# Platt Park Plumbing for Pop Top Bungalows A cottage supply system was never designed to feed a second floor with two more bathrooms. In Platt Park that is exactly what a lot of them are being asked to do. - Supply upsizing for houses that grew upward - Pressure regulation and fixture flow diagnosis - Drain and vent corrections for added upper floors ## Why does a pop top Platt Park house lose water pressure? Platt Park is mostly small pre war bungalows on narrow lots, and many have had a second storey added. The addition brings new bathrooms, but the supply line feeding the house, and often the distribution piping inside it, is the original cottage sized system. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing resolves this by upsizing and repiping the distribution rather than chasing the symptom fixture by fixture. ## Key takeaways - Adding a second storey doubles the fixture count without changing the pipe that feeds them, which is the single most common cause of pressure complaints in Platt Park. - Two showers running at once on original distribution piping is the test that reveals the problem, and it usually fails. - A pressure reducing valve set incorrectly can imitate an undersized supply, so it gets checked before anything is replaced. - Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing quotes the repipe and the valve check together so the cheaper fix gets ruled in or out first. ## Is it the supply line or the pipe inside the house? Both are possible and the difference matters, because one is a much bigger job than the other. We measure static and flowing pressure at the hose bib, then open fixtures in sequence and watch what happens. A house whose pressure holds until two fixtures run has a distribution problem. A house that reads low with nothing running has a supply or a regulator problem. When the regulator is the culprit, [pressure reducing valve](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/pressure-reducing-valve) work is a contained job. When the distribution is undersized, [repiping and pipe replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/piping-replacement-and-repiping-services/denver-co) is the honest answer and [whole house repipe cost](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/whole-house-repipe-cost) explains what drives the number. ## What does an added upper floor do to the drains? New bathrooms upstairs have to reach a stack that was sized and vented for a single storey cottage. Where the addition was done well, a new vent was run through the roof. Where it was done cheaply, the new fixtures were tied into existing vents that cannot serve them, and the result is gurgling, slow draining, and traps that lose their seal. [Drain gurgling](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-gurgling) explains what you are hearing, and [drain locating and troubleshooting](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-cleaning/drain-locating-trouble-shooting/denver-co) is how we confirm whether the problem is a blockage or a vent. ## Does the water heater need to change too? Usually. A tank sized for one bathroom will not recover fast enough for three, and the symptom is hot water that runs out mid shower rather than a heater that has failed. Upsizing the tank, or moving to a tankless unit where the gas supply allows it, is normally part of the same project. Compare options at [40 versus 50 gallon water heater](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/40-vs-50-gallon-water-heater) and [tankless water heaters](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/electric-gas-tankless-water-heaters/denver-co). Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing will tell you which one the existing gas line can actually support. ## Platt Park plumbing services - [Repiping and Pipe Replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/piping-replacement-and-repiping-services/denver-co): Upsized distribution so a two storey house behaves like one, not like a cottage with an attic. - [Pressure Reducing Valve](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/pressure-reducing-valve): Checked first, because a badly set regulator can look exactly like undersized pipe. - [Drain Locating and Troubleshooting](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-cleaning/drain-locating-trouble-shooting/denver-co): Telling a venting fault apart from a blockage before anyone cables a line that is not blocked. - [Whole House Repipe Cost](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/whole-house-repipe-cost): What moves the number on a narrow lot bungalow that has grown upward. - [Tankless Water Heaters](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/electric-gas-tankless-water-heaters/denver-co): An option when the added bathrooms have outgrown the original tank and floor space is tight. - [Remodeling and Renovation Plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/remodeling-renovation-plumbing/denver-co): Rough in for the upper floor, done so the drains vent properly the first time. ## Platt Park and the neighborhoods near it Platt Park is inside our south central Denver coverage. The [Denver metro service area list](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) and the [neighborhood plumbing directory](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods) show the rest of what we cover. [Baker](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/baker-denver) sits just north with older and less altered housing. [Congress Park](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/congress-park-denver) has the same added bathroom problem without the second storey. Platt Park owners usually call about [low water pressure through the whole house](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/low-water-pressure-whole-house), [no hot water](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/no-hot-water) part way through a shower, and [drain gurgling](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-gurgling) from a badly vented upstairs bathroom. ### Nearby neighborhoods we cover - [Baker](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/baker-denver): Older, less altered - [Congress Park](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/congress-park-denver): Added baths, no second storey - [Sunnyside](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sunnyside-denver): Similar small original stock ### Related problem and pipe material pages - [Whole house repipe cost](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/whole-house-repipe-cost) - [Low water pressure through the whole house](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/low-water-pressure-whole-house) - [Pressure reducing valve](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/pressure-reducing-valve) - [All Denver metro service areas](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) ## Frequently asked questions **We added a second storey and the pressure got worse. Is that normal?** It is extremely common. The addition added fixtures and height without changing the pipe feeding them, so every existing restriction now matters more than it did. **Could this just be the pressure regulator?** It could, and that is a far cheaper repair, so we test for it first. A regulator that has drifted low produces the same complaint as undersized pipe. **Why does the upstairs toilet gurgle when the shower runs?** Air is being pulled through the trap because the vent serving those fixtures is undersized or was never properly extended when the floor was added. **Do we need a bigger water heater as well?** Usually. The tank that served one bathroom will not recover quickly enough for three, and no repair changes that. Upsizing or going tankless is normally part of the same plan. **Are you licensed for this scope of work?** Yes. Colorado Master Plumber MP-18927 and Colorado plumbing contractor licence 2110, with permits pulled where the work requires them. --- Source: https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/platt-park-denver Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing, 10860 N Dover St STE 2300, Westminster, CO 80021. Phone +1-720-296-7972.