- Area
- Copper Hills
- Local focus
- Northeast Newmarket
- Common calls
- Drains, supply pipe, heaters, sumps
- Booking
- By telephone
Homes and plumbing in Copper Hills
The streets east of Leslie Street and north of Mulock Drive filled in mostly during the 2000s and 2010s. Houses here are detached and semi-detached, often two storeys over a poured basement, with PEX supply lines, ABS drains and a sump pit near a corner of the foundation. Water heaters are commonly rentals that came with the closing papers.
None of that is old. Yet a house of fifteen or twenty years has lived through enough winters and enough hard water to start asking for attention, and builder-grade fittings were chosen for price rather than long life.
Trouble spots in these houses
- Tired fill valves and flappers. Original toilets in Copper Hills tend to run, rock on the floor or flush weakly once the plastic parts age.
- Scale on fixtures. Aerators clog, shower heads spray sideways and the kettle grows a white crust. Softeners were rarely included by the builder.
- Sump pumps reaching middle age. The first pump in the pit is often the original contractor-grade unit, and many are near the end of their working years.
- Single-handle faucets that drip. Cartridges in budget faucets wear quickly under mineral-heavy water.
We do not usually find polybutylene in these streets, since it fell out of use well before construction began. Owners who bought a resale home elsewhere and then moved here sometimes ask, so our polybutylene replacement page explains how to tell the difference.
Services most asked for
Most calls from Copper Hills are about upgrading something rather than rescuing it. Swapping a builder toilet for a better one is common, and our toilet installation visit covers the flange, the shut-off and a proper seal. Families with young children often ask about water treatment next; the circular on water softener basics is a good place to start before booking.
We also replace sump pumps before they fail, fit new kitchen and bath faucets, and add hose bibs or laundry hookups when a basement is being finished.
Bench note
A note for newer owners: track down your main shut-off today, while all is dry. In most Copper Hills homes it sits low on the front basement wall, beside the water meter.
Small habits that help
Twice a year, unscrew the aerators and soak them in vinegar. Pour a bucket of water into the sump pit each fall to watch the float climb and the pump empty it. Lift the toilet tank lid now and then and listen; a faint hiss means water is slipping past the flapper.
Ringing us from Copper Hills
The neighbourhood is a short drive from most of our work in town, so routine visits can usually be booked within a few days, and urgent leaks are handled as quickly as the day allows. When you phone (365) 990-3021, give us the age of the house and which fixture is giving trouble; it lets us arrive with the right parts on the first trip. Owners further east toward Whitchurch-Stouffville are served the same way.
Phoned-in questions
Do Copper Hills homes have polybutylene pipe?
It is very unlikely. Homes here were built after polybutylene stopped being used in Ontario, and most have PEX supply lines instead.
Is it worth replacing the original toilets?
If they run, wobble or need more than one flush, a modern toilet usually pays for itself in water and annoyance. We can look at the flange and supply while we are there.
Should I add a water softener to a newer home?
Many owners do, because scale builds on faucets and the water heater regardless of the home's age. Testing the hardness first tells you whether it suits your household.