Condo towers, river flats and Calgary's oldest homes
Emergency Plumber Calgary City Centre
Calgary's City Centre runs from the Downtown core and the Beltline to Mission, Inglewood and Hillhurst-Sunnyside along the Bow and Elbow rivers. We handle condo tower leaks, restaurant grease lines and the aging pipes under some of the oldest homes in the city.
City Centre
What Plumbing Looks Like In City Centre
The City Centre is two kinds of plumbing side by side. In the Downtown core and much of the Beltline, the work is vertical: condo and apartment towers, office buildings and restaurants, where a failed supply line or a blocked stack on one floor shows up as water in the units below. Those calls start with building management and the shut-off for the right riser. On the other side are some of the oldest homes in Calgary. Inglewood dates to 1875 and is called the city's oldest neighbourhood, Mission began as a Catholic mission the same year, Connaught in the Beltline was established in 1905, Sunnyside was bought by the city in 1904 and Hillhurst dates to 1914.
Houses that old can still have cast iron drains, clay sewer laterals, galvanized supply pipe and foundation drainage tied into the sanitary sewer, which the City allows only for connections made before 1973. The rivers matter too. The downtown core, the Beltline, Mission, Inglewood and Sunnyside were all evacuated in the June 2013 flood, and Mission had also flooded in 1929. Basements here deserve a working backwater valve, a floor drain that flows and a sump pump that actually runs. Calgary's hard water adds scale to hot water tanks in every type of building.
Calls we plan for here
- Condo and apartment leaks that travel down shared risers to the units below
- Grease-clogged restaurant lines along 17th Avenue SW and in the Downtown core
- Cast iron and clay sewer lines under century-old Inglewood, Mission and Sunnyside homes
- Sewer backup and basement water in the river communities evacuated in 2013
Communities
Emergency Plumber In City Centre Communities
T2P · City core
Downtown Calgary
The Downtown Commercial Core straddles Centre Street, linked by the +15 walkways and anchored by Stephen Avenue and the Calgary Tower. Plumbing here means towers, shared risers and restaurant kitchens.
Local plumbing notes →T2R · est. 1905
Beltline
Created in 2003 by merging Connaught (est. 1905) and Victoria Park (est. 1914), the Beltline mixes condo towers with older walk-ups, and 17th Avenue SW is its bar and restaurant strip.
Local plumbing notes →T2S · est. 1875
Mission
Mission began as the Catholic mission Notre Dame de la Paix in 1875 and sits on the Elbow River along 4th Street SW. It flooded in 1929 and again in June 2013.
Local plumbing notes →T2G · est. 1875
Inglewood
Called Calgary's oldest neighbourhood, Inglewood was established in 1875 across the Elbow from Fort Calgary. Its historic main street, 9th Avenue SE, is an arts and shopping district.
Local plumbing notes →T2N · est. 1914
Hillhurst-Sunnyside
Hillhurst and Sunnyside share a community association, with the Kensington business zone at Kensington Road and 10th Street NW. Sunnyside was badly damaged in the June 2013 Bow River flood.
Local plumbing notes →
FAQ
City Centre Plumbing Questions
Do you have an emergency plumber for downtown Calgary?
Yes. We dispatch plumbers across the City Centre 24 hours a day, including the Downtown core, the Beltline, Mission, Inglewood and Hillhurst-Sunnyside. When you call, you get an honest arrival window based on where the nearest plumber actually is and what the roads are doing, plus the call-out fee before anyone is sent. In a condo or office tower, tell building management or security as well so they can open the mechanical rooms and close the right riser valve.
Water is coming through my downtown condo ceiling. What should I do?
Tell building management or security first, then knock on the door of the unit above. If the water is coming from your own unit, close the shut-off for your suite or the valve at the fixture. Keep clear of wet light fixtures and outlets, move belongings, and take photos of the ceiling and the water before anything is cleaned up. Then call us with the building name and unit number so the plumber can go straight to the source.
Why do older homes in Inglewood and Mission get sewer backups?
Many houses there still drain through cast iron and clay pipe that is decades old, and roots and age crack the joints of the sewer lateral. For a backup, call 311 first: a City crew checks the line to the main to see whether the blockage is on the public side. If it is on your side, we clear it through the cleanout and run a camera so you can see the cause before deciding on a repair.
Do City Centre basements need a backwater valve?
Alberta's plumbing code requires fixtures below grade to be protected from sewer backup from the street, and the City recommends a backwater valve. In the river communities that were evacuated in the 2013 flood, it is one of the most useful upgrades an older basement can get. Installing one needs a City plumbing permit, and a full-port valve on the main sewer line must be serviced every year so it closes when it has to.
Other Calgary areas
Plumber In City Centre
24/7 dispatch, written quote first
Plumbing emergency in City Centre? Call now, day or night
Shut off the main water valve first. Then call: you get an honest arrival window and the call-out fee before anyone is dispatched.
