# Curtis Park Plumbing: Row Houses and Duplex Conversions Italianate and Queen Anne rows, half of them carved into upper and lower units at some point. The plumbing follows the conversion, not the original drawings. - Riser and branch repipes in occupied duplexes - Stack work inside party walls and shared chases - Licensed Colorado master plumbers, available 24 hours ## What makes plumbing in Curtis Park different from a single family house? Curtis Park holds some of the oldest surviving residential blocks in Denver, and a large share of those houses were divided into two or more units. That means one supply riser feeding several kitchens and bathrooms, one waste stack taking everything, and both of them buried in masonry party walls. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing works these buildings unit by unit so tenants keep water while the riser gets replaced. ## Key takeaways - A single corroded riser in a Curtis Park duplex starves every fixture above it, so the upstairs unit complains first and the downstairs unit notices nothing. - Waste stacks in these buildings usually run inside masonry, which means access is planned from the closet or the chase rather than by opening the wall face. - Lead closet bends were standard when these houses were built, and they are commonly found still in place under original toilets. - Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing can phase a Curtis Park repipe one unit at a time so the building never loses water entirely. ## Why does only the upstairs unit lose pressure? In a converted Curtis Park row house the supply usually leaves the basement as one riser and branches off at each floor. Corrosion accumulates along the whole length, but the pressure penalty lands hardest at the top of the column, because that water has travelled through every restriction below it and then has to climb. Downstairs the tap still fills a pot in reasonable time, so the problem gets blamed on the fixture. Replacing the riser is the fix, and it is often possible without touching the branch runs. Our [partial repipe options](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/partial-repipe-options) page covers how we scope that, and [galvanized pipe replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement) covers what comes out and what goes back in. ## What is involved in replacing a stack inside a party wall? The stack is the spine of the building and in a row house it usually sits in shared masonry. We open from the closet side wherever the framing allows, work floor by floor, and keep at least one bathroom in service at all times. Where the old iron is only scaled and not split we will say so and clean it rather than sell a replacement. [Cast iron drain stack replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/cast-iron-drain-stack-replacement) explains the work in detail, and a [drain scope inspection](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-cleaning/drain-scope-video-inspection/denver-co) is how we prove which of the two situations you are in before anything gets opened. ## What should a Curtis Park landlord budget for first? The three things that generate the most emergency calls in these buildings are the riser, the stack, and the water heater serving multiple units. A tank sized for one household will not keep up with two, and it will fail early trying. Sorting the heater is cheap next to a burst riser at midnight. Start with [water heater installation and replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/water-heater-installation-replacement/denver-co) and a fixture pass through [sinks, faucets and toilets](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/sink-faucet-toilet-replacement-repair/denver-co). For buildings with more than a couple of units, our [commercial plumbing services](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/commercial-plumbing-services/denver-co) team handles the scheduling around tenants. ## What Curtis Park buildings call us for - [Partial Repipe Options](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/partial-repipe-options): Replace the riser or a single branch instead of the whole building when that is genuinely all that is failing. - [Cast Iron Drain Stack Replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/cast-iron-drain-stack-replacement): Stack work planned floor by floor so the building keeps at least one working bathroom throughout. - [Drain Scope and Video Inspection](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-cleaning/drain-scope-video-inspection/denver-co): Proof of what is happening inside the stack before anyone opens a masonry wall. - [Sinks, Faucets and Toilets](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/sink-faucet-toilet-replacement-repair/denver-co): Fixture replacement in units where the original lead closet bend is still under the toilet. - [Water Heater Installation](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/water-heater-installation-replacement/denver-co): Right sizing a tank that has to serve more households than the house was built for. - [Commercial Plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/commercial-plumbing-services/denver-co): For multi unit buildings that need work scheduled around tenants and notice periods. ## Curtis Park and the blocks around it Curtis Park is part of our central Denver coverage. See the [full Denver metro service area list](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) or the [neighborhood plumbing directory](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods) for everything we publish at this level of detail. [Baker](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/baker-denver) and [Whittier](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/whittier-denver) were built in the same window and behave the same way once you open a wall. [Capitol Hill](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/capitol-hill-denver) has the same multi unit conversion problem at a larger scale. Tenants in these buildings most often report [low water pressure at one fixture](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/low-water-pressure-one-fixture), a [toilet that will not flush](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/toilet-wont-flush) cleanly, and [multiple drains clogged at once](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/multiple-drains-clogged-at-once) when the shared stack is the real culprit. ### Nearby neighborhoods we cover - [Baker](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/baker-denver): Same era, single family version - [Whittier](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/whittier-denver): Same era, similar conversions - [Capitol Hill](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/capitol-hill-denver): Multi unit at larger scale ### Related problem and pipe material pages - [Partial repipe options](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/partial-repipe-options) - [Multiple drains clogged at once](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/multiple-drains-clogged-at-once) - [Low water pressure at one fixture](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/low-water-pressure-one-fixture) - [All Denver metro service areas](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) ## Frequently asked questions **Can you repipe one unit of a Curtis Park duplex at a time?** Yes, and that is usually how we do it. The riser is replaced once, then each unit's branch work is scheduled separately so only one tenant is affected on any given day. **Is the lead closet bend under my old toilet a problem?** Lead bends were standard when these houses were built and they are not a drinking water risk, because nothing potable passes through them. We replace them when the toilet comes off anyway, because the joint is usually the weak point by now. **How do you get to a stack that runs inside brick?** From the closet side or an existing chase wherever the framing allows. Opening the face of a masonry party wall is the last resort, not the first move. **Do you handle plumbing for rental properties in Curtis Park?** Yes. We coordinate access with tenants, work to the notice period the landlord needs, and provide the scope in writing before anything starts. **What is your licence number?** Colorado Master Plumber MP-18927 and Colorado plumbing contractor licence 2110. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing is family owned and based in Westminster. --- Source: https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/curtis-park-denver Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing, 10860 N Dover St STE 2300, Westminster, CO 80021. Phone +1-720-296-7972.