# West Highland Plumbing: Bungalows, Squares and Remodels Pre war brick on alley lots, most of it remodeled at least twice. The plumbing in a West Highland house is rarely all one material. - Repipes for houses running on two or three pipe materials - Kitchen and bathroom remodel rough in - Alley access and detached garage plumbing ## Why is West Highland plumbing usually a mixed material job? West Highland is dominated by pre war brick bungalows and Denver squares, and almost all of them have been remodeled since. That leaves a house with original galvanized in the walls, a copper section from a mid century update, and PEX from last decade's kitchen. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing spends most of its West Highland time either replacing what is left of the steel or repairing the joints where two different metals meet. ## Key takeaways - A dissimilar metal joint between galvanized and copper corrodes from the inside even when both pipes on either side look healthy. - Denver squares put the second floor bathroom directly over the kitchen, which is why a leak here shows up as a kitchen ceiling stain. - Alley access in West Highland means we can usually stage a repipe from the rear of the house rather than through the front rooms. - Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing carries Colorado Master Plumber licence MP-18927 and runs 24 hour emergency cover in northwest Denver. ## What goes wrong where old pipe meets new pipe? When galvanized steel is joined directly to copper, the two metals set up a slow electrochemical reaction and the steel side gives way. The joint often sits inside a wall or above a finished ceiling, so nobody sees it until the drywall stains. Remodels done in a hurry are the usual origin, because a dielectric union costs a couple of dollars and takes an extra minute. We find these with a walk of the accessible runs and, where the leak is already hidden, with [leak detection](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/leak-detection/denver-co). The fix is either a proper transition or, more often, finishing the job the last remodel started with [galvanized pipe replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement). ## What does a West Highland kitchen or bath remodel need from a plumber? Moving a sink to an island or adding a second bathroom upstairs both put a fixture somewhere the original venting never anticipated. Drains that gurgle after a remodel are almost always a venting problem rather than a clog, and no amount of cabling fixes them. The rough in is where that gets decided. Our [kitchen remodel plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/kitchen-remodel-plumbing) and [bathroom remodel plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/bathroom-remodel-plumbing) pages cover the rough in work, and [remodeling and renovation plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/remodeling-renovation-plumbing/denver-co) is the full service page for larger projects. ## Where does the water heater go in a bungalow with no utility room? Most West Highland bungalows put the heater in an unfinished corner of the basement with a chimney vent that was sized for a different appliance. When the basement gets finished, the heater usually needs to move, and the venting has to be reworked to match. That is a permit job and it is worth doing properly. Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing handles both the swap and the relocation. Start at [water heater installation and replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/water-heater-installation-replacement/denver-co), or look at [tankless water heaters](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/electric-gas-tankless-water-heaters/denver-co) if the basement floor plan is tight. ## Which pipe transitions cause trouble in a West Highland house West Highland houses commonly hold three generations of plumbing at once. This table lists the transitions we find between them and what each one does over time. | Transition | Where we usually find it | What it does over time | What we do about it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Galvanized to copper, no dielectric | Behind a remodeled kitchen or bath wall | Corrodes on the steel side until it weeps or blocks | Replace the remaining steel rather than patch the joint | | Galvanized to PEX | At a basement manifold added during a remodel | Restricts flow at the transition fitting as the steel scales | Extend the PEX back to the meter side | | Cast iron to ABS | At the basement floor where a stack was cut | Shifts and separates if the coupling was never supported | Reset with a shielded coupling and proper support | | Copper to copper, mixed vintages | Wherever a leak was patched | Usually stable, worth leaving alone | Inspect and document, no work needed | ## What we do most in West Highland - [Repiping and Pipe Replacement](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/plumbing/piping-replacement-and-repiping-services/denver-co): Finishing the repipe that a previous remodel started halfway. - [Leak Detection](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/leak-detection/denver-co): Finding the hidden dissimilar metal joint that is staining a ceiling or spiking a bill. - [Kitchen Remodel Plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/kitchen-remodel-plumbing): Rough in for island sinks and relocated appliances, vented properly the first time. - [Bathroom Remodel Plumbing](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/bathroom-remodel-plumbing): Second floor bathroom work in Denver squares where the drain has to reach an existing stack. - [Water Heater Installation](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/water-heaters/water-heater-installation-replacement/denver-co): Swaps and relocations when a basement gets finished around the old appliance. - [Drain Cleaning](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/best-drain-cleaning-in-denver-co): Clearing the branch lines that slowed down after a remodel moved a fixture. ## West Highland and the neighborhoods around it West Highland is part of our northwest Denver coverage, minutes from the Westminster shop. See the [Denver metro service area list](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) or browse the [neighborhood plumbing directory](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods). [Sunnyside](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sunnyside-denver) sits just east and has the same bungalow stock with far more new infill. [Sloan's Lake](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sloans-lake-denver) is the same era with the most aggressive teardown pressure in the area. The calls we take from West Highland tend to be a [ceiling stain from the bathroom above](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/ceiling-stain-from-bathroom-above), [drain gurgling](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-gurgling) after a remodel, and [low water pressure at one fixture](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/low-water-pressure-one-fixture) where a transition fitting has scaled shut. ### Nearby neighborhoods we cover - [Sunnyside](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sunnyside-denver): Same stock, more infill - [Sloan's Lake](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/sloans-lake-denver): Same era, heavy teardown - [Baker](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/baker-denver): Older, less remodeled ### Related problem and pipe material pages - [Pipe material comparison guide](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/pipe-material-comparison-guide) - [Copper repipe](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/copper-repipe) - [Drain gurgling](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/drain-gurgling) - [All Denver metro service areas](https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/locations) ## Frequently asked questions **My house was partly repiped years ago. Do I need to do the rest?** Not always, but the joint between the new and the old is now the weakest point in the system. We inspect the transitions and tell you whether they are stable or whether finishing the job is cheaper than waiting. **Why did my kitchen drain start gurgling after the remodel?** Because the fixture moved further from the vent than the original design allowed. Gurgling is air being pulled through the trap, not a blockage, and cabling the line will not change it. **Can you work from the alley?** Yes, and in West Highland we usually prefer to. Alley access keeps the truck off a narrow street and lets us stage material at the rear of the house. **Do you pull permits for a water heater relocation?** Yes. Moving a gas appliance and reworking its venting is permitted work, and Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing files it under Colorado plumbing contractor licence 2110. **How fast can you get to West Highland?** The shop is on North Dover Street in Westminster, which is a short run to northwest Denver. Emergency calls are answered 24 hours a day. --- Source: https://www.affordarooterplumbing.com/neighborhoods/west-highland-denver Afford-A-Rooter Plumbing, 10860 N Dover St STE 2300, Westminster, CO 80021. Phone +1-720-296-7972.