Plumbing
Full-service residential and commercial plumbing across Albuquerque and the East Mountains: repairs, drains, water heaters, septic, sewer, gas lines, heating and 24-hour emergency calls under one company.
Learn More
Placitas is unincorporated. There is no city water main and no city sewer line out here. Homes run on a private well or on one of the small community water systems, and waste goes to a septic system in the yard. So when a drainfield quits taking water and the toilets back up, there is no utility to call. The tank, the line and the field have to be read on site.
Wright Flow Plumbing and Heating works Placitas from a base in Edgewood, on the far side of the Sandias. We come west on I-40 through Tijeras Canyon, north on I-25, then east from exit 242 on NM 165. Out here we do septic systems, water heater installation and repair, drain cleaning, sewer lines, gas lines, boilers and mini splits. Houses and small commercial buildings both. We take emergency calls 24 hours a day. Call (505) 306-8285 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.
There is no single water utility in Placitas. Federal drinking water records list six community systems serving Placitas. Las Acequias de Placitas and North Ranchos de Placitas are the two largest. Placitas Trails, Ranchos de Placitas, Vista de Oro and Placitas West make up the rest. Together the six carry about 790 connections. Census counts 2,349 housing units here, so a large share of Placitas draws from a private well.
The pattern runs down to the small buildings too. The Placitas elementary school, the community library and the senior center each hold a drinking water permit of their own. Las Acequias is the unusual one in the group. Rather than wells it takes water off spring fed ponds running out of the Sandias, then chlorinates it before it goes out.
Water like that changes what your plumbing sees. Pressure is set by a pump and a tank, not by a city main, and Las Acequias reports 77 psi or better on its lines. When pressure runs high, fill valves, angle stops and supply lines show it first. Minerals out of the ground settle in the bottom of a water heater and make the tank rumble. Flushing it once a year keeps that sediment moving out. A well pump or a pressure tank is a well contractor's job, and we pick the work up at the house side of it.
Sandoval County has no onsite wastewater ordinance of its own. Bernalillo County is the only county in New Mexico that wrote one. That leaves a Placitas system under the New Mexico Environment Department, and applications go to its Albuquerque field office. There is no community sewer here to connect to instead.
The permit runs a set path. You file an application with a site diagram, proof of ownership and a floor plan showing the bedroom count. NMED may call for a test hole in the disposal field area. That hole goes at least seven feet deep so the soil and the water table can be read. Once the system is in, the inspection has to be requested at least 48 hours ahead and before anything gets covered. Approval comes back as a Permit to Operate. We put that package together with you as part of septic system installation.
Lot size decides a lot in Placitas. A conventional system cannot go on a lot under three quarters of an acre. The newer subdivisions clear that line easily. The old village core does not, and a replacement there often has to be an advanced treatment system instead. Setbacks matter as much. A disposal field has to sit 100 feet off a private drinking water well, and there are wells all over this area. We do not pump tanks. A pumping company handles that part.
Placitas heats more than one way. Census figures put 47.5 percent of occupied homes on piped natural gas and 21.9 percent on propane. Another 17.3 percent run on electricity, with smaller shares on wood and solar. A house two roads over may be plumbed for a different fuel than yours.
New Mexico is strict about how that gas is piped. Copper and brass pipe are not allowed for fuel gas here at all. On natural gas an extra shutoff valve is required downstream of the utility meter, before the gas reaches the house piping. Propane sits outside the plumbing code entirely and falls under the state LPG rules. On an existing gas system the state allows a test at one and a half times operating pressure, and never under 3 psi. New lines, extensions, leak repairs and pressure tests are all gas line work we take on.
Altitude is the other thing to watch. NOAA's three Placitas weather stations sit between 5,585 and 5,980 feet. Gas appliance input ratings are written for elevations up to 2,000 feet, and above that the rating has to be cut. The manufacturer's high altitude instructions or kit is the usual route. That applies to a water heater, a boiler and a gas range alike. On the heating side we service boilers, hydronic baseboard, radiant floor loops and ductless mini splits.
Placitas sits above the valley, and the cold shows it. NOAA's Placitas 4W station, 5,585 feet up, has run a January low averaging about 23 degrees. The Albuquerque airport normal for January is closer to 26. In the years that station logged a full calendar it counted roughly 117 nights at or below freezing. Pipes in an unheated garage, along an outside wall or out at a hose bib are the ones that split.
