Plumber in Lakewood, CA

Plumbing in Lakewood

Lakewood, just west of Hawaiian Gardens and Cerritos, is one of the best-known suburbs in the country. Between 1950 and 1953, developers built roughly 17,500 houses here at remarkable speed, turning bean fields into a complete city almost overnight. Lakewood incorporated in 1954 and became the model for the "contract city" approach many California cities later followed.

That history matters for plumbing. A huge number of Lakewood homes went up at the same time, with the same materials and methods, and they're now more than 70 years old.

What 70-year-old plumbing looks like

Galvanized water lines. Many homes from the early 1950s were originally plumbed with galvanized steel pipe. Over decades it rusts from the inside, narrowing the pipe until water pressure drops, water runs brown when a tap is first opened, and eventually the pipe leaks. Plenty of Lakewood homes have been repiped since, but many still have some galvanized sections - often hidden in walls, under the house, or at the connection to the main.

Original drain and sewer lines. Cast iron drains and clay sewer laterals from the original construction are reaching the end of their life. Cast iron corrodes and cracks; clay joints separate and let in roots. Lakewood's mature street trees make root intrusion a familiar problem.

Decades of updates. Most Lakewood homes have been expanded and remodeled over the years - added bathrooms, enlarged kitchens, converted garages - so the plumbing is often a mix of eras and materials.

Common plumbing jobs in Lakewood

• Repiping homes with galvanized or mixed old pipe
• Sewer line inspection and repair for roots, cracks and bellies
• Drain cleaning for slow and recurring clogs
• Leak detection
• Water heater repair and replacement

Is it time to repipe?

If your Lakewood home still has galvanized pipe, the question usually isn't whether it'll need replacing, but when. Signs it's getting close:

• Low water pressure, especially on the hot side or at the far end of the house
• Brown or rusty water when a tap is first turned on
• Leaks at threaded joints
• Pressure that drops when two fixtures run at once

A plumber can check what type of pipe your home has and how it's holding up. Replacing all of it at once is usually more effective than fixing one section at a time.

Sewer laterals in older neighborhoods

In most Southern California cities, the homeowner is responsible for the sewer lateral from the house to the main. In older neighborhoods like Lakewood's, a camera inspection is a smart move before buying a home, if backups keep recurring, or before any major remodel that adds bathrooms. Check with the City of Lakewood for its specific rules and any permits needed for work in the street or parkway.

Remodeling a Lakewood home?

A kitchen or bathroom remodel is an ideal time to replace old supply lines, drains and shutoff valves while walls and floors are open. It's also when you'll want to bring fixtures up to current water-saving standards - something California requires for pre-1994 homes anyway. See our post on California's water-saving fixture rule.

Parkway trees and sewer lines

Lakewood's tree-lined streets are part of its charm, but the trees planted in the 1950s are now large, with root systems to match. Roots naturally head for the moisture inside older sewer laterals. If your main line keeps clogging every year or two, roots are a likely cause. A camera inspection shows how bad it is and where the roots are getting in, which is the first step toward a lasting repair instead of repeated clearing.

When to call

For leaks, clogs, low pressure, water heater problems or sewer backups, call to reach a local plumber who serves Lakewood and the surrounding cities.