Plumbers in Northwest Aurora

Housing in the northwest

The northwest corner of Aurora grew in stages. Some streets near Henderson Drive date from the 1970s and 1980s, while pockets closer to Bathurst Street went up later. Mature maples line many of the older crescents. Between the two eras you will find plenty of two-storey family homes with unfinished or partly finished basements, which is exactly where most of our work here happens.

Water heater calls

A good share of the calls from this area are about hot water. Tank-type heaters typically last somewhere around ten to fifteen years, and many homes here are on their second or third. Signs that one is nearing the end include:

• Rust-tinted hot water or a metallic taste.
• Popping or rumbling from sediment at the bottom of the tank.
• Moisture or a slow drip around the base.
• Showers going lukewarm sooner than they once did.

Many households here rent their tank. If you do, the rental company may handle the swap; if you own it, you choose the replacement. Either way, we can tell you what we see and what your options are.

Drain cleaning

Older kitchens collect grease in the drain arm, and bathroom drains collect hair and soap. A slow sink is usually a local clog. A slow basement drain combined with a toilet that gurgles is usually the main line. Knowing the difference saves time. We clear the blockage, and if the main keeps coming back, we suggest a camera look to see why.

Chemical drain openers are tempting at midnight, but they are hard on older traps and on the people who work on them afterward. A plunger, a hand auger, or simply a phone call is the safer route.

Basement work

Northwest Aurora basements see a steady run of projects: laundry rooms moved downstairs, rough-ins finished into full bathrooms, and older sumps replaced. When a sump pump fails, it rarely gives notice, so a pump that is ten years old or more deserves attention. Our sump pump repair page explains what we check.

Some homes in the older streets had their supply lines replaced during the 1980s with polybutylene. It is grey, flexible and usually stamped PB. If you find it, our polybutylene pipe replacement page explains why many owners choose to replace it before it fails.

Buying in the northwest

Houses here change hands often, and buyers ask us what to look at. Our guide to buying an older home sets out the plumbing items worth checking before you firm up an offer. For neighbourhoods on the other end of town, see our South Aurora page.