Plumbing in Clarke

Homes in Clarke

Clarke is part of Milton's first big wave of growth east of the old town, with a mix of freehold townhomes, semi-detached houses and detached homes, much of it built from the early 2000s onward. Lots are compact, garages face the street, and mechanical rooms are often small spaces where the furnace, water heater and main shut-off share very little floor.

Homes from this period are old enough now that their original equipment is reaching retirement age. Builder-grade faucets, fill valves and water heaters installed when the houses were new are often the first things to go.

Common plumbing calls here

• Water heater replacements, often in tight rooms where venting must be planned carefully.
• Toilets that run on, wobble or weep at the floor.
• Kitchen drain clogs from grease and food scraps.
• Sump pump replacements where the original pump has worn out.
• Questions about Kitec, a brand of plumbing pipe used in some Ontario homes during this era.

Kitec deserves a check if you are unsure. It was installed in some homes built roughly between the mid-1990s and the late 2000s, and it has a reputation for fitting failures. Look for orange and blue pipe near the water heater or at the manifold. Our pamphlet on Kitec plumbing explains what to look for.

Water, drains and the local ground

Water comes from Halton Region's municipal system and carries enough hardness to build scale. The clay soils common across Milton drain slowly, which keeps groundwater against foundations during spring melt. In townhomes, a sewer lateral problem can sometimes involve a shared or closely spaced connection, so knowing where your line runs matters before anyone digs. Our page on sewer line repair covers that work.

Small rooms, careful planning

The mechanical rooms in many Clarke homes were designed around the equipment that came with the house, with little slack. When something new arrives, such as a softener, a larger tank or a tankless unit, the layout has to be worked out so that every valve stays reachable and the furnace keeps its service clearance. We would rather spend ten minutes measuring than hand you a room where nobody can reach the shut-off. It is also worth labelling the main valve and the water heater shut-off clearly, so anyone in the house can find them when water is on the floor.

Owners who rent out a basement unit should know where that unit's plumbing ties in too.

Getting a plumber out

Call us and tell us what the problem is. If it involves renovation or relocating fixtures, read our pamphlet on plumbing permits in Milton before you start. We cover Clarke and the neighbourhoods around it, including Ford, and we will tell you what we found before any work begins.