it out the drain pipe, preventing a big disaster. So appreciate his thoroughness and helping me on a Friday after-hours house call. He definitely went above and beyond.
I had a great experience working with 4L Contracting LLC. They were awesome to work with, they were professional, responsive, and clearly knew what they were doing. We had a massive leak that needed immediate attention, and they showed up quickly and handled it efficiently. They not only fixed the issue fast but also made sure everything was done right. I would absolutely recommend them to anyone needing reliable, high quality work!
Used 4L Contracting the first time a couple years ago and since then they have replaced a water heater, reset toilets, replaced water lines, and located and fixed a leak under the house! They have been amazing to work with over the years, I cannot recommend these guys enough!
Water Softener installation Completed! Just wanted to give a shout out to Kurt and Lane on their outstanding customer service today. I hired 4L Contracting LLC to install a water softener in our home. After finding out the water softener I had purchased was missing parts, the job was rescheduled for Monday. I was able to return the water softener and get a replacement fairly quick. So I sent a text to Kurt, letting him know I had done so. He informed me they were nearby and could do the job in about 30 minutes if I could meet them back at my home. I hurried home and in about 2 hours the job was completed. Tonight my wife and I shall enjoy a soft water shower!
My husband and I had a broken pipe in the foundation and it was leaking pretty bad into our hallway, and 4L Contracting came that day we called, assessed the issue, and was back the next day and completely fixed the problem. They were so nice and helpful! I cannot tell you how pleased we were with their service. I recommend 4L Contracting!
My wife and I discovered a water leak coming out of our wall. 4L Contracting LLC came out that day and found where the leak was coming from (copper pipe leaking in the slab), they started working immediately and finished the next day.
These plumbers are honest, knowledgeable and reliable! They helped us fix a leak and answered all our questions about other issues in the house. Highly recommend!
Lee and his guys are Great. Their communication on our projects have been superb! Always letting us know when they will be at the job site. Lee is doing 3 projects for our Airbnb's at one time, and his organization of his paperwork is paramount for us.
WORKING ACROSS SEVERAL ADDRESSES, AND HOW THE PRICING IS HANDLED
A manager with several properties is dealing with many small jobs rather than one large one. Each one still gets seen, scoped and priced in writing before it is authorized. Written pricing per job is what makes a portfolio auditable, and we do not carry an unapproved balance forward from one address to another. Larger planned work, meaning a replacement rather than a repair, is quoted on its own. An owner can then make a decision about capital spending with the numbers in front of them. Our workmanship warranty applies to the work performed, with covered work, exclusions and customer obligations stated in the written proposal, authorization or invoice. More about how pricing works is on the plumbing prices page.
GETTING INTO AN OCCUPIED UNIT WITHOUT WASTING A TRIP
Access is the single biggest source of wasted cost in managed property, and a visit fails for predictable reasons. Nobody can get in, or the tenant expected a different time. A pet is loose in the unit. The water cannot be shut off because another unit is affected. Or the fault the plumber was sent for is not the fault that is actually there. We work to whatever notice and entry process the manager and the lease require, rather than turning up and hoping. We would rather confirm the arrangement in advance than bill for a call that achieved nothing. Two things on the work order matter most. A description of the fault from the person who actually saw it, and whether the unit is occupied.
WHO AUTHORIZES THE WORK, AND HOW AN APPROVAL LIMIT IS AGREED
The tenant reports and the manager or the owner authorizes. We do not treat a tenant’s request as authorization for chargeable work. Many managers set a limit they are comfortable approving without going back to the owner. We will work to a limit agreed in writing. When the scope goes past it we stop and get approval, rather than proceeding and explaining afterwards. A plumber sometimes finds something outside the reported fault. A concealed condition, a second defect, a code correction. That goes back to the manager as a separate decision. Making it safe and stopping damage comes first. The cost conversation follows immediately after. That is different from doing the work first and asking later.
WHAT THE OWNER, THE BOARD OR THE BOOKKEEPER GETS IN WRITING
Managers do not just need the repair, they need something to file and something to forward. The work is written up against the address and the unit. What was reported, what was found and what was authorized are stated separately. Anything discovered and not done is noted rather than left as an unwritten conversation. This matters in three situations. When an owner questions a charge months later. When a repeated fault has to be justified as a replacement. And when a cost has to be attributed to a tenant, to the owner or to an insurer under the lease. We do not decide who is liable under a lease, and we do not adjudicate a deposit dispute. Our part is an accurate record of what was actually found. 4L Contracting operates under Texas Master Plumber License 40980, and a manager checking a vendor is looking for exactly that. You can verify any Texas plumbing license at tsbpe.texas.gov.
