Etobicoke service area
Plumbing in New Toronto
New Toronto began as a factory town, and many of its homes were built quickly for workers in the first half of the last century. Plenty of them now hold two households, which puts real pressure on drains and water heaters that were sized for one.
- Housing: Workers’ cottages, wartime houses, post-war semis
- Drains: Iron stacks; laterals of clay tile or iron
- Typical load: Many homes with basement apartments
- Landmarks: Lakeshore Boulevard West, Colonel Samuel Smith Park, Humber Polytechnic Lakeshore campus
- Licensed, insured trade work (details confirmed when you call)
- Diagnosis before anything is cut
- Emergency calls taken
- Etobicoke and the west end
Plumbing profile
- Housing
- Workers’ cottages, wartime houses, post-war semis
- Drains
- Iron stacks; laterals of clay tile or iron
- Typical load
- Many homes with basement apartments
- Landmarks
- Lakeshore Boulevard West, Colonel Samuel Smith Park, Humber Polytechnic Lakeshore campus
Two households on one drain
A basement suite adds a kitchen, a bathroom and often a laundry to a house that was plumbed with a single stack. When the main line is older clay, the extra flow shows its weak points fast: a blocked main backs up into the lower unit first, every time.
- Clearing the main and filming it tells you whether a regular maintenance cleaning is enough or whether the lateral should be replaced.
Water heaters doing double duty
Shared houses empty a forty-gallon tank quickly. We size replacements to the household, look at whether a second heater or a tankless unit makes sense for a separate suite, and make sure venting meets requirements for the space.
- Old tanks in cramped furnace rooms are also where we find relief valves without discharge pipes, which we correct.
Cast iron stacks that are tired
Cast iron lasts a long time, but after many decades the bottom of horizontal pieces can rust thin, and the hub joints can crack. A wet spot on the basement ceiling below the bathroom is often the first sign. We replace failing sections with ABS using proper transition couplings.
- If the stack is gurgling, the vent may be blocked too, which we check from the roof or attic.
Calls we often get here
- Basement suite toilet backing up
- Hot water running out between units
- Rust stains on the cast iron stack
- Gurgling drains after heavy use
- Leaking hub joints in the basement ceiling