E L Smith Plumbing

Company Facts

E L Smith Plumbing at a Glance

By the numbers

Google rating

4.7out of 5

Customer reviews

86on Google

Rating and review count pulled from Google on September 27, 2026.

What We Like

• Master plumber licence M-8217 published openly on the company website
• 4.7 rating from 86 reviews on its Google Business Profile, read September 27, 2026
• Broad scope covering leaks, water heaters, sewer camera inspection, slab leaks and full room fit-outs
• Company states it has served San Antonio since 1948, with a tight inner-loop service area
• Says it quotes from a written pricing guide before starting work
• Weekend hours listed as open 24 hours, with an emergency option on the phone recording

Things to Consider

• Emergency and weekend call-out pricing is not published, so ask when you phone
• Email enquiries are only read during weekday office hours, so urgent jobs need a call
• Service area is focused on San Antonio and nearby suburbs rather than the wider county
• 86 reviews is a modest count next to the largest local operators

Google rating

4.7

Based on 86 Google reviews

Review data updated September 27, 2026

View on Google Maps →

Rating Distribution

• 5 stars87%
• 4 stars5%
• 3 stars1%
• 1 star7%

Long-running family plumbing firms tend to look different from the big branded vans, and this one fits that pattern. The business operates from 2013 West Ave, between Monte Vista and Beacon Hill, and its own site dates the company to 1948. That matters less as a bragging point than as a clue about the work: a shop that has been fixing the same neighbourhoods for decades usually knows which streets still have galvanised supply lines, which have cast iron drains reaching the end of their lives, and where the old gas piping runs.

The published service list is broad. Leak repairs of all kinds, water and gas piping, water heater installation and service, sump pumps, underground water and drain piping repair or replacement, anti-scald tub and shower valves, new toilets, sinks, faucets and fixtures, complete bathroom, kitchen, laundry and utility room installations, line location, medical gas piping, video inspection of sewer lines, slab leak repairs, icemaker lines, and correcting plumbing violations. Medical gas is an unusual one to see on a residential plumber's list and points at commercial and clinical work alongside houses. The company describes itself as full service for both commercial and residential customers.

San Antonio gives a plumber a particular set of problems. Expansive clay soil moves with the seasons, and that movement is the reason slab leaks and separated drain lines show up so often in post-war and 1960s builds across the north and west sides. Water here is hard, which shortens the life of water heaters and clogs fixture aerators and shower cartridges faster than in softer-water cities. Add the freeze events that now arrive every few winters and hit uninsulated exterior lines and attic runs, and you get a workload heavy on repair, re-piping of failed sections, and heater replacement. E L Smith Plumbing lists all of that territory, including the camera inspection and line location work that should come before anyone digs a trench in a yard or breaks a slab.

The service area named on the website runs through San Antonio proper plus Alamo Heights, Balcones Heights, Leon Valley, Terrell Hills, Windcrest and Converse, along with Kelly AFB, Lackland AFB, Fort Sam Houston and Brooks City Base. That is a tight inner-loop footprint rather than a sprawl across Bexar County, which usually means shorter drives and more familiarity with the housing stock. If you are out in Boerne, Bulverde or far-south Atascosa County, check availability before you plan around them.

How they work day to day is partly set out for you. Email requests are only read during normal working hours, and the site tells emergency callers to phone the office and pick the emergency option on the recording. The company also says it uses a written pricing guide so the cost is known before work begins, and offers a satisfaction guarantee under which it will return and redo an installation or repair at no charge if the customer is not satisfied. Those are the company's own claims, so ask for the pricing sheet in writing on the day and get the guarantee terms spelled out before you agree.

The reviews give some independent weight. A 4.7 average from 86 reviews on the Google Business Profile, read September 27, 2026, is a solid score with a review count that suggests steady rather than high-volume marketing. Bigger San Antonio outfits carry review counts in the thousands and run round-the-clock dispatch with larger crews. A shop this size will usually give you more continuity of technician and less upselling, but it may not have a truck free at 3 PM on the worst day of a hard freeze.

Before hiring, confirm who is doing the work and under whose licence. The master plumber licence published on the site is M-8217, and any Texas plumber working in your home should be licensed under a responsible master plumber. Ask whether the job needs a City of San Antonio permit, which applies to things like water heater replacement, re-piping and sewer line work, and confirm who pulls it. Ask how after-hours and weekend calls are charged compared to a weekday visit. On drain problems, ask whether a camera inspection is included or billed separately, and request the footage. For slab leak work, ask whether they will reroute overhead or break the slab, and what the restoration includes. E L Smith Plumbing publishes enough detail to make those conversations straightforward, which is a fair sign of how the rest will go.

About This Business Profile

Last reviewed

September 2026

Profile last updated

September 27, 2026

Google review data updated

September 27, 2026

Reviewed by

Dana Whitfield, Senior editor, home services

Sources checked

Issuing authorities, Google Business Profile, Company website

Sponsorship status

No commercial relationship