Plumber in Corktown

Housing stock and plumbing in Corktown

Named for the Irish immigrants who settled here in the 1800s, Corktown grew around breweries and the busy waterfront. Its brick cottages and row houses on streets like Sackville, Trinity and Bright are compact, often with basements that were dug lower long after the house went up. Newer mid-rise and high-rise buildings near Corktown Common and the Distillery District bring very different, modern systems.

Common problems we see here

In the older stock, space is the enemy. Laundry, water heaters and drains are packed into low basements, and changes over the years were often done with whatever was handy. Calls we see include:

• Laundry tubs and washers overloading a narrow drain
• Low basement headroom making pipe access awkward
• Leaks at old threaded fittings on mixed galvanized and copper lines
• Floor drains that dry out and let sewer gas into the house

If a basement laundry sink fills up during the spin cycle, our laundry and utility sink service starts by checking the line size and venting.

Basement flooding and sewer laterals

Older cottages here usually connect to the sewer through clay or cast-iron laterals, many over a century old. Underpinned basements may have had drains relocated, sometimes without a backwater valve. Being close to the Don does not mean every home floods, but a camera inspection and a properly installed valve are sound precautions for any finished lower level.

Water lines, lead and older pipes

Given their age, many Corktown homes were originally fed by lead service lines. Some have been replaced on both sides of the property line; some have not. Interior galvanized pipe is also common in houses that were never fully renovated. We can check what you have and suggest a sensible order for replacing it.

Streets and landmarks we cover

We serve the streets around King and Parliament, near Little Trinity Church and the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, along with the newer buildings by Corktown Common. Neighbouring Regent Park and the St. Lawrence area are also covered.

Condos in the West Don Lands

Owners in the newer buildings near Corktown Common call us for in-suite issues: slow kitchen drains, toilet repairs, dishwasher hook-ups and leaking shut-off valves. We coordinate access with property management and confine our work to the suite's own fixtures and lines, flagging anything that appears to involve the building's shared risers so the right party handles it.

Heritage cottages often have quirky retrofits, such as a bathroom squeezed under a stair or a kitchen moved into a former shed. We take time to trace where every drain actually goes before suggesting changes, so nothing is cut that another fixture depends on.

Common questions