Plumber InHuntersville

What 1990s and 2000s construction means for your pipes

About one in five housing units here was built in the 1990s, a third in the 2000s and a quarter in the 2010s, according to Census estimates. Each decade used different pipe. Polybutylene, a gray plastic supply pipe, was made from 1978 until mid-1995, so the earliest subdivisions (Wynfield Creek's median build year is 1994) can still have it behind the walls. It is known for splitting without warning.

Later neighborhoods such as Skybrook, built between 2000 and 2017, were plumbed in the plastics still used today. Their weak points are different: fittings, shutoff valves and original water heaters. Only about 7 percent of homes predate 1980, and those can still have cast iron drains and galvanized supply lines. If you are not sure what is in your house, a plumbing inspection will tell you.

• Before 1980: often cast iron drains with galvanized or copper supply
• 1978 to mid-1995: possible polybutylene supply pipe
• Late 1990s onward: PVC drains with copper, CPVC or PEX supply

Charlotte Water's backflow rules for sprinkler systems

Charlotte Water supplies water and sewer here, and it requires a backflow prevention assembly on any home with an irrigation system. Since March 24, 2003, its ordinance has called for a reduced pressure (RP) assembly on irrigation. A system installed before that with an approved double check valve is grandfathered until the valve needs replacing. Homes from the 1990s are the ones most likely to be in that position.

The utility does not test assemblies or set prices. You hire a tester from its approved list, and the tester sends in the result. Its published guidance says to test every year, though a 2024 state law caps required testing at once every three years for residential irrigation that does not inject chemicals, so go by the due date on your notice. Alpha Drain charges $199 per assembly and files the report. If the assembly fails, we handle the backflow repair too.

Sewer lines in red clay, and homes that are not on city sewer

Wastewater from town flows to Charlotte Water's McDowell Creek plant, located right here in Huntersville. The utility's crews clear tree roots, wipes and grease from the public mains, but the piping on your own property is yours to look after. It is buried in the firm red clay subsoil the Piedmont is known for, so digging is slow. A sewer camera inspection finds the exact spot before anyone picks up a shovel.

Roots generally get in where a pipe is already leaking, according to NC State Extension. Hydro jetting cuts them out, and a spot sewer line repair closes the opening they came through. Some properties in Mecklenburg County are not on public sewer at all and use a septic tank, a private well, or both, permitted by the county's Groundwater and Wastewater Services. The drain line from the house to the tank can clog like any other.

Restaurants, shops and offices around Birkdale Village

Birkdale Village opened in 2003 off I-77 Exit 25 with about 60 stores and restaurants, 320 apartments and 50,000 square feet of offices. Every commercial and industrial customer on Charlotte Water must install and maintain backflow assemblies. The rule covers domestic, irrigation and fire line services, and each assembly has to be tested by an approved tester at installation and every year after.

Food service adds a grease rule: new restaurants need an interceptor of at least 1,000 gallons unless the utility approves a smaller one. Alpha Drain's customers include businesses and property managers. We test assemblies for $199 each and send reminders so a test date is not missed. Our 30-Day Compliance Guarantee means we test within 30 days. A burst pipe after closing gets the same 24/7 emergency plumber line as any home.

Huntersville neighborhoods we serve

Birkdale, Birkdale Village, Northstone, Wynfield, Skybrook, Vermillion, Cedarfield, Macaulay, Gilead Ridge, Stephens Grove, Monteith Park, Latta Springs, Olmsted, and the streets in between.

Huntersville ZIP codes we serve: 28078.