The houses here came late. The median Placitas home dates to 1999, and 45.8 percent of the stock went up in 2000 or later. Another 29 percent dates to the 1990s. Under one in ten predates 1980. Most sit on big lots outside the old village. Houses stand far apart, and the pipe runs inside them are long.
That build history is showing up now. A tank water heater is one of the shorter lived things in a house. The 1990s houses are on their second or third one, and the 2000s houses are reaching the first replacement. Shower valves, angle stops and toilet fill valves come due around the same stretch. If a line lets go at two in the morning, call us. We take emergency plumbing calls 24 hours a day and will get you on the schedule as fast as we can.
Communities and areas we serve around Placitas: Village of Placitas, Ranchos de Placitas, Anasazi Trails, Anasazi Meadows, Sundance Mesa, Placitas Trails, Diamond Tail Ranch, The Overlook, Tierra Madre, Desert Mountain, Vista de Oro, Las Huertas Canyon.
Placitas ZIP codes served: 87043.
Free estimates throughout Sandoval County and the surrounding area.
(505) 306-8285 Full-service residential and commercial plumbing across Albuquerque and the East Mountains: repairs, drains, water heaters, septic, sewer, gas lines, heating and 24-hour emergency calls under one company.
Learn More
We clear clogged sinks, tubs, showers, toilets, floor drains and main sewer lines with drain snakes and cabling machines. When the same drain keeps backing up, we find out why and tell you what the pipe needs.
Learn More
We install new septic systems on new homes and empty lots, and we replace systems that have failed. We also repair tanks, lines, baffles, risers and leach fields, and we handle the NMED permit with you.
Learn More
We repair gas, electric and tankless water heaters for homes, rentals and small commercial buildings. No hot water, leaks, pilot and igniter faults, elements, thermostats and sediment.
Learn More
We install and replace tank water heaters, gas and electric, for homes and small commercial buildings. The old unit goes with us when we leave.
Learn More
We install and replace tankless water heaters in houses, rentals and small commercial buildings. Sizing, the gas line, the vent and the descaling schedule are part of the job.
Learn More
A sewer line that keeps backing up is usually a broken pipe. We find the bad section, dig it up and put in new pipe with cleanouts.
Learn More
Burst pipe, sewer backup or no hot water in the cold. We take emergency plumbing calls 24 hours a day across the Albuquerque metro and the East Mountains.
Learn More
Plumbing repair for leaks, slab leaks, pipe repair, toilets, faucets, shower valves and garbage disposals. We work homes and small commercial buildings from Edgewood across the Albuquerque metro.
Learn More
We run new gas lines and repair old ones, on natural gas and on propane. Gas piping for ranges, water heaters, boilers, dryers, grills and fire pits.
Learn More
We repair, service and replace residential boilers, radiant floor heating and hydronic baseboard heat. Call when the heat quits, a zone stays cold or the boiler leaks.
Learn More
Ductless mini split heat pumps installed and repaired, from one room to a whole house. The same system heats in winter and cools in summer, with no ductwork.
Learn MoreReal reviews from real plumbing, heating and septic jobs, 37 reviews on Google.
Of all the plumbers I called for help, this is the only company that could fit me in same day. David came out within an hour of me calling and fixed the issue. He stayed on it until it was done, and I am so grateful that he was there when I needed help the most. He didn't charge an arm and leg, which was so appreciated in my situation. I will definitely be calling him in the future.
David always has a solution, I am an active real estate investor and he has been there from boilers, plumbing, sewer, septic systems, shower valves and more. Great Job and as always thank you
I have been using Wright Flow Plumbing. for years. What I have always said if you show up on time and do what you say your gunna do that is the key to running a successful business. Wright Flow always shows up on time and always does what they say what they're gunna do in a timely manner. I always refer them to my friends and family. I highly suggest you giving them a try as well.
David did a great job. He knew that we were anxiously waiting for a line to be run and he worked well into the night to get it done. We were so thankful and highly recommend him.
Dave is amazing, he always fits me in when I have an emergency. He's a pleasure to talk to and very knowledgable. He happily worked until 3 am firing a major sewer blockage, I like that he's always in a good mood. Definitely the guy to call!
Wright Flow did an amazing job installing a brand new heater in my home, they where on time, very professional, and very affordable.
A few of the questions we hear most around Placitas. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Tell us what is going on and where the house or building is, and we will come look at it. Call (505) 306-8285 or fill out the form and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.