How Armstrong Plumbing Company Started: A Family's Story

We Were Kids Raising Kids

David and I met in 2004 at a local dance hall in Pearland. We were young. A couple years later, our son Tyler was born. The year after that, our daughter Kylee came along.

We were barely in our twenties with two babies and no real plan — just the kind of stubborn determination that comes from knowing you don't have a safety net.

I stayed home with the kids. That meant everything fell on David's shoulders. He never complained about it, but I know the weight was heavy. We didn't have extra money. We didn't come from families that could help us out. We had each other, two little kids, and the understanding that nobody was coming to save us.

So we just kept going.

David Found Plumbing — And It Fit

David started plumbing in 2005. Not because he dreamed of being a plumber growing up, but because it was good, honest work that could support a family.

He worked commercial construction. He helped build elementary schools. Later he worked for a company that only did water heaters, and that's where he really sharpened his skills.

What I noticed early on — and what customers notice now — is that David actually cares about the work. He's not trying to get in and out. He wants to do it right. He wants to make sure you understand what's going on in your home. That's just who he is.

Over the years, he earned every bit of knowledge the hard way. Crawling under houses. Working in Texas heat. Learning something new on every single job.

The Moment Everything Changed

In 2019, David passed his master plumber exam.

That was it. That was the moment we looked at each other and said, "We're done building someone else's dream."

We didn't have a business plan written on a whiteboard. We didn't have startup money. We had a truck, David's skills, and a phone that we hoped would ring.

I remember those early days so clearly. Every time the phone rang, my heart would jump a little. Because I knew — once a customer met David, they'd see it. The honesty. The work ethic. How much he genuinely cared about doing right by people.

We started Armstrong Plumbing Company from our house. I ran the office from the kitchen table. David ran the jobs. And we just started showing up every single day.

The Freeze That Tested Us

Then February 2021 happened.

If you lived in Texas during that freeze, you remember it. Pipes bursting everywhere. No power. No heat. Families in crisis.

Our own family was sitting at home in the cold. But David was out the door working — all day, every day — helping as many people as he could.

I was at the kitchen table with pages of handwritten notes, answering calls nonstop, trying to keep track of everyone who needed help. I barely slept that week.

That freeze nearly broke us. But it also showed us something important — we could handle more than we thought. And there were a lot of families out there who needed a plumber they could actually trust.

Why We Stayed Small

Here's something most business owners won't tell you: we kept this company small on purpose for years.

Not because we lacked ambition. Because we had kids who needed us.

Tyler had games. Kylee had tournaments. There were rodeos and fishing trips and vacations and all the little everyday moments that you never get back. We made a decision early on that being there for our kids came first, and the business would grow when the time was right.

I don't regret that for one second. When I look back, I'm proud of the business — but I'm more proud of the two kids we raised while building it.

What's Next

Tyler and Kylee are older now. And David and I are finally in a place where we can pour more into this company without it costing us time with our family.

We're growing. We're building a team. We're planning for the next 5 to 10 years.

But here's what won't change — the way we treat people. From the first phone call to the final handshake, we want every customer to feel like they matter. Because they do.

Armstrong Plumbing Company started with two young parents who had nothing but hard work and each other. That's still the foundation. We just have a lot more experience now — and the same heart we started with.