#1 Plumber in Hickory, NC
Straight answers, fair prices, and a plumber who actually picks up the phone.
Plumbing Hickory, NC is a local plumbing company serving Hickory and the wider Catawba Valley. We handle everything from a dripping faucet to a burst pipe at 2 a.m., including drain cleaning, water heaters, leak detection, sewer lines, and whole-home repiping. We answer 24/7, and the best time to reach us is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
120+ ReviewS
Licensed, bonded & insured
locally owned
Your local plumber for Hickory and all of Catawba County
Hickory sits in the Blue Ridge foothills, about an hour northwest of Charlotte, spread across parts of Catawba, Burke, and Caldwell counties. Homes here run the gamut, from 1920s bungalows in the historic districts to brick ranches off Highway 127 and newer builds out toward Lake Hickory.
Every job we do is handled by a licensed, bonded, and insured plumber who follows North Carolina code. No shortcuts, no mystery charges, and no talking down to you.
Plumbing services we handle in Hickory
We are a full-service plumbing company, which means you can call us for the small stuff and the emergencies without hunting for a different plumber each time. Here is what we do.
Emergency plumbing, 24/7
When water is where it should not be, minutes matter. We take emergency calls day and night for:
- Burst pipe repair and water shutoff
- Frozen pipe repair after a hard freeze
- Sewage backups and overflowing drains
- Water heater failures and flooding
- No-water and no-hot-water calls
See our full emergency plumber in Hickory page, or just call. We would rather you call early than wait and let a small leak turn into a ruined floor.
Drains and sewer
Slow drains and sewer trouble are two of the most common calls we get in older Hickory neighborhoods. We offer:
- Drain cleaning for kitchen, bath, and main lines
- Hydro jetting for grease and heavy buildup
- Sewer camera inspection so you see the problem, not just a guess
- Sewer line repair and replacement, including trenchless where it fits
- Septic to sewer conversion when city sewer reaches your street
Water heaters
No hot water in the middle of a Catawba County winter is not something you want to sit with. We repair, replace, and install:
- Water heater repair for tank and tankless units
- Water heater installation and replacement
- Tankless water heater upgrades for endless hot water
We work on all the major brands, including Rheem, A.O. Smith, Bradford White, Rinnai, and Navien, and we stay honest about whether a repair or a full replacement is the smarter money.
Pipes, leaks, and repiping
Hidden leaks waste water and quietly rot your home. We find them and fix them:
- Leak detection for walls, slabs, and yards
- Slab leak repair
- Pipe repair and water line repair
- Whole-home repiping for old galvanized or polybutylene pipe
Fixtures, kitchens, and baths
The everyday stuff still matters, and we do it right the first time:
- Faucet repair and installation
- Toilet repair and installation
- Garbage disposal repair and replacement
- Sump pump installation and repair
- Bathroom plumbing and kitchen plumbing
Gas, water quality, and wells
Beyond standard plumbing, we handle the systems that keep a Catawba Valley home running:
Who we work with
We serve homeowners, businesses, and property managers and realtors across the area. If you manage rentals and just need a plumber who shows up, communicates, and handles the tenant without drama, that is a big part of what we do.
Not sure which service you need? Browse all our plumbing services in Hickory or call and describe what is happening. Call (828) 742-8939.
Your Neighbor, Your Plumber
We are Plumbing Hickory, NC — a local, family-owned plumbing company serving Hickory and the wider Catawba Valley. We are not a national chain or a call center from somewhere else. We are your neighbors, and we treat your home like our own.
Our team is led by licensed, bonded, and insured plumbers who know North Carolina code inside and out. But what truly sets us apart is our deep, hands-on knowledge of this area. We understand the older pipe in those historic Oakwood bungalows, the crawlspace challenges in mid-century brick ranches, the freeze risk that comes with our Blue Ridge foothills winters, and the truth about Hickory’s soft city water versus the acidic well water found outside town limits.
