Post war bungalows, side splits and high rise condos. North York plumbing is old Toronto plumbing, and it needs a plumber who expects that.
North York is the southern edge of our range, a run down the 404 or Yonge from Holland Landing, and it is a different kind of place to plumb from the York Region subdivisions. Much of it was built in the 1950s and 1960s, which puts the bungalows and side splits of Willowdale, Bayview Village, Don Mills, Newtonbrook and Bathurst Manor squarely in the era of cast iron stacks, galvanized supply, clay laterals and, on the oldest streets, original lead water services.
Basement flooding is a bigger issue here than almost anywhere else we work. North York's storm and sanitary infrastructure is old and heavily loaded, and heavy summer storms send water up through floor drains across whole neighbourhoods. The City of Toronto has for years run a subsidy program for backwater valves and sump pumps for exactly that reason, and it is worth checking current eligibility before any flood protection work.
The condo towers along Yonge, Sheppard and Finch are their own category, with in suite plumbing that has to be worked on around building rules, shut off schedules and neighbours below. We do that work regularly.
Post war housing and old infrastructure produce a predictable set of calls. Each has its own section below.
Neighbourhoods we cover in North York: Willowdale, Bayview Village, Don Mills, Newtonbrook, Bathurst Manor, Lansing, York Mills, Henry Farm, Clanton Park, Downsview, Yonge and Sheppard corridor, Yonge and Finch corridor.
In the Willowdale and Don Mills bungalows, a drain call usually starts at the basement floor drain. Behind it there is often a cast iron drain scaled on the inside and a clay lateral out to the street, and under mature trees, roots in the clay joints.
The technician clears the line from the cleanout or the floor drain and runs water to prove it flows. If it is a repeat backup, a camera goes in before another cable, and the footage decides whether jetting is safe for that pipe. In the Yonge, Sheppard and Finch towers it is usually kitchen and stack clogs, cleared on the building's schedule.
Heavy summer storms overload North York's sewers and send water up through basement floor drains street by street. A backwater valve on the main drain is the fix for that kind of flooding.
If neighbours on the same street flooded in the same storm, the sewer surcharged. A backup on a dry day, in your house only, points to a blockage in your own drain or lateral. We tell the two apart before recommending anything.
A mainline backwater valve goes into the main drain under the basement floor. We install it under a building permit, leave it uncovered for the City's inspection, and finish with an accessible cleanout cover so the valve can be checked and cleaned.
A valve is only as good as the pipe it sits on. Responsibility is usually split at the property line, and the clay lateral under your lot is yours. With the floor open, a camera run shows roots, offsets or cracks worth repairing at the same time.
The City has run a basement flooding protection subsidy covering backwater valves, sump pumps and related work. Terms change and the City decides who qualifies, so check current eligibility with the City before booking, and you can ask us about the City of Toronto subsidy program.
When the lateral itself has failed, see sewer line repair and replacement. For groundwater through the walls or floor, see sump pumps for North York basements.
North York is on City of Toronto supply, treated before it reaches your street. In an older house, what changes the water at the tap is usually the pipe it runs through after the meter, so we look at the plumbing and test the water before recommending a water filtration system.
Galvanized supply in 1950s and 1960s homes sheds rust from the inside, which shows up as brown water after a tap sits, clogged aerators and grit in appliance screens. A whole house filter where the water enters cannot catch rust that forms in the pipes after it, so the lasting fix is replacing the galvanized, with filtration planned into the new lines.
On the oldest streets some houses still have their original lead water service. If yours might, have the water tested for lead and plan to replace the service, because a filter is not a substitute. A filter certified for lead reduction at the kitchen tap is a stopgap until the pipe is out.
In a condo suite the water comes from the building's risers, so a system on a main line is usually not practical. What can be fitted is typically a point of use filter under the kitchen sink, and building rules decide even that.
Water heater repair or replacement here usually turns on how the heater vents, how much gas can reach it and, in a tower, when the building can shut the water off.
Basement tanks in 1950s bungalows often vent into the masonry chimney beside the furnace. Once that furnace is replaced with a side wall vented model, the water heater can be left alone in a flue too large for it to draft properly. We check the venting before replacing like for like.
A tankless heater burns far more gas while it runs than the tank it replaces, and older gas lines were sized for a tank. We check the size and length of the gas line before recommending tankless, because a new supply line changes the job.
Where a condo suite has its own tank, we book the water heater replacement with management around the building's shut off schedule, and protect the floor and the suite below while the old tank is drained and carried out.
If your water heater is a rental, read the agreement before booking a swap, since it usually sets out what happens to the old tank. Our written price then reflects tank or tankless, venting, any gas line work and access.
More on water heater repair, replacement and tankless installation, and the signs a water heater needs replacing.
A backwater valve keeps sewer water from coming up the drain. A sump pump deals with the other source, groundwater collecting around the foundation, and North York basements that flood in summer storms often need both.
Many post war houses were built without a sump pit. Adding one means cutting a pit into the basement floor, finding out where the weeping tile drains now, and running a discharge line outside and away from the foundation. The City of Toronto program has covered sump pumps and related work as well as backwater valves, so check current eligibility with the City before booking.
Where a pump is already in, replace it before it fails if it cycles constantly, runs noisily or has a sticking float. Summer storms and power cuts tend to arrive together, which is what a battery backup pump is for.
Old supply pipe in the houses and shared risers in the towers make leak detection and burst pipe repair steady work here.
1950s and 1960s galvanized steel corrodes from the inside until upstairs flow drops to almost nothing, and the same corrosion thins the wall until pinhole leaks and burst joints follow. We repair the leak, show you the section we cut out and talk through replacing in sections or whole house.
On the oldest streets the lead water service from the street may still be in. We can identify it where it enters the house at the meter, and it makes sense to plan its replacement alongside the galvanized, since both meet at the meter.
In the Yonge, Sheppard and Finch towers, the first sign of a leak is often a call from the neighbour downstairs. We trace it to the supply line, drain or fixture, work around riser shut offs with management, and repair it once.
Running toilets, dripping faucets and fixture replacements in a condo suite are booked with building management so the water is shut off once. In the houses, a worn fill valve or cartridge is usually a repair rather than a replacement.
See pipe repair and leak detection, galvanized repiping, toilet repair and faucet repair. For a burst pipe at any hour, call 289-470-6221.
Every service below is available to North York homes and businesses. Select any service to learn more.
Post war houses, condos and basement flooding. Call now or book online.
