Map your shutoffs — including the ones city homes don't have

Every adult who stays at the property should know these. Walk the cabin together the next time you're there; it takes fifteen minutes.

Fixture shutoffs

Small valves at each toilet, sink, and washing machine — turn clockwise to close. In older cabins these are often corroded open; replacing them proactively is cheap and pays for itself the first time a supply line lets go.

The main house shutoff

Where the water line enters — utility room, crawl space entry, or an exterior wall. Many lake cabins have it in an awkward spot added during a long-ago remodel. Find it, verify it turns, and label it. A seized main valve discovered during a burst pipe is a story we hear too often.

The well pump breaker

If you're on a well, this is your real main shutoff — killing the pump stops the water. Know which breaker it is in the panel and label it. A burst line on a well system will run the pump continuously until it burns out, turning a plumbing repair into a pump replacement too.

The meter or well-head valve

City-water homes: the curb box near the street (a meter key helps). Well homes: a shutoff at the well head or pressure tank. Last resort when the house valve fails.

Winterizing a cabin: the full procedure

An unoccupied lake cabin in a hard freeze is the single most damage-prone plumbing scenario in the Highland Lakes. The 2021 freeze proved it: days of subfreezing cold, no one home to notice, pipes splitting silently. Here's the proper winterization:

  1. Shut off the water at the main (and the well pump breaker if applicable).
  2. Drain the system. Open every faucet, flush every toilet, and open the water heater drain valve. Don't forget outdoor showers, hose bibs, and ice-maker lines.
  3. Protect the traps. Pour RV-rated (propylene glycol) antifreeze into every drain trap and toilet bowl — traps you drained still need freeze protection.
  4. Decide on the water heater. Either drain it fully or leave it full, powered, and heated — a full hot tank resists freezing far better than an empty cold one. Never leave it half-drained.
  5. Set the thermostat no lower than 55°F if you're leaving heat on, and have someone check the property during extended freezes. A $30 Wi-Fi temperature sensor that alerts your phone is the best money in cabin ownership.

Reopening in spring? Turn the water on slowly, walk the entire property listening and looking, and check the water heater area first. Freeze splits often hide until pressure returns.

Burst pipe protocol, lake-home edition

  1. Kill the water at the source. Main valve — plus the well pump breaker if you're on a well.
  2. Drain pressure. Open the lowest faucet and a few indoor taps.
  3. Electricity check. Water near outlets or the panel? Kill those breakers. Never stand in water near anything electrical.
  4. Document before cleanup. Photos of everything, meter readings, timestamps. If the cabin was vacant, note when you last visited — your insurer will ask.
  5. Call. (830) 460-3565 — tell us it's a lake property, whether it's on well or city water, and what you shut off.
  6. Dry within 24 hours. Mold moves fast in Texas humidity. Fans, dehumidifiers, wet carpet padding pulled up.

Propane and gas smell procedure

Many Highland Lakes homes run on propane rather than natural gas. The rotten-egg smell is the same warning, and the procedure is the same: get everyone out, don't touch switches or phones inside, call your propane provider from outside, then call us. One propane-specific note: propane is heavier than air and settles into low spots — basements, crawl spaces, the bilge of a boathouse. Don't go down to investigate, and don't re-enter until professionals clear the property. We handle everything on the house side — leak detection, line repair, and new propane line installs — under our Texas Master Plumber License #M-41147.

Septic backup response

A septic backup feels like a drain emergency but follows different rules. First, stop all water use — every gallon you send makes it worse, and there's no city main to absorb the overflow. Second, figure out which side you're on: one or two slow fixtures points to the house line (our territory — cable and camera it); everything backing up at the lowest fixtures points to a full tank or a failing drain field (your septic pumper's territory). Don't pay for a drain cleaning when the tank needs pumping, and don't pump the tank when the house line is clogged. When in doubt, call us — we'll camera the house side and tell you straight which one it is.

The cabin emergency kit

  • Main shutoff location labeled, well breaker labeled, meter key on hand
  • RV antifreeze (a few gallons, stored at the cabin before winter)
  • Pipe repair clamps in common sizes, Teflon tape, channel-lock pliers
  • Wi-Fi temperature sensor with phone alerts for freeze warnings
  • A local plumber's number posted inside a cabinet: (830) 460-3565
  • Your property manager's or neighbor's number — someone who can reach the cabin fast

For the call-first, five-minute version, see our Marble Falls emergency plumber page. And if you manage rentals, our drain cleaning guide has a turnover checklist that prevents most mid-stay emergencies.