Mark Vargas has been a licensed San Antonio plumber for more than 14 years and is Silverback’s Responsible Master Plumber, the person legally accountable for every permit the company pulls. Here’s what that license actually means, and why it matters for the work in your home.
Mark Vargas has been a licensed San Antonio plumber for more than 14 years and is Silverback’s Responsible Master Plumber, the person legally accountable for every permit the company pulls. Here’s what that license actually means, and why it matters for the work in your home.
Mark Vargas owns Silverback Plumbing and Drain and holds Texas Responsible Master Plumber license #43333, regulated by the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners. He earned his Master Plumber license in 2020 and his Responsible Master Plumber designation in 2021, after more than 14 years working as a licensed plumber in his hometown of San Antonio.
Who Is Mark Vargas?
Mark Vargas has spent his entire plumbing career in San Antonio, the city where he grew up. He’s been a licensed plumber for more than 14 years, earned his Master Plumber license in 2020, and followed it with the Responsible Master Plumber, or RMP, designation in 2021. That license, number 43333, is issued and regulated by the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners, and it’s the credential that legally allows Silverback Plumbing and Drain to operate and pull permits as a licensed plumbing company in the state.
What “Responsible Master Plumber” Actually Means
A Responsible Master Plumber isn’t just a job title. In Texas, every licensed plumbing business has to name one specific Master Plumber as its RMP, and that person is legally responsible for the company’s plumbing work, permits, and compliance with state code. If something goes wrong, the RMP is the licensed individual the state holds accountable, not just the business as a generic entity.
For a customer, that matters more than it might seem. It means there’s a specific named, licensed individual behind the permits pulled on your job, not just a company name. When you hire a plumbing business, asking who the RMP is and confirming their license is a legitimate way to check that the company is operating the way Texas law requires.
Why Mark Specializes in Water Purification
Beyond general plumbing, Mark has spent significant time studying water purification and treatment, partly because of San Antonio’s own water profile. We’ve covered separately how hard the city’s water actually runs and what that does to a home in our hard water effects guide, and Mark’s interest in water quality grew directly out of seeing that damage repeatedly in San Antonio homes.
“After realizing how the quality of the water can affect a person’s health, I invested in myself and took courses to better understand the true nature of water.” — Mark Vargas
That background is also why Silverback treats water softener recommendations as a sizing and diagnosis problem rather than a one size fits all upsell. If you’re curious what that actually costs, our water softener cost guide breaks it down.
The Nickname, and What It Reflects
Around the shop, Mark is known as “The Silverback,” partly for his physical strength on the job (he’s carried a fifty gallon water heater down a flight of stairs solo more than once) and partly for the same trait that gives the company its name: steady, protective leadership rather than flash. Employees and customers describe him less in terms of strength and more in terms of patience, specifically his habit of fully explaining a plumbing problem before recommending a fix, without pressure to buy more than what the job actually needs.
A Leader and Mentor
Mark also trains and mentors the plumbers who work alongside him, with an emphasis on the same transparency he extends to customers: teaching newer plumbers to diagnose a problem fully and explain it clearly, rather than just completing the fastest fix. That’s a deliberate culture choice, not an accident, and it’s part of why the same standard shows up consistently across the team, not just when Mark is personally on a job.
Why This Matters When You Hire Silverback
A license number is easy to write on a website. What it should represent is a real, accountable person who answers for the work. With Mark Vargas as the named Responsible Master Plumber, every permit Silverback pulls in San Antonio ties back to a specific licensed individual with more than 14 years of hands on experience, not an anonymous company name.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mark Vargas and Silverback’s Licensing
What is a Responsible Master Plumber in Texas?
It’s the specific Master Plumber that a licensed plumbing business names to the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners as legally accountable for that company’s plumbing work and permits. Every licensed plumbing business in Texas must designate one.
Is Mark Vargas licensed to pull permits in San Antonio?
Yes. Mark holds Texas Responsible Master Plumber license #43333, regulated by the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners, which allows Silverback Plumbing and Drain to legally pull plumbing permits in San Antonio and across its service area.
How long has Mark Vargas been a plumber?
More than 14 years as a licensed plumber, with his Master Plumber license earned in 2020 and his Responsible Master Plumber designation following in 2021.
Does Mark personally work on jobs, or just oversee the company?
Both. Mark still works hands on as a plumber and personally trains the team, in addition to holding the RMP responsibility for the company’s licensing and compliance.
What does license number 43333 cover?
It’s Mark Vargas’s individual Responsible Master Plumber license issued by the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners, the credential that authorizes Silverback Plumbing and Drain to operate as a licensed plumbing business in Texas.
Work With a Licensed, Accountable Plumbing Team
When you call Silverback, you’re working with a company whose licensing is tied to a specific, named, experienced plumber, not a faceless business.
Call (726) 895 9998