Plumbing for historic Manitou Springs homes
Manitou Springs sits about 6.6 miles west of downtown Colorado Springs, a town of 4,858 people that grew as a resort in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Old houses here need plumbers who expect surprises in the walls.
- Phones answered 24/7
- El Paso County
- About 13 minutes' drive from downtown
Plumbing problem in Manitou Springs?
Call any hour. A person answers and gets a plumber moving.
Quick answer
Plumbing in Manitou Springs is mostly old-house plumbing. The Manitou Springs Historic District, listed in 1983, holds about 1,001 buildings, 752 of them contributing, from a late 19th and early 20th century resort town. That often means galvanized supply pipe, cast iron or clay drains, and decades of patchwork repairs.
A resort town's housing, a century on
History Colorado describes the district as a late 19th and early 20th century resort community, and much of the plumbing in it has been changed more than once. In one house we can find original cast iron drains, galvanized supply branches, copper from a 1970s remodel and PEX from last year, joined with fittings from every decade.
Galvanized pipe rusts from the inside, so pressure drops first at the farthest fixture and brown water shows after a faucet has sat. When patching stops making sense, whole-house repiping replaces the supply lines with PEX or copper, routed to disturb plaster and trim as little as possible.
Old sewer laterals under old houses
Old laterals are often clay or cast iron, and joints that have shifted let roots in. Backups in the lowest drain, gurgling toilets and a sewer smell after rain are the usual signs. Before quoting any sewer line repair, we run a camera from a cleanout to see the material, the depth and the exact defect.
Some old lines can be lined or burst in place rather than trenched, which matters on tight lots with steps, retaining walls and mature plantings. Whether trenchless replacement fits depends on what the camera shows.
Common jobs
The plumbing calls we get most in Manitou Springs
Replacing polybutylene
Galvanized supply pipe in century-old homes rusts closed from the inside.
Sewer Camera Inspection: what it costs and how it runs
Clay and cast iron laterals need a look before any repair is priced.
Sagging sections and bellies
Shifted joints in old laterals let roots in.
Trenchless Sewer Line Replacement: what it costs and how it runs
Tight lots with walls and steps favor lining or bursting over trenching.
Drain Cleaning: what it costs and how it runs
Old cast iron drains narrow with scale and buildup.
Clogged toilets that keep coming back
Running toilets waste water during the town's conservation alerts.
French Creek water and the 2013 flood
Manitou Springs gets most of its water from French Creek on Pikes Peak, with a Fryingpan-Arkansas backup. Heavy snowmelt runoff carrying sediment has disrupted the city's treatment plant and triggered conservation alerts. During an alert, a running toilet or a dripping hose bib wastes water the city is asking everyone to save, so it is a good time for toilet repair and quick leak fixes.
On August 9, 2013, a flash flood entered the city from US 24 and damaged 20 homes, 8 of them significantly. Floodwater can push sewage back up through basement floor drains, so a backwater valve on the building drain and a camera check after any flood make sense for a low-lying house.
Next door
Nearby places we also work
FAQ
Plumbing questions from Manitou Springs
If the supply is mostly galvanized and you are seeing low pressure or rusty water at several fixtures, a full repipe usually costs less in the end than chasing one leak after another. If only one branch is bad, a targeted section can make sense.
Water can enter an old lateral through cracked joints, or a surcharged sewer can push back toward the house. A camera inspection shows which, and a backwater valve on the building drain keeps sewage from coming up through the floor drain.
Fix running toilets and dripping faucets first, since they waste water around the clock. Hold off on outdoor watering and check the meter with everything off to see if there is a hidden leak.
About 6.6 miles west of downtown, close in and well inside our service area. Phones are answered 24/7.
Plumber needed in Manitou Springs?
Call any hour. We answer, help you stop the water and get a plumber moving.
American Plumbing Service service area, Colorado Springs, CO
Map loads only when you ask for it.
