- Area
- Upper Canada Mall Area
- Local focus
- Yonge and Davis
- Common calls
- Drains, supply pipe, heaters, sumps
- Booking
- By telephone
Homes and plumbing in Upper Canada Mall Area
Residential pockets surround the mall on all sides. To the south and west are detached and semi-detached homes from the 1970s and 1980s; closer to Yonge are townhouse condominiums and low-rise apartments. Plumbing reflects those dates: copper supply, ABS drains in later builds, and plenty of original shower valves still working away in upstairs bathrooms.
Condominium townhouses add a layer, because the corporation may own the outside lines while each owner looks after the inside. Knowing where that boundary falls saves time and arguments.
Trouble spots in these houses
- Shower valves that will not hold a steady temperature, or that drip from the spout when turned off.
- Scale-clogged faucets and shortened water heater life from hard water.
- Leaks between floors in stacked townhouses, which need tracing before any repair begins.
- Floor drains that gurgle or back up during big storms.
Storm backups worry owners in older detached homes most. Some York Region municipalities have offered help with the cost of backwater protection over the years; our circular on backwater valve subsidies explains how to check what is currently available.
Services most asked for
A worn or outdated shower valve is the single most common request from these streets. Shower valve replacement with a pressure-balancing valve stops the sudden scald when someone flushes a toilet elsewhere in the house, and it often solves a slow drip at the same time. We work through the wall behind the shower where possible to spare the tile.
Because the water here is hard, water softener installation follows close behind. We place the unit where it can drain properly, add a bypass valve and leave the outdoor taps on hard water for the garden.
Before work in a condo townhouse
Check your corporation's rules on contractors, working hours and water shut-offs. Some complexes share a main valve between several units, so neighbours need notice before the water goes off.
Bench note
Your mall shopping trip is a good moment to pick up a spare toilet flapper and a pack of washers. Simple spares in a drawer turn many small leaks into ten-minute fixes.
Detached homes on the crescents
Away from the main roads, the 1970s and 1980s houses here have reached the age when original copper starts to pinhole and the first replacement water heater is itself getting old. A walk-through of the utility room, with a look at the main valve, the heater's venting and the sump, is a sensible thing to book every few years. It takes little time and catches the slow problems before they become sudden ones.
Ringing us from Upper Canada Mall Area
Call (365) 990-3021 and say whether you are in a freehold home or a condominium. We regularly work in neighbouring Armitage as well.
Phoned-in questions
Why does my shower turn hot when someone flushes?
Older valves cannot balance a sudden pressure drop on the cold side. A pressure-balancing valve keeps the temperature steady.
Will a softener make my drinking water salty to drink?
It adds a small amount of sodium. Many owners keep a separate unsoftened tap or add filtration at the kitchen sink if that concerns them.
Who handles a leak in a condo townhouse?
It comes down to your corporation's declaration. Generally the owner covers fixtures within the unit, and the corporation covers shared or exterior lines.