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Plumber in Queens

Queens is mostly one- and two-family houses, many of them with finished basements, and that one fact shapes most of the calls we take there.

The plumbing here

In a house with a finished basement, the lowest drain in the building is usually a floor drain, a basement shower or a laundry sink — and when the main line blocks, that is where the water comes up. It is the reason a drain problem in Queens goes from inconvenient to expensive faster than almost anywhere else we work.

Many blocks are tree-lined, and older clay and cast-iron lines to the street have joints that roots find their way into. Older houses still run galvanised supply, and like the rest of the city they have a house trap on the main just inside the front wall.

What we get called out for

• Water around the basement floor drain after the washing machine empties.
• Gurgling from the basement shower when an upstairs toilet is flushed.
• A main line that clears when snaked but blocks again within a few months — often roots at a joint.
• A water heater sitting in a finished basement with no pan underneath it.
• A supply line that has started to weep behind a finished wall.

Before we come out

• Tell us when you book if the basement is finished and where the cleanout or house trap is — if it is behind panelling or under a carpet, we need to know before we arrive.
• If water is already on the basement floor, stop running water anywhere in the house until we get there. Every flush upstairs comes out at the lowest point.
• In a two-family house, say which floor has the problem and whether the other unit is affected too — that tells us a lot before we have opened anything.

Questions from Queens

You snaked my line and the roots came back. Why?

Snaking cuts roots out of the pipe but leaves the crack they came in through. If they keep returning, the honest answer is that the joint needs repair, and we will tell you that rather than book you in every few months.

My basement drain backed up once. Should I worry?

Once can be a one-off — something flushed that should not have been. Twice in a year usually means the main line is narrowing or rooted, and it is cheaper to find out before the next one than after.

Can you move a water heater out of a finished basement?

Sometimes, depending on the gas line and the venting. More often the practical answer is a drain pan and a leak sensor, which costs a fraction of the move.

Other areas we cover

The Bronx, Manhattan, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County and Bergen County. Near the edge of one? Call (914) 429-6900 with the address.