We come from Port Orchard across the Narrows and down through University Place, about 50 minutes, and we group Steilacoom with our Lakewood and UP calls so the window is firm. Flat-rate pricing before the first fitting, and the plumber texts when he is on the way.
Washington Plumbing & Drain is veteran-owned and family-run. More than 200 five-star Google reviews, many of them from people who called us for a second opinion.
Steilacoom at a glance for plumbing
Water
Lakewood Water District supplies Steilacoom from its deep wells, under agreement with the town. The water is groundwater and harder than Tacoma's river supply.
Sewer or septic
Town sewer. The Town of Steilacoom collects wastewater and sends it to Pierce County's Chambers Creek Regional plant just up the bluff. Septic is not a factor here.
Homes
The oldest incorporated town in Washington, so the historic district has homes from the 1850s to the 1900s that have been repiped more than once, with a large share of 1950s to 70s ramblers and split-levels on the hill and around Steilacoom Lake, and 1990s and 2000s homes near Chambers Bay. Cast iron, galvanized and early copper are all common.
Ground and weather
A steep bluff of glacial drift dropping to Puget Sound, with the historic town on the slope and the beach, Chambers Creek Canyon to the north, and the flat prairie behind. Bluff lots have long, steep drain runs and groundwater seeps in the slope. The waterfront faces southwest across the Sound and takes the wind straight on. The December 2022 and January 2024 freezes split pipes in exposed crawlspaces on the slope, and winter rain runs down the bluff into old drains and basements.
Plumbing in a house older than the state
The historic district's homes have been replumbed in every era since the 1890s, and we find the whole sequence under one floor: galvanized tied to copper tied to PEX, cast iron patched with rubber couplings, a drain that was vented through a window at some point. Our job is not to rip all of it out. It is to replace what is failing, make the connections right, and tell you what is sound.
When a historic home does need a repipe, we route PEX through basements, closets and existing chases so the lath, plaster and trim stay intact. Cast iron drains go to PVC. We have done this in homes that are on the town's historic register and we are careful about it.
Side sewers down the bluff
Steilacoom's historic streets run down a steep slope, and the side sewers follow them. A line that drops that fast moves water faster than solids, so debris collects at every offset joint, and the clay pipe has had 100 years of bluff movement to shift. Roots from the big trees finish the job. The result is a line that backs up on holidays and needs cabling every year.
We clear it, camera it, and replace the sections that have failed with new pipe, adding a cleanout at the top of the run so the next cleaning is quick. Steep lines also benefit from a backwater valve at the house, since a surcharge in the main during a storm has nowhere to go but up your lowest drain.
Mid-century ramblers on the hill and the lake
Most of Steilacoom's housing is 1950s to 70s, built on the hill and around Steilacoom Lake. Copper supply from that era pinholes, and cast iron drains channel and crack. One pinhole gets a repair; a pattern of them gets a PEX repipe quote alongside the repair so you can decide. A main drain that backs up without roots gets a camera, and the footage tells you whether it is a section or the whole run.
Water heaters here run on Lakewood Water District's well water, which is harder than river water, and they scale accordingly. We flush and re-anode heaters that can be saved and replace the rest with Bradford White or A. O. Smith, with expansion tanks and seismic strapping. Tankless units on this water need descaling on a schedule, and we do that too.
Wind, seeps and the waterfront
Steilacoom's waterfront homes face the open Sound, and a southwest wind in a freeze pulls the heat out of a crawlspace fast. In December 2022 and January 2024 we repaired split copper and cracked fittings under homes along the beach and the slope. We insulate exposed lines, replace standard hose bibs with frost-free ones, and move main shutoffs indoors where the original is buried in a flooded box at the curb.
The bluff also seeps. Groundwater moves through the slope all winter and shows up in crawlspaces and basements that were dry in July. We install sump pumps with sealed basins and discharge lines that daylight downhill, and we install Liberty pumps with battery backup for the storms that take the power out.
Plumbing problems we see most in Steilacoom
Local patterns
- Steep side sewers on the bluff with offsets, roots and no cleanouts
- Galvanized and cast iron in historic district homes
- Pinhole copper in the mid-century ramblers on the hill
- Crawlspace freezes on southwest-facing waterfront homes
- Scale on water heaters from the district's well water
- Groundwater seeps in the slope flooding crawlspaces and basements
Neighborhoods and areas in Steilacoom we serve
We work throughout Steilacoom, including Historic downtown and Lafayette Street, Sunnyside Beach, Chambers Bay and the north bluff, Steilacoom Lake shore, Pioneer Orchard and Union Avenue, Hillside above the ferry landing and Chambers Creek Road and the Lakewood line, and around Steilacoom ferry to Anderson and Ketron islands, Bair Bistro and the historic downtown, Sunnyside Beach Park, Pioneer Orchard Park, Chambers Bay, Fort Steilacoom site and Western State Hospital. Population is about 6,700; ZIP codes include 98388.
Steilacoom plumbing questions
Is Steilacoom within your service area?
Yes. It is about 50 minutes from Port Orchard and we schedule it with our Lakewood and University Place calls. Flat-rate pricing with no travel charge.
Who supplies water and sewer in Steilacoom?
Lakewood Water District supplies water from deep wells. The town collects sewage and sends it to Pierce County's Chambers Creek plant. The side sewer from your house to the main is yours to maintain.
Can you repipe a historic Steilacoom house without damaging it?
Yes. We route through basements, closets and existing chases and open as little plaster as possible. We have worked on register homes and we are careful.
Why does my sewer back up every year even after it is cleaned?
On the bluff it is usually offset clay joints collecting debris on a steep run, plus roots. A camera inspection shows where, and replacing that section with a cleanout at the top ends the yearly call.
Do you handle after-hours emergencies in Steilacoom?
We answer evenings and weekends and take after-hours emergency calls. A burst pipe or a backed-up sewer in Steilacoom gets a plumber on the way.