We built this business because we saw too many homeowners frustrated by no-shows, vague pricing, and being talked into work they did not need. That is not how we operate. We give straight answers, upfront pricing before any work starts, and repair-first advice. If a repair will hold, we tell you. If a replacement is the smarter money, we explain why.
From a dripping faucet to a burst pipe at 2 a.m., we answer the phone — day or night — because plumbing problems do not wait, and neither should you.
Why Hickory homes have the plumbing problems they do
Most plumbing sites could be describing any town in America. This is not that. Here is what actually causes plumbing trouble in Hickory, and why a local plumber saves you money.
Older homes and aging pipes
A lot of Hickory housing is decades old. The historic districts like Oakwood and Kenworth have homes from the 1880s through the 1930s, and even outside them, plenty of neighborhoods are full of mid-century brick ranches.
Old homes come with old pipe. That often means galvanized steel supply lines rusting closed from the inside, cast iron drains breaking down, and polybutylene pipe in homes built from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. Add crawlspace construction, which is common here, and you get pipes that are exposed to the cold and hard to reach.
If your water pressure has dropped over the years, your water looks rusty when you first turn the tap, or you keep patching the same leaks, the pipe itself may be the problem. That is when a plumber who understands repiping an older Hickory home is worth the call.
Does Hickory have hard water?
Here is the honest answer that a lot of companies get wrong. Hickory city water is actually soft to moderately soft. The city draws its water from Lake Hickory on the Catawba River and treats it, so most homes inside the city do not need a water softener the way marketing sites like to claim.
Well water is a different story. Homes on private wells out toward the county edges can run acidic or carry iron and sediment, and acidic water slowly eats copper pipe and leaves blue-green staining. If you are on a well and seeing stains, low pH, or gritty water, that is a real filtration or treatment issue worth addressing.
We will tell you the truth about your water instead of selling you a softener you do not need. Want the full breakdown? Read does Hickory have hard water.
Winter freezes and burst pipes
Hickory is not the deep South. At around 1,180 feet in the foothills, it gets real cold snaps and the occasional hard freeze and ice storm, like the one that hit the area in January 2026.
Combine that with older homes, uninsulated crawlspaces, and outdoor faucets left connected to hoses, and you get frozen and burst pipes every winter. A burst pipe can dump gallons a minute into your home before you find the shutoff.
A little prep goes a long way. We can insulate vulnerable runs, winterize your hose bibs, and get to you fast when a pipe does let go. Learn how to prevent frozen pipes in Hickory before the next cold snap.
Wells, drought, and water restrictions
Because Hickory draws from Lake Hickory, one of the smaller reservoirs in the Catawba chain, the area can feel a drought faster than its neighbors downstream. In dry years, Catawba County and the City of Hickory move into water restrictions under the Catawba-Wateree Low Inflow Protocol, which limits outdoor watering.
When you are being asked to conserve, a hidden leak or a running toilet is not just annoying, it is wasted water you may be paying a premium for. That is a good time to have us find and fix quiet leaks with proper leak detection.
Tree roots and older sewer lines
Those beautiful tree-lined streets in the established neighborhoods come with a downside underground. Roots find the small gaps in older clay and cast iron sewer laterals and grow right into the line, which causes the slow drains and backups that keep coming back no matter how many times you snake them.
We run a camera to see exactly what is going on, clear the roots, and tell you honestly whether you need a spot repair, a full replacement, or a tree roots in sewer line game plan. If city sewer has reached your street and you are still on septic, we also handle septic to sewer conversion.
Areas we serve in and around Hickory
We are local, so we cover the neighborhoods and towns across the Catawba Valley, not just a ZIP code on a map.
Inside Hickory, we serve:
Downtown Hickory
Downtown Hickory and the historic core near Union Square
Lake Hickory
Lake Hickory and Northlakes
St. Stephens
West Hickory
Highland, Forest Hills, Green Park, Ridgeview, West Hickory, and Lakeland Park
Around the Catawba Valley, we serve:
Sherrills Ford
Foothills Towns
Granite Falls, Lenoir, Morganton, and Taylorsville
See the full list on our service areas page. If your town is not listed and you are nearby, call and ask. Odds are we cover you.
