Plumber InCornelius

Homes built in the polybutylene years

Census estimates show about 12 percent of housing units here were built in the 1980s and another 24 percent in the 1990s. Polybutylene pipe was manufactured from 1978 until mid-1995 and went into millions of American homes in that window. It is flexible gray or blue-gray pipe, usually stamped PB. Oxidants in treated water, chlorine included, are blamed for making it brittle from the inside, so it tends to fail all at once instead of dripping first.

Not every house from those years has it, and some have already been repiped. The quick check is wherever pipe is exposed: at the water heater, under sinks, at the main shutoff. Newer neighborhoods such as Antiquity, begun in 2008, missed that era entirely. If you are buying on the lake side of town, ask for a plumbing inspection along with the home inspection.

Lake Norman irrigation and backflow assemblies

Charlotte Water requires a backflow prevention assembly on every home irrigation system connected to its water. Since March 24, 2003, that assembly has to be a reduced pressure (RP) type, and older double check valves may stay only until they need replacing. Waterfront owners can also apply to irrigate from the lake. That takes written authorization from Duke Energy, which manages the shoreline and asks for the pump capacity on its application.

If a lake-fed system is also tied to a city water line, the backflow assembly is what keeps lake water out of the drinking supply, so it has to work. Charlotte Water suggests testing in spring, once the system is turned back on after winterizing. Alpha Drain tests assemblies for $199 each and files the report with the utility. Charlotte Water points owners to a licensed plumber when an assembly needs repair, and backflow repair is part of what we do.

The older center of town, and where the sewer goes

The town grew up around a cotton mill in the 1890s and was incorporated in 1905. Smithville, a community with roots in the 1800s, became part of it in 1980. Only about 8 percent of homes predate 1980, but those are the ones likely to have cast iron drains and galvanized supply lines that have had half a century or more to corrode. Drains that slow down all over the house and rust-colored water are the usual signs.

Everything flushed here ends up at Charlotte Water's McDowell Creek plant in Huntersville. The utility's crews clear roots, wipes and grease from the public mains. A backup that affects only your house usually starts in your own line. Drain cleaning restores flow, and a sewer camera inspection shows whether the pipe itself needs work.

West Catawba Avenue kitchens and managed properties

Catawba Avenue meets I-77 at Exit 28, and the west side of that corridor is lined with national chains. Charlotte Water's grease trap policy applies to every food service kitchen on it. Outside interceptors should be pumped quarterly and small under-sink traps monthly, by an approved hauler, with records kept for three years. The policy also says enzymes and grease solvents alone do not count as maintenance.

Pumping the interceptor does not clean the pipe that feeds it. That is a job for hydro jetting, which scours grease off the pipe wall with high-pressure water. For property managers and HOAs, Alpha Drain tests backflow assemblies at $199 each, sends reminders before the next test is due, and backs the schedule with a 30-Day Compliance Guarantee: we test within 30 days.

Cornelius neighborhoods we serve

The Peninsula, Jetton Cove, Antiquity, Baileys Glen, Smithville, Oakhurst, Victoria Bay, Robbins Park, Westmoreland, Patricks Purchase, Caldwell Station, Blue Stone Harbor, Heritage Green, and the streets in between.

Cornelius ZIP codes we serve: 28031.