Plumbing by House Type

Why the building style matters

Two homes on the same street can hold completely different plumbing. A brick bungalow raised after the war usually drains through cast iron into a clay lateral, while a stacked condo suite three blocks away ties into a shared copper or PEX riser with a shut-off we may need building staff to reach. Before we cut anything, the house type tells us where the main shut-off probably sits, how the drain stack runs and which joints tend to fail first.

What we log for every house type

• Supply material at the meter: copper, galvanized, lead, poly-B or PEX.
• Drain and vent material: cast iron, ABS, copper DWV or clay underground.
• Where the floor drain, cleanout and backwater valve (if any) are found.
• Water heater age, venting and the relief valve discharge line.
• Fixtures with hidden valves: shower bodies, toilet supplies, laundry boxes.

How to use this shelf

Pick the entry closest to your home below. Each page walks through the pipes we usually find, the problems that bring us out, and the jobs owners of that house type phone about most. If your home is a mix, say a bungalow with a new second storey, read both and ring us; we will sort out which parts are original.

Every visit still starts with a look: no two houses on the round have been treated the same by forty years of owners and renovators. We trace the lines, write down what we found and only then talk about cutting, snaking or replacing anything.

House types

• PlumbingPost-war and sixties bungalows fill Applewood, Lakeview, Cooksville and Clarkson.
• Semi-Detached HomesSemis built across Malton, Meadowvale, Erin Mills and Churchill Meadows share a party wall with the house next door.
• Condo Suites and TownhousesMississauga's City Centre, Hurontario corridor and Port Credit waterfront hold thousands of condo suites.