Drain Cleaning in Oak Creek, CO

Oak Creek homes and their sewer lines

Oak Creek's housing is mostly old: company-era miners' houses and small frame homes from the 1910s through the 1940s, packed onto steep lots along the creek, with manufactured homes and a handful of newer builds mixed in.

The Town of Oak Creek runs its own water and sewer, with a wastewater plant at the north end of town built under a 2009 contract. State documents have described parts of the water distribution system as old, undersized and leaky, and the town has been working on water and sewer compliance projects since.

Many Oak Creek houses still drain through cast iron and clay laid when the mines were open, often with later additions in plastic.

Oak Creek drain problems

Oak Creek drain calls are about age and cold. Century-old service lines crack and sag on steep lots, cast iron scales shut, and long winters at 7,400 feet freeze drains in crawlspaces and exterior walls of houses that were never insulated for it.

What drain work usually costs in Oak Creek

A coal town in South Routt

Oak Creek was laid out on a narrow stretch of its namesake creek and incorporated in December 1907, just ahead of the railroad, which reached town in January 1909. The mines around it fed coal to the Front Range, and through the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s Oak Creek was the biggest town in Routt County, with 1,769 people counted in 1940. As the mines closed, the population fell below 500 by 1970, then slowly recovered as people looked for homes they could afford within reach of Steamboat Springs.

Local leaders and historians today are working the town's mining and ranching story into planning for its future, and the old business district along Main Street still has its early 20th century storefronts.

A small town's water and sewer

The Town of Oak Creek owns and runs its water and sewer system. A wastewater treatment plant at the north end of town was built under a contract awarded in 2009, and in recent years the council has hired outside help to meet state and federal rules for both drinking water and wastewater, alongside rehabilitating Sheriff Reservoir Dam. State planning documents have described parts of the water distribution system as undersized and leaky. The town handles its mains; the service line from your house to the main is yours, and in a town this old that line is often the weak point.

Houses built for miners

Much of Oak Creek's housing went up quickly for mining families, on small lots set into the hillsides above the creek. The drains in those houses were often added or extended later, with cast iron, clay, galvanized steel and plastic joined together over a century of repairs. Old cast iron rusts and scales until a kitchen line closes. Clay laterals on steep lots crack and separate where the ground has crept downhill. A camera inspection is the best first step in most older Oak Creek houses, because the pipe under one house can be completely different from the house next door.

Long winters at 7,400 feet

South Routt winters are long, and many Oak Creek houses have crawlspaces, uninsulated additions and exterior walls with plumbing in them. Those are the drains that freeze. A drain that freezes may not show it until the next shower or load of laundry backs up. If a drain stops on a cold morning, stop running water, keep the house warm and call. A plumber can thaw the line with steam or warm water through a cleanout instead of cutting into walls. Insulating crawlspace walls, sealing drafts and keeping a little heat under the floor prevent most repeat freezes.

Creekside trees and spring melt

Willows, aspens and cottonwoods along Oak Creek send roots into old clay joints, especially on lots near the water. Spring snowmelt also raises the water table on lower lots, so a cracked lateral can take in groundwater and grit. A line that clogs in late spring or summer is often a root or groundwater problem, not just a household clog.

When an Oak Creek drain backs up

1. 01

   Stop running water

   Don't keep flushing a toilet that's backing up.

2. 02

   Check for ice

   On a cold morning, a frozen trap or line is likely; keep the house warm.

3. 03

   Find the cleanout

   In older homes it may be in the crawlspace or basement.

4. 04

   Describe the lot

   Tell the plumber if the house is on a steep lot or near the creek.

Oak Creek warning signs

• An Oak Creek drain that quits after a 20-below night
• Rust flakes in a kitchen line
• Gurgling toilets when the washer drains
• Sewer odor in a crawlspace
• Water backing into the lowest tub or floor drain

Before buying an older Oak Creek house

Many Oak Creek buyers are first-time owners drawn by prices lower than Steamboat's. A sewer scope before closing shows whether the lateral is clay, cast iron or plastic, and whether it has roots, sags or breaks. On a century-old house, that inspection can save thousands.

What changes the price in Oak Creek

Most plumbers come from Steamboat, so travel is part of the bill. Thawing, descaling cast iron and camera work add time. Ask what an Oak Creek visit should run before work starts.

Stagecoach and the commuter years

Oak Creek now houses many people who work in Steamboat or at the ranches and reservoirs of South Routt. Houses that sat vacant or were used part time are lived in all winter, and old plumbing gets used harder than it has in decades. That's when hidden problems show up.