Plumber in The Danforth

Housing stock and plumbing in The Danforth

Most of these streets filled in once the Bloor Viaduct linked the east end to downtown, around the end of the First World War. Typical houses are two-storey semis with a front porch, a full basement and a single back bathroom upstairs. Many have since added a basement suite. Above the shops on the avenue, apartments share plumbing with the storefronts below.

What a typical job looks like

Much of our Danforth work begins down by the front foundation wall, where the old running trap sits just inside the foundation wall. When the main backs up we pull the cleanout plugs on that trap, run a sectional cable toward the street and usually bring back a fist of fine roots. On houses with a basement suite we often find the suite kitchen tied into the floor drain line with too little fall, which clogs with grease. Upstairs, we cut out rusted galvanized nipples behind tub walls and swap in copper or PEX so the back bathroom gets proper pressure again.

Common problems we see here

• Main drain backups caused by roots in clay laterals
• Basement suites added on top of old drainage with too little slope
• Galvanized supply lines starving the second floor of pressure
• Leaks from upstairs bathrooms into storefronts below
• Old cast-iron stacks rotting at the base

Basement flooding and sewer laterals

Many Danforth-area streets are on older sewers, and basements have flooded in heavy rainstorms. Combined with root-blocked laterals, that makes floor drain backups common. A camera inspection tells you whether the lateral needs repair.

Water lines, lead and older pipes

Lead services can still be found on many of these streets. We also see a lot of half-replaced plumbing: copper upstairs, galvanized in the basement, and old valves at the meter. Upgrading the service and main shut-off fixes many pressure complaints.

Streets and landmarks we cover

We cover Danforth Avenue from Broadview to Coxwell and the side streets on both sides, including Logan, Carlaw, Pape, Jones, Withrow Park and Greenwood.

Common questions