In East County — from Gresham’s Centennial neighborhood to older homes near Rockwood and parts of unincorporated Clackamas County — water damage insurance claims don’t always go the way homeowners expect. Many people assume that if water leaks, insurance automatically covers the damage. But in homes built on clay-heavy soil, with aging supply lines or […]
Category: Portland, OR Plumbers Near Me
Why Sandy Homeowners Should Schedule a Plumbing Inspection Before Spring Runoff
Sandy isn’t Gresham. It isn’t Portland. And it definitely isn’t Happy Valley. With higher elevation, heavier rainfall exposure, rural pockets, and a mix of well systems and municipal supply, Sandy homes experience plumbing stress differently — especially in late winter and early spring. If you live near Bluff Road, up toward Bornstedt Village, or on […]
Before You Install a Bidet in Sellwood or Lents, Check These 5 Plumbing Variables
Bidets are becoming increasingly popular across Portland — especially in neighborhoods like Sellwood, Lents, and parts of Montavilla where homeowners are upgrading older bathrooms instead of doing full remodels. But here’s what many homeowners don’t realize: Installing a bidet in a 1920s Sellwood bungalow is not the same as installing one in a brand-new Happy […]
Portland’s Private Sewer Laterals: What Eastside Homeowners Often Don’t Realize
In neighborhoods like Sellwood, Lents, Montavilla, and parts of Laurelhurst, we hear the same sentence every spring: “I thought the city handled that.” When it comes to sewer lines in Portland, that assumption can get expensive. Many homeowners don’t realize that while the City of Portland maintains the public sewer main under the street, […]
The Hidden Drain Problem in Older Gresham Subdivisions (And Why It’s Not Just “Hair and Grease”)
If you live in Hollybrook, parts of Centennial, or one of Gresham’s late-80s and early-90s subdivisions off Division or Kane Road, your slow drain might not be what you think it is. Most homeowners assume drain problems are caused by hair, soap, or grease. And sometimes that’s true. But in many older Gresham neighborhoods, the […]
Why Troutdale’s Floodplain Homes Deal With Sewer Backups First
If you live near the Sandy River, Columbia River Gorge corridor, or in neighborhoods west of downtown Troutdale closer to the historic district, your plumbing system faces a different set of pressures than homes farther inland. In early spring, groundwater levels rise. The Sandy River swells. The water table beneath certain Troutdale properties creeps higher […]
Leaving Clackamas for Spring Break? What Mount Scott Creek Homeowners Forget About Their Plumbing
Every March, families in Clackamas pack up for spring break trips — the coast, Central Oregon, maybe a flight out of PDX. The house gets cleaned, trash goes out, lights are put on timers. But in neighborhoods near Mount Scott Creek and along the wetter corridors east of 82nd, one thing often gets overlooked: What […]
Why Hillside Homes in Happy Valley Develop Leaks Differently
If you live in Happy Valley near Scouters Mountain, Altamont, or one of the newer hillside developments off Sunnyside Road, your plumbing system operates under conditions that are very different from homes built on flat ground. Elevation changes everything. Water pressure, soil movement, and gravitational stress all behave differently on a slope. That means leaks […]
What We’re Seeing in Portland Basements Right Now — And Why It Starts Behind the Wall
Over the past two weeks, we’ve been inside homes in Lents, Sellwood, and parts of Laurelhurst where the story has been almost identical. It doesn’t start with flooding. It doesn’t start with a burst pipe. It starts with a faint smell. Then maybe a soft spot near the baseboard. A slightly darker patch of drywall. A homeowner wondering […]
Why Gresham’s Clay Soil Makes Small Leaks More Expensive Than You Think
If you live in Gresham — especially in neighborhoods like Centennial, Powell Valley, or Hollybrook — your plumbing system doesn’t just sit inside your home. It interacts constantly with the soil beneath it. And in East County, that soil behaves very differently than it does in much of Portland. Gresham’s dense clay soil expands […]