Plumber in Northglenn, CO

Northglenn's mid-century homes

Northglenn was built as a planned community starting around 1960, so much of the city's housing dates from the 1960s and '70s: ranch homes and bi-levels on curving streets, many with basements, around parks like Webster Lake and E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park.

Homes that age have had sixty years to collect repairs. It's normal to find original copper alongside newer patches, shutoff valves that haven't moved in decades, and bathrooms with their original two-handle shower valves. Those valves don't balance pressure, which is why a shower in an original Northglenn bathroom goes cold or scalding when someone flushes.

The water heater in a Northglenn basement is often on its third or fourth replacement in the same spot. When the furnace has been upgraded to a high-efficiency model that vents through the wall, the water heater may now be the only appliance left using the old chimney, and that changes how well it drafts. It's one of the first things we check on a replacement.

Bi-level homes put the water heater and laundry on the lower level with bathrooms above, and kitchens often sit on exterior walls. In a hard freeze, those kitchen supply lines are the first to go.

Updating a 1960s or '70s Northglenn home

Most Northglenn plumbing projects are about bringing original systems up to date one piece at a time. The order matters. Shutoff valves come first, because every later job depends on being able to turn the water off. Then the items that fail without warning: braided or old chrome supply lines, the water heater once it's past typical tank life, and any original galvanized sections.

Bathrooms come next. Swapping an original two-handle shower valve for a pressure-balancing valve is the single biggest comfort upgrade in these homes. If the wall behind the shower is a closet, the job can often be done from that side, leaving the tile alone.

Lower levels deserve a look too. In bi-levels, the water heater, laundry and main shutoff tend to share one small room; keeping that room clear and the shutoff easy to reach makes any future emergency smaller.

Northglenn's water

Northglenn operates its own water system and publishes an annual Water Quality Report. Per the 2023 report, the city's water starts as snowmelt high in the Berthoud Pass area, is stored in Standley Lake (shared with Westminster and Thornton), and is treated at the city's plant on West 112th Avenue, where its lab runs more than 70,000 tests a year.

The hardness figure for your water is in that report. Lake-sourced water still deposits minerals in tanks and on fixtures over time, so aerators, cartridges and water heaters all benefit from occasional cleaning and flushing.

Permits in Northglenn

Northglenn issues building permits for plumbing work such as water heater replacement through the city. Requirements and fees can change, so we confirm what applies to your job before we start.