Los Gatos Neighborhood Plumbing Guide

Los Gatos covers about 11 square miles, but within that footprint there's an incredible range of home styles, ages, and plumbing configurations. Here's what we've learned from years of working inside these homes.

Downtown & Central Los Gatos (95030)

The heart of Los Gatos is built around the intersection of Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street, with a downtown that's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The surrounding residential neighborhoods, including Almond Grove, Fairview Plaza, Edelen, and Glenridge, contain some of the oldest homes in the South Bay. County records show hundreds of Victorian-era properties in the 95030 zip code, many dating to the 1880s and 1890s.

Plumbing in these homes can be layered. It's common to find a mix of original galvanized steel supply lines, cast iron drain pipes, and sections that were updated at various points over the past century. Some homes still have lead service connections from the street to the house. Each layer of pipe material behaves differently as it ages, and making repairs requires understanding how those materials interact.

The Town of Los Gatos considers any home built before 1941 legally "historic," which means exterior modifications require special permits and approvals. When we repipe or replace sewer lines at historic Los Gatos properties, we plan the work to avoid exterior changes that would trigger additional permitting requirements. We route new supply lines through existing wall cavities and use minimally invasive techniques for sewer work to keep the project focused on plumbing, not paperwork.

East Los Gatos & Belwood (95032)

East Los Gatos is anchored by neighborhoods like Belwood of Los Gatos, Surmont, and the communities along Los Gatos Boulevard heading toward the Highway 85 interchange. Homes here tend to be slightly newer than downtown, with much of the development happening during the 1950s through 1970s.

The Belwood neighborhood in particular features a concentration of mid-century ranch homes on slab foundations, similar in construction to neighborhoods like Cambrian Park and Almaden Valley across the border in San Jose. That slab-on-grade construction, combined with the area's clay-heavy soil, creates the same seasonal expansion and contraction cycle that leads to slab leaks. If you're hearing water running when nothing is turned on, noticing warm spots on your floors, or seeing your water bill creep up without explanation, a slab leak is a strong possibility.

Many east Los Gatos homes from the 1960s were built with copper supply lines, which have generally held up better than galvanized steel. However, copper is still vulnerable to pinhole leaks, especially in areas where water chemistry is more aggressive. We use electronic leak detection and thermal imaging to locate problems without unnecessary exploratory demolition.

Los Gatos Hills & Mountain Properties (95033)

Some of the most beautiful homes in Los Gatos sit on the wooded hillsides above town, along routes like Kennedy Road, Shannon Road, and Bear Creek Road. These properties range from custom estates to more modest mountain retreats, and they come with plumbing challenges you won't encounter on the valley floor.

Hillside homes often have long runs of supply line from the street connection to the house, which can result in lower water pressure at fixtures, especially during peak usage hours when multiple homes on the same line are drawing water. Pressure boosting systems and properly sized pressure regulators are common solutions we install for hillside homeowners.

Properties in the 95033 zip code and unincorporated mountain areas may be on private well water rather than the San Jose Water Company municipal supply. Well water in the Los Gatos foothills tends to run hard, and some wells produce water with visible sediment or mineral taste. We work with homeowners to test well water quality and install whole-house filtration and softening systems matched to their specific water composition.

Septic systems are another consideration for mountain properties outside the town's sewer service area. While we focus on the plumbing inside your home, we can evaluate how your home's drain and waste system connects to a septic tank and identify any issues with the plumbing side of that connection.

North 40 & Lark Avenue Area

The North 40 is Los Gatos' newest major development, filling in the land between Highway 17, Highway 85, Los Gatos Boulevard, and Lark Avenue. This area includes the Bellaterra community by SummerHill Homes and additional townhome and rowhome construction that's added hundreds of new housing units to Los Gatos over the past several years.

Because these homes are new construction, the plumbing systems use modern materials (PEX supply lines, ABS or PVC drain lines) that are generally reliable out of the gate. Where we come in for North 40 homeowners is typically warranty-related concerns, fixture upgrades from builder-grade to higher-quality products, and water heater service once the original units reach the end of their lifespan.

The North 40 area is served by valley floor groundwater through San Jose Water Company, which means harder water than homes closer to downtown that receive mountain surface water. Installing a water softener early in the life of a new home protects appliances, fixtures, and supply lines from the start.

How Los Gatos Water Affects Your Plumbing

San Jose Water Company supplies most of Los Gatos, but where your water actually comes from depends on your location within town. This matters more than most homeowners realize, because the hardness level varies dramatically between sources.

• Mountain surface water from the Los Gatos Creek Watershed (fed by Lexington Reservoir) averages around 133 mg/L of calcium carbonate. That's classified as hard water, but it's considerably softer than what many South Bay communities receive.
• Valley groundwater from San Jose Water Company wells across the valley floor ranges from 210 to 503 mg/L of calcium carbonate, which puts it firmly in the "very hard" category. If your Los Gatos home is in a zone served by groundwater rather than mountain water, you'll notice the difference: more scale on fixtures, faster buildup inside your water heater, and white spots on shower glass and dishware.
• Private well water for homes in the hillside and mountain areas varies widely. Some wells produce relatively soft water, while others test extremely hard and may contain sediment or elevated mineral concentrations that require multi-stage filtration. The practical impact is straightforward: hard water shortens the lifespan of tank water heaters, reduces the efficiency of tankless units by coating heat exchangers with scale, and gradually restricts flow through supply lines and fixture aerators. We install water softener and filtration systems sized specifically for your home's water source and usage patterns. A properly matched system pays for itself by extending the life of your water heater, fixtures, and appliances.

Same Day Emergency Plumbing in Los Gatos

When a pipe bursts at 6 AM or your sewer line backs up on a Sunday, you need someone close. Our team dispatches directly from 228 San Jose Ave in San Jose, right near the Highway 87 and 280 interchange. That puts us just minutes from Los Gatos with multiple fast routes in:



Downtown Los Gatos & Central (95030): 15 to 18 minutes via Highway 17 South to the Los Gatos exit at Lark Avenue or Santa Cruz Avenue.

East Los Gatos & Belwood (95032): 12 to 15 minutes via Highway 85 South to the Los Gatos Boulevard exit.

North 40 & Lark Avenue area: 10 to 15 minutes via Highway 85 to the Lark Avenue interchange.

Hillside & Mountain properties (95033): 20 to 30 minutes depending on elevation and road access via Highway 17 to local mountain roads.

Monte Sereno: 15 to 20 minutes via Highway 85 or surface streets through Campbell.

We prioritize active water leaks and sewer backups to minimize damage to your home. Our trucks carry the parts and equipment to resolve most emergencies on the first visit, so you're not waiting on a second appointment while water is pooling on your hardwood floors.

Call (408) 547-3642 for same-day emergency plumbing service in Los Gatos.