THE SAME FAULT IN FOUR UNITS, AND WHEN PATCHING STOPS PAYING
One blocked drain is an incident. The same blockage in the same stack every few months is a condition. The cost of the fourth call is usually more than the cost of finding out why. Patterns across a portfolio are worth reading. Several units of the same age and build reaching the end of the same component at the same time. One building with a recurring problem the others do not have. A fault that follows a particular fixture rather than a particular tenant. We will tell a manager when the repeat visit is the wrong purchase and the investigation is the right one. That is true even though the repeat visit is the easier thing to sell.
Not sure where to start?
Talk to a licensed plumber
Describe what your plumbing is doing and we will tell you what it likely is before anyone comes out.
SHARED LINES, METERS AND THE PLUMBING BETWEEN UNITS
Multi family plumbing has a problem single family does not. Units share pipe, so a fault in one unit is felt in another. A blockage low in a shared line shows up in whichever unit is lowest or nearest. That is often not the unit where the cause is. Isolating water for one unit sometimes means affecting neighbors, which is a scheduling and notification problem before it is a plumbing one. Damage in a downstairs unit from a fault upstairs is a common and expensive pattern and is worth acting on quickly. Some buildings have shared meters, shared water heaters or a common shutoff. We need to know that before the visit, rather than discovering it on the day.
CALLS THAT COME IN WHEN THE OFFICE IS CLOSED
Plumbing does not respect a leasing office schedule, and a tenant with water spreading at 9 PM will call somebody. An established relationship has one clear value to a manager. The after-hours call goes to a company that already knows the property, rather than to whoever answers first. We ask managers to make clear to tenants what counts as an emergency and what waits for office hours. A call out for a dripping faucet at midnight costs the owner money. A work order the next morning would not.
Office hours Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 5 PM. Licensed plumbers on call 24/7 for plumbing emergencies.
WHAT PROPERTY MANAGERS ASK BEFORE THEY CHANGE PLUMBERS
Can the tenant call you directly or does everything come through me?
That arrangement is the manager’s to set, and we will work whichever way you prefer. Authorization for chargeable work stays with the manager or the owner either way, regardless of who makes the initial call.
Will you get approval before the cost goes past what I agreed?
Yes. We work to a written approval limit and stop when the scope goes past it rather than proceeding and explaining afterwards. If something unexpected is found on site, that comes back to you as a separate decision before any additional work begins.
Do you work on multi family and small apartment communities?
Yes. We work on single rental houses, small multi family buildings and larger communities across College Station, Bryan and the surrounding service area. Shared lines, common shutoffs and occupied-unit access are all situations we handle regularly.
How does pricing work when I have several properties?
Each job is assessed, scoped and priced in writing before authorization, regardless of how many addresses you manage with us. There is no unapproved balance carried from one address to another, so every invoice is traceable to a specific approval at a specific address.
THE SERVICE PAGES BEHIND THIS WORK
This page covers the arrangement. The pages below describe the work itself:
TALK TO US ABOUT THE PROPERTIES YOU MANAGE
It might be a work order on one unit, a turnover walkthrough, or a recurring problem across a portfolio. It might be a conversation about how you want work authorized. They all start with Request an Appointment. Some things are an emergency. Water spreading in an occupied unit, sewage backing up, or a gas odor. The right call then is 979-473-9775 instead.
WHAT IT COSTS AND HOW YOU PAY
Price in Writing Before Work Starts
You get a written price covering the scope we recommend and what it includes. No verbal estimates. No extra charges added after the fact. You approve the scope and cost before we start.
Workmanship Warranty
Every installation we perform is backed by a workmanship warranty. If a problem with our work develops within the warranty period, we return and fix it at no charge to you.
Office Hours and Emergency Availability
Office hours Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 5 PM. Licensed plumbers on call 24/7 for plumbing emergencies. Reach us at 979-473-9775.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT PLUMBING NEAR YOU
We look after rental and managed property across College Station, Bryan and the towns around them. Pick your town, or check whether we cover your area.
Have a plumbing question? Contact an expert.