Why homeowners in Hickory call us
There are plenty of plumbers in the area. Here is what makes people call us and keep our number.
1. We answer the phone. A real conversation, day or night, not an endless voicemail loop.
2. Upfront, honest pricing. You hear the price before we start, not after. No surprise line items.
3. Repair-first, honest advice. If a repair will hold, we tell you. We do not push a replacement you do not need.
4. Licensed, bonded, and insured. We work to North Carolina code and pull permits where the county requires them.
5. Real local knowledge. We know the older pipe, the crawlspaces, the soft city water, and the freeze risk, because we work here.
6. We respect your home and your time. Clean work, and we show up when we say we will.
That last part matters more than it should have to. A lot of the frustration people share about plumbers comes down to no-shows, vague pricing, and getting talked into work they did not need. We built this business to be the opposite of that.
Call (828) 742-8939 and see the difference for yourself.
Trusted by Homeowners & Businesses Across Hickory
How much does a plumber cost in Hickory?
We believe in talking about money honestly, because guessing games help no one. Every job is different, but here are realistic ranges so you are not walking in blind.
- Common plumbing repairs in the Hickory area typically run from about 85 dollars to 280 dollars, depending on the problem and the parts.
- Hourly labor for standard work generally falls in the 45 to 165 dollars per hour range, though many plumbers use flat rates for set jobs.
- Clearing a clogged drain often runs from around 50 dollars to a few hundred, and a heavily blocked main line that needs to be cleared and cameraed costs more.
- Water heater replacement varies widely by fuel type and size, commonly landing in the low thousands, with tankless upgrades on the higher end.
Emergency and after-hours calls usually carry an added fee, which is normal across the industry. What is not normal, and what we avoid, is a surprise bill at the end. You will get a clear price before any work starts.
For a deeper breakdown, see our guide on what a plumber costs in Hickory.
When should you call a plumber?
Some problems can wait a day. Some cannot. Call us sooner rather than later if you notice:
- No hot water, or hot water that runs out fast or comes out rusty
- A sudden drop in water pressure across the house
- Slow or gurgling drains, or more than one drain backing up at once
- A sewer smell inside or in the yard
- Water stains on ceilings or walls, or a spike in your water bill with no clear cause
- Any active leak you cannot shut off at the fixture
If you are not sure whether it is urgent, call and describe it. We will tell you honestly whether it can wait or whether we should come now. When it truly cannot wait, our emergency plumbers are on call 24/7.
What to expect when you call us
We keep the process simple, because you have enough going on.
Call us
Call and tell us what is happening. We ask a few questions and, for emergencies, walk you through shutting off the water if needed.
Real diagnosis
We diagnose the real problem on-site, not just the symptom.
Upfront price
You get a clear, upfront price before we start.
Done right
We do the work right, to code, and clean up after ourselves.
We confirm
We confirm everything is working and answer any questions before we leave.
The kind of results we deliver
Clean installs, honest fixes, and job sites left the way we found them.
Clogged/Overflowing Kitchen Sink- Working Kitchen Sink
- Old/Rusty Water Heater in Basement
- Modern Tankless Water Heater
Frequently asked questions
We’re happy to help. If you can’t find the info you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
Call us (828) 742-8939
Ready when you are
A plumbing problem is stressful. Getting it handled should not be. Call Plumbing Hickory, NC and talk to a local plumber who gives you a straight answer and a fair price.
Plumbing Hickory, NC 1985 Tate Blvd, Hickory, NC 28602 Phone: (828) 742-8939 Email: info@plumbinghickory.com Hours: Available 24/7, best time 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Serving Hickory and all of Catawba County
Call (828) 742-8939 now.