Plumbing Guides For Calgary Homes

The best plumber in Calgary for your job is certified in Alberta, can pull City permits, puts the price in writing before work starts and does not take a deposit in your home without a prepaid contracting licence.

A failed part on a younger tank is usually worth repairing. A leaking tank body, or an older tank that keeps needing parts, usually is not. How to decide, and what Calgary's hard water has to do with it.

When a pipe bursts in a Calgary home, close the main shut-off next to the water meter in the basement, keep away from wet outlets and the panel, drain the lines, then photograph everything before cleanup.

Grey plastic supply pipe usually means Poly-B; orange and blue pipe with brass fittings often means Kitec. How to identify each, what to do when one leaks, and when a planned repipe makes sense.

Winterizing a Calgary home's plumbing takes an afternoon: shut off and drain hose bibs, blow out irrigation, test the sump pump, service the backwater valve, fix downspouts and find your main shut-off.

If your basement has a floor drain, toilet, shower or laundry, it needs protection from sewer backup. How full-port and branch valves differ, what the permit involves and what a retrofit costs.

If a tap gives nothing in a Calgary cold snap, open it, find the cold spot and warm it gently with a hair dryer or space heater. Never use a flame. Here is how to tell a frozen house pipe from a frozen service line.

Sewage at the floor drain means the line is blocked somewhere between your house and the City main. Here is what to do first, who owns which part of the pipe, what clearing costs and how insurance treats it.