At a glance
- Place
- Greenwood
- Setting
- Rural hamlet
- Phone
- (365) 363-2754
- Read next
- Our service area
Homes and plumbing in Greenwood
Greenwood sits in the countryside north of the built-up part of Ajax. The houses here range from century-old farmhouses to modern rural builds on larger lots. Very few are on municipal water or sewer. Instead, a well pump pushes water into a pressure tank, and drains lead to a septic tank and leaching bed in the yard.
That changes the job. A loss of water might be a failed well pump, a waterlogged pressure tank or a tripped breaker rather than a city problem. A slow drain might be a full septic tank, not a clog in the house.
Common problems we see
- Pressure that surges and fades as the pressure tank loses its air charge.
- Hard, iron-rich well water staining fixtures and scaling water heaters.
- Pipes freezing in older farmhouses with crawlspaces or stone foundations.
- Slow drains throughout the house when the septic system needs attention.
Local tip If every drain in the house is slow at once, and you are on septic, avoid running the washer or dishwasher and call your septic pumper as well as us. The fix may be in the yard, not in the walls.
Services most asked for
Water treatment is a big part of our Greenwood work. We install water softeners and filtration systems that deal with hardness and iron. We also handle frozen pipes in winter, water heater repair and repiping in older homes where past owners patched lines together over the years.
For background on treating hard water, our water softener basics page is a good read. If you are on septic, please also read what not to flush. A septic system is far less forgiving than a city sewer.
A note on wells
We work on the plumbing inside the house and the water treatment that serves it. Some well jobs, such as pulling a submersible pump from deep in a drilled well, need a licensed well contractor with the right equipment. When that is the case we say so, and we can help you sort out which part of the problem sits on which side of the pressure tank. The Region of Durham also offers guidance on testing private well water, and it is worth doing at least once a year.
Winter in the country
Rural homes take the full force of a Durham winter. Wind sweeps across open fields, and houses with crawlspaces, older stone basements or additions built over unheated space are prone to frozen lines. Keep crawlspace vents closed in winter, insulate pipes along outside walls and keep the furnace running even when you are away. Our frozen pipe prevention guide has more ideas.
Getting to you
Greenwood is a short drive north from Ajax. Call (365) 363-2754. Tell us whether you have a well and septic so we arrive with the right parts. As always, we explain the problem first and you choose the repair.
Questions we hear on the phone
Do you service homes on wells and septic?
Yes. We handle the plumbing in the house, water heaters and water treatment. For deep well pump work, we will tell you if a well contractor is the better call.
Why does my water pressure keep surging?
On a well system, that often points to the pressure tank going waterlogged, or the switch contacts pitting. Both are common and usually repairable.
Will a softener hurt my septic system?
A properly set softener is generally fine. We set it to regenerate only as often as needed to keep the brine going to the septic to a minimum.