Plumbers in Pembroke Park, FL

Water dripping from beneath a manufactured home, a floor going soft around the toilet, low pressure in the shower: in a small town where homes come in several shapes, the fix depends on what kind of structure you live in. Call One Call Home Pros and tell us. We find plumbers in Pembroke Park who work on manufactured homes as well as conventional houses, match you with a vetted, licensed, insured professional and set up the visit. One Call arranges it and stays with it; the plumber does the work.

How plumbing runs in a manufactured home

In a conventional Florida house, the water lines run through the slab or the attic and drop into the walls. In a manufactured home, the main water line usually comes up from the ground to a connection point near the home, often called the riser, then runs into the underbelly beneath the floor. From there, branches feed up through the floor to each fixture.

The drains run the same way in reverse: down from each fixture into the space under the floor, then along to a single outlet that connects to the sewer at the lot.

That layout has some practical effects:

• A leak usually drips into the underbelly, out of sight, rather than showing on a wall or ceiling
• Water can soak the insulation and the bottom board that wraps the underside, adding weight and causing sagging
• Floors above a slow leak can soften long before any water is visible indoors
• Reaching the pipe means getting under the home, often by removing a section of skirting

A plumber who works on these homes knows how to open the bottom board, find and repair the leak, and seal it up again so pests and moisture stay out.

Signs of a leak under the floor

Because the plumbing is hidden beneath the home, the first clues are often indirect. Watch for:

1. A soft or spongy spot in the floor, especially near the toilet, tub or kitchen sink.
2. A musty smell inside, or from under the home.
3. Water dripping from the underside, or a damp patch on the ground beneath.
4. Sagging in the bottom board under the home.
5. A water bill that has gone up with no change in use.
6. The sound of water running when every tap is closed.

If you see water coming from beneath the home, find the main shut-off and close it. In many manufactured homes, it is near where the supply comes up from the ground, under the home or just inside the skirting. Some homes also have a valve inside, near the water heater closet. Find yours before you need it.

Pipe materials in older manufactured homes

Some older manufactured homes may still have their original supply pipe, and in homes of a certain age that can be grey polybutylene, a plastic pipe widely used for a period and later found to fail at the fittings and from within over time. If your home has grey plastic supply pipe, it is worth having a plumber look at it.

Newer homes, and older ones that have been re-plumbed, usually have PEX, a flexible plastic pipe that comes in red, blue or white. Copper is less common in manufactured homes but does appear.

If you are not sure what you have, look at the pipe where it comes up through the floor under a sink or behind the toilet. Note the colour and whether it is rigid or flexible, and mention it when you call. The pro will confirm on the visit.

When the floor is soft around the toilet

A toilet that rocks, or a floor that gives under your feet beside it, usually means water has been getting into the floor for some time. The cause may be a failed wax seal at the base of the toilet, a slow leak at the supply connection, or condensation dripping from the tank.

In a manufactured home, the floor panels around a toilet can weaken quickly once wet. The repair often has two parts:

1. The plumbing: replacing the seal, the supply line or the toilet itself.
2. The floor: cutting out and replacing the damaged section of floor so the toilet sits on a firm base.

A plumber handles the first. The second may need a carpenter or a floor repair, depending on how much damage there is. Mention the soft floor when you call, and One Call can line up what is needed.

Running toilets

A toilet that keeps refilling, hisses, or needs the handle held down has worn tank parts. Usually it is the flapper or the fill valve. Replacing them is quick work.

Manufactured homes sometimes have toilets designed for the lighter structure or the way the drain runs, and some take specific parts. Look inside the tank lid or at the back of the bowl for the maker’s name, and mention it when you book so the pro can bring the right parts.

Faucets and fixtures for manufactured homes

Faucets and tub fittings in manufactured homes are not always the same as those in conventional houses. Some tubs and showers use valves and trims made for that type of home, and some kitchen and bathroom sinks have different hole spacings or connections.

Before a fixture replacement:

• Check the make of the existing fixture if you can find it
• Measure the holes in the sink or counter
• If you have bought a new faucet, check it is suited to a manufactured home, or ask the pro for one that is
• Clear the cabinet or access panel underneath

Many manufactured homes have an access panel behind the tub or shower valve, often in a closet or the next room. If yours does, clear it before the visit. It can make a shower valve repair far simpler.

Shut-off valves

Every manufactured home should have a main shut-off for the whole home, as well as small valves at each sink and toilet. The main is often under the home near the riser, and on some homes it is hard to reach. If yours is buried behind skirting or tucked out of reach, ask the pro about fitting an accessible valve so you can shut the water quickly in a leak.

Test each fixture valve now and then by turning it gently towards closed and back. Any that will not turn, or that drip afterwards, should be replaced.

Washers, ice makers and hoses

In a compact home, the washing machine often sits in a closet off the kitchen or a hallway, right above the floor panels that suffer most from water. A split washer hose there can soak the floor and the underbelly beneath it before anyone notices. The same goes for the thin line feeding a refrigerator’s ice maker and the supply under a dishwasher.

