Plumber in Colwood

Colwood at a glance

Colwood is a city of about 19,000 on the West Shore, southwest of Victoria, incorporated in 1985. It has more than 5 km of oceanfront and is one of the fastest-growing communities in Greater Victoria.

What that means for your plumbing

Fast growth means many recently built homes with PEX plumbing, tankless or heat pump water heaters and modern fixtures. The first years in a new home are when installation issues such as loose fittings, missing insulation or slow drains from construction debris show up. See hot water tanks for newer systems.

Oceanfront living

Homes near the water and Esquimalt Lagoon deal with salt air on outdoor taps and fittings, and winter storms off the strait. Keep outdoor taps in good shape and check the hose bibs after the first hard frost.

Royal Roads and Fisgard

Offshore lies Royal Roads, an anchorage first used by the Spanish in 1790, where an April 1883 gale drove four ships ashore. Colwood itself began as one of four Hudson's Bay Company farms supplying Fort Victoria in the 1850s; Captain Edward Langford named the farmhouse after his home in Sussex, and the island's first stone dairy was built there. Fisgard Lighthouse, built in 1860 at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour, still stands. Older homes from the decades before the recent building boom may need sewer and drain upgrades; see sewer lateral repair.