Chicago Plumbing Services for Older Buildings
Pick the service by what the water is doing. Each page says what usually causes it in a Chicago building and what the plumber checks first.
Water coming out of a pipe or a tank
Pressure-side trouble. The water is under city pressure, so it keeps coming until someone closes the main valve.
Emergency plumbing
Burst lines, sewage on the floor, a house with no water. Stop the damage first, then get the failed part fixed.
Frozen and burst pipes
Breaks in walls, ceilings and back porches, frozen lines that haven’t split yet, and the second weak spot that usually sits nearby.
Water heater repair and replacement
Leaks from the top or the bottom of the tank, pilot and burner trouble, repair or replace, and tankless units in tight basements.
Water coming up into the basement
Storm water, groundwater or sewage rising from below. These are the Chicago problems: basements that sit lower than the street sewer, and the pumps and valves that keep them dry.
Flooded basement and sewer backup
Storm water and sewage that rise through the floor drain, why it happens under raised Chicago streets, and how to keep it out next time.
Catch basins and overhead sewers
Cleaning out the old brick basin by the house, and when an overhead sewer conversion keeps the basement dry.
Sump and ejector pumps
Sump pumps for groundwater, ejector pumps for garden-unit bathrooms, battery backups and replacement.
Water that won’t go down
Drain-side trouble, from one slow sink to a main line packed with roots. Where the backup shows up first tells the plumber where the blockage is.
Drain cleaning and hydro jetting
One slow fixture or every drain at once, rodding versus jetting, and what grease, wipes and roots do to old lines.
Sewer line repair and rodding
Main line clogs, roots in clay laterals, camera inspections and spot repairs on the pipe that runs to the street.
Sewer line replacement
When repair stops making sense, trenchless versus an open trench, and work under parkways and sidewalks.
Which page fits a backup in the basement?
Basement water sends most people to the wrong page, because three different problems look alike on the floor.
- Water rose through the floor drain during a storm and went back down after: that’s the combined sewer pushing back, and the flooded basement page covers it.
- Water comes up the floor drain on a dry day, every time someone does laundry or showers: the house’s own sewer line is blocked, which is a sewer rodding job.
- The pit in the corner is full and the pump hums or makes no sound at all: start with sump and ejector pumps.
Planning work near the meter and not sure what your water line is made of? The lead water line guide shows how to check it at the meter, and the rest of the plumbing guides cover shutoffs, overflowing toilets and the first hour of a flooded basement.