Check each of these hoses for cracks, bulges and rust at the ends, and replace rubber washer hoses with braided ones if they are old. A drain pan under the washer, piped to the outside where possible, gives a slow leak somewhere to go other than into the floor. A plumber can fit new hoses and valves on the same visit as any other work.

Who looks after which part

In a manufactured home community, responsibility for the water line is often split. The community may look after the main lines and the connection up to the lot, while the homeowner looks after everything from the connection point into the home. Rules differ from one community to another.

Before booking work near the riser or under the lot, check with the community management:

• Where their responsibility ends and yours begins
• Whether contractors need to sign in or get approval
• Any rules on where a work vehicle can park
• Whether the main supply to the lot can be shut off, and who does it

If the community needs the pro’s insurance certificate or approval paperwork before work starts, One Call can send it on your behalf.

Small houses and duplexes

Not every home here is a manufactured one. The town also has conventional single-family houses and small multi-unit buildings, many of them older. These have plumbing more like the rest of the county: supply lines in the slab or attic, valves at each fixture, and fixtures of standard types.

Older conventional homes bring their own problems: pipe that has worn over many years, valves that have seized, fixtures for which parts are no longer made. If leaks are appearing in more than one place, re-piping may be the lasting answer.

In a duplex or small multi-unit building, a leak in one unit can reach another. If you own the building, keep a note of where each unit’s shut-off is. If you rent, report leaks to the owner or manager straight away.

Clogs at toilets and sinks

A clogged toilet or sink usually has a blockage close to the fixture, in the trap or just beyond it. Plumbers in Pembroke Park clear those and check the seal afterwards.

In a manufactured home, the drain lines under the floor run with less slope than in a house on a slab, and a sagging section of pipe in the underbelly can collect debris and slow drainage. If clogs keep coming back, or several fixtures drain slowly at once, the problem may be further along the line. That is a drain cleaning job, and One Call can arrange that too.

Re-piping a manufactured home

When a manufactured home has old or failing supply pipe, re-piping replaces it throughout. Because the lines run beneath the floor, the work is mostly done from underneath, with the bottom board opened, new pipe run along the underside and connected up through the floor to each fixture.

The steps, in outline:

1. The pro inspects the existing pipe and the underbelly.
2. Any permit the work needs is pulled by the licensed professional.
3. The bottom board is opened where needed.
4. New supply lines are run and connected to each fixture, with new valves.
5. The system is pressure-tested.
6. The underbelly is closed and sealed against moisture and pests.

Ask what the price includes before work begins, including closing up the underbelly and replacing any damaged insulation. Financing is available for larger jobs; ask about it when you call. You pay One Call, and One Call pays the pro.

Humidity under the home

The space beneath a manufactured home stays warm and humid for most of the year. Cold water lines running through that space sweat in summer, much like a glass of iced water, and the drips can soak the insulation and the bottom board even when no pipe is leaking at all. Over time, the moisture encourages mould, rots wood and draws in insects.

It helps to tell condensation and a real leak apart. Condensation tends to appear along the length of a cold line, is worse on humid afternoons and stops when the air dries out. A leak drips from one spot, continues whatever the weather and often shows on the water bill. If you are not sure, a plumber can check both. Insulating cold lines under the home, and making sure the skirting has the vents it was designed with, can cut condensation sharply.

After a storm

Strong winds can shift skirting, loosen the connection at the riser or move a home slightly on its supports, and any of those can strain the plumbing where it passes from the ground into the home. After a storm, walk around the outside:

1. Look for skirting that has been pushed in or torn away.
2. Check the riser and the main shut-off for bends, cracks or leaks.
3. Look under the home, if you can do so safely, for water dripping or pooling.
4. Inside, turn on each tap and flush each toilet, and watch for anything unusual.

If you find damage, close the main shut-off and call. Plumbers in Pembroke Park will check the supply and drain connections and tell you whether anything else, such as the home’s supports or skirting, needs a separate trade. One Call can arrange both.

Getting to the work

Space can be tight in a manufactured home community. When you book, tell One Call:

• Where a work vehicle can park without blocking a neighbour or a community road
• How to reach the side of the home where the plumbing is
• Whether the skirting has an access panel, and where
• Whether any pets will be in the home or under it

That helps the pro plan the visit and arrive with what is needed.

How One Call fits in

One Call is a connector. We do not hold a plumbing licence, and no one from One Call does the work. We listen, ask what kind of home you have and where it is, and match you with a vetted, licensed, insured professional who works on homes like it. We arrange the visit and stay with the job. If anything needs following up, you call us.

For hot water problems, see water heater repair.

Neighbouring towns

The same matching serves plumbing in West Park to the west and plumbing in Hallandale Beach to the east. For Coral Springs, see the main plumbing services page.

Book plumbers in Pembroke Park with one call

Tell us what kind of home you have and what has gone wrong. One Call matches you with a vetted, licensed local plumber who knows the structure, arranges the visit and stays with the job.