Galvanized supply and cast iron drains
Galvanized steel supply pipe corrodes from the inside, narrowing until the pressure at the fixture drops noticeably. If your upstairs shower loses pressure when a tap runs downstairs, that is often the cause rather than the fixture.
Cast iron drains last a long time but not forever. They corrode from the inside at the bottom of the pipe, and by the time there is a stain on a basement ceiling the pipe is usually well gone.
Both are worth replacing while walls are open for other work. Doing it later means opening finished walls again, which is the expensive way.
Moving fixtures, and what the drain will allow
Supply lines are relatively easy to move. Drains are not, because they rely on slope and venting, and there is only so much fall available between a fixture and the stack.
That is why moving a toilet a few feet can cost more than moving a sink across a room. On a slab or in a basement it can mean breaking concrete, which changes the job completely.
We check what the drain layout allows before the design is finalised, which our renovation design concepts stage covers. It prevents a layout that has to be redrawn once the floor is open.
Frozen pipe risk in Ottawa houses
Supply lines running in exterior walls, unheated garages or along a rim joist are the ones that split in a January cold snap.
When we open walls we relocate vulnerable lines to the warm side of the insulation wherever the layout allows. It is a small cost during a renovation and it prevents the single most common winter water damage claim we see.
What a plumbing upgrade scope includes
- Existing material survey: what pipe you have and its condition.
- Replacement extent: which runs are being replaced and why.
- Fixture rough-ins: locations confirmed against the layout.
- Drain feasibility: slope and venting checked before design is locked.
- Permits and inspections: applied for and coordinated.
- Freeze protection: vulnerable lines relocated where possible.
Where plumbing system upgrades sits in the bigger job
This work is part of our general contractor service, so it can run on its own or as one stage inside a larger project. When it is part of a bigger renovation we sequence it with the other trades rather than treating it as a standalone visit.
Clients booking this often pair it with roof repair, roof replacement, new roof installation or brick repair. One contract covers whichever combination you need, with a single schedule and one point of contact.
Plumbing System Upgrades across the Ottawa area
We take this work on throughout the greater Ottawa area. Recent jobs have run through Nepean, Merivale, South Keys, Kanata and the surrounding neighbourhoods. The consultation is free wherever you are in the city.