Plumber in Esquimalt

Esquimalt at a glance

The Township of Esquimalt had 17,533 people in 2021 on just over 7 square kilometres, bordered by Victoria, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Esquimalt Harbour and the Gorge. It is home to the Royal Canadian Navy's Pacific fleet.

What that means for your plumbing

A small, dense township has a lot of older houses, duplexes and apartments sharing plumbing. In multi-unit buildings, a blocked shared drain or a leak from the unit above affects several homes at once, so knowing where each unit's shut-off is matters. See leak detection.

Salt air and shoreline

Homes near the water face salty air that corrodes outdoor taps, exposed copper and metal fittings faster. Check outdoor fixtures and the hot water tank's relief valve line for green or white crust each year.

Quimper's harbour

People of the Esquimalt Nation lived here for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. In 1790 the Spanish expedition of Manuel Quimper sailed in and carefully mapped Esquimalt Harbour, naming it Puerto de Córdova, and George Vancouver explored the area two years later. The harbour has shaped the township ever since, and naval and harbour-era housing makes up a good share of the older stock. Houses from those decades often still have cast-iron drains, which crack with age; if drains are slow or smell, see drain cleaning.