Plumbers for Ontario homes, old and new (91762)

Ontario runs from the foothill side of the 10 down past the 60, with Ontario International Airport on its east side and Rancho Cucamonga to the north. The older core around Euclid Avenue and the downtown blocks holds some of the oldest houses in the west end of the Inland Empire, many on raised foundations.

South of the 60, former farmland is filling with new tract homes and townhomes built to recent codes. That range means a single day can take us from a century-old cast iron drain to a new PEX manifold. Ontario runs a municipal water utility, and like most of the region its water is hard enough to wear on heaters and fixtures.

Permits for water heaters, gas lines, repiping and sewer work go through the City of Ontario building department, not LADBS. We pull permits as part of the job and meet the inspector. For businesses, the city's water utility sends backflow test notices, and our annual backflow test guide explains what the tester checks and what happens if an assembly fails.

Owners of new homes in the south part of the city often call about water pressure. Newer houses usually have a pressure regulator near the main shutoff, and when it fails, pressure climbs and stresses every fixture. A simple gauge on a hose bibb tells you where you stand. We test it and adjust or replace the regulator, which protects new faucets, the water heater, the dishwasher and the washing machine.

In older downtown homes, start with the sewer. A lateral that has never been checked may be holding roots, sags or broken joints that only show up during a heavy laundry day. Clearing the line, with water jetting when roots are thick, and running a camera together gives you a plan. Our post on deciding between patching and repiping helps with the supply side of the same house.