Plumbing Service in The Annex

The Annex: the housing stock and its plumbing

Most of the Annex went up between the 1880s and the First World War, on streets running north from Bloor between Avenue Road and Bathurst. Big red-brick and sandstone houses sit beside narrower semis, and a lot of them have been divided over the decades into student rooms, apartments and offices.

That history shows in the basement. It is common to find cast iron stacks original to the house, a patchwork of copper and galvanized branches added in different eras, and bathrooms stacked where the original builder never imagined one. Some homes still have a lead water service, or a short lead section at the meter.

Trouble we run into most often

• Multiple kitchens and baths on one old stack. A house split into four units sends far more water down the drain than it was built for.
• Weak pressure on upper floors, often from narrow galvanized risers.
• Hot water shortages where one tank serves several units.
• Slow drains in tubs and showers that sit on long horizontal runs under old floors.

Landlords and owners of converted houses should know that each added unit brings its own code requirements, and a permit review may be needed when plumbing changes.

Below the floor: drains, sewers and wet basements

Mature maples and lindens line Annex streets, and their roots follow moisture into clay sewer laterals. Main drain backups in spring and fall, when roots are active and rain is heavy, are a regular call in this area. A camera inspection tells you whether it is a root problem you can manage with cleaning or a broken line that needs repair; start with our drain cleaning page.

Basements here were often dug out later to gain headroom, which can leave the floor drain lower than the original design and more exposed to backflow. A backwater valve is worth considering if the house has flooded.

What happens when you ring us

You phone, explain what is going on, and we ask a handful of things about the building: age, number of units, where the main shut-off is. Parking in the Annex can be tight, so let us know about laneway or driveway access. On arrival we find the cause before suggesting a fix, explain the options in plain language, and leave the work area clean. For anything that requires a permit, we say so up front.

Before we arrive, it helps to know where your main valve is; locating the valve walks you to it. If a toilet keeps running, the running toilet essay may save you the call.

We also work in nearby areas, including Yorkville and Little Italy, and in downtown condos like CityPlace.