What the housing looks like
East and west of Yonge between Sheppard and Steeles, Willowdale's side streets were built up mostly after the war with brick bungalows. A large share have since been knocked down for big custom homes. Along Yonge itself, condo towers rise from Sheppard up past Finch, with North York Centre in the middle.
Calls we take here
- New custom homes with tankless heaters and multiple bathrooms that outgrew the original water service
- Original bungalows with clay laterals and mature boulevard trees
- Condo suites with aging electric tanks and failed washer hoses
- Basement apartments needing a second laundry or bathroom
East and west of Yonge between Sheppard and Steeles, Willowdale's side streets were built up mostly after the war with brick bungalows.
From the counter
New house, old service
When a large home replaces a bungalow, the builder sometimes reuses or barely upsizes the water service from the street. Five bathrooms on a pipe meant for one leaves upstairs showers weak whenever the laundry runs. We measure flow at the meter and tell you whether the service is the bottleneck.
Drains on the side streets
The older laterals here run under front lawns lined with silver maples and lindens. Roots get into clay joints and choke the line, usually first noticed as a floor drain backing up after laundry. A camera tells us whether it is a clearing job or a section replacement.
On the phone
Give us the side street rather than just Yonge, and tell us if it is a tower, a townhouse or a house. For towers, mention the buzzer code, the loading dock and whether a service elevator must be booked. It keeps the plumber from circling the block with a drum machine.
Questions
Do you work in Willowdale condo towers?
Yes, for suite plumbing. Risers and common pipes belong to the building and its contractors.
My new house has low pressure upstairs. Why?
Often an undersized service or a pressure reducing valve set low. We test before suggesting a fix.
How the job runs
- You callDescribe what is dripping, backing up or cold, and the cross streets.
- We ask questionsAge of the building, pipe type if you know it, where the shut-off is.
- We open it upTrap off, clean-out open or wall cut: find the actual fault before quoting the fix.
- We test itOpen each tap on that run, watch the joints dry and show you what came out.