Plumber in Aurora, CO

Aurora homes, old and new

Aurora is one of Colorado's largest cities and stretches across parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties. Its housing follows the city's growth from west to east.

North and west Aurora, near Colfax and in mid-century neighborhoods like Hoffman Heights, has homes from the early and middle 1900s with older piping and original fixtures.

Central and south Aurora grew from the 1970s through the '90s. Many of those homes are now at the age where the water heater, faucets and shower valves are wearing out together. Some homes from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were built with gray polybutylene supply pipe, which is known for failing at the fittings.

East toward E-470, in communities like Saddle Rock, Tallyn's Reach and Murphy Creek, newer two-story homes have PEX plumbing, larger households and long runs from the basement water heater to upstairs bathrooms. Sizing water heaters for those homes matters.

Bigger homes, longer pipe runs

Many of Aurora's newer two-story homes put the water heater in the basement and the primary bathroom two floors up. That's a long way for hot water to travel, so a slow warm-up at the far shower is normal, and sizing the water heater for the household matters more than in a compact home.

For a family running two showers and a dishwasher on a winter morning, a standard 40-gallon tank may simply be too small. Options include a larger tank, a high-recovery model or a tankless unit sized for January's colder incoming water.

In central and south Aurora's 1980s and '90s homes, the check we recommend most is the supply pipe itself. Gray polybutylene was used widely in that era. Where it's present, failed fittings are the usual leak point, and planning a replacement is better than waiting for one to let go.

Aurora's water

Aurora Water draws on rights in the South Platte, Arkansas and Colorado River basins and stores water in a network of reservoirs. Its Prairie Waters system pulls water through riverbank wells along the South Platte in Weld County, cleans it naturally through sand and gravel, and finishes treatment at the Binney Water Purification Facility; the Griswold and Wemlinger plants treat the rest. Aurora Water publishes an annual Water Quality Report.

The report lists hardness for the water reaching your area. With multiple sources and plants, it can vary across the city.

Permits in Aurora

Aurora's Building Division issues plumbing permits, including for water heater replacement, which also has to meet current code for items like the relief valve discharge and drain pan where required.