Clawson plumbing is mostly about 1950s houses. The town had 5,196 residents in 1950 and 14,795 by 1960, and four in ten of its homes date from that decade, with another fifth from the 1960s. Around Main Street and 14 Mile there is an older core too, about one home in ten built before 1940, and a fair number of small apartment buildings. All of it drains into a combined sewer that the city’s public works staff prepare for ahead of heavy rain to limit basement flooding, and residents sued the city after the August 2014 flood. We work in Clawson from our office on Stephens Rd in Warren.
Postwar ranches and small apartment buildings near downtown at 14 Mile
The 1950s boom filled Clawson with brick ranches and story-and-a-half houses on basements. Most have cast iron drains, copper supply lines and a clay lateral to the street, and the water heater sits in the basement, usually a few steps from the floor drain. The roughly 560 homes from before 1940 are the ones where galvanized supply and older cast iron joints are most likely. Water arrives from the Great Lakes Water Authority through the Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority, and the city says it may need to look at the service pipe where it enters your house to confirm its material.
Clawson’s sewer is combined, carrying storm water and sewage together into the George W. Kuhn system. Before big storms the city’s public works department reviews its practices for keeping that system out of basements, and after the August 11, 2014 storm residents filed a class action claiming the sewers had not been maintained. On the house side, a root-filled clay lateral or a floor drain packed with silt makes a backup more likely and slower to clear, so basement floor drain cleaning is where most storm prep starts.
About a fifth of Clawson’s housing units are in buildings with three or more apartments, including 375 in buildings of 10 to 19 units. In those buildings a single main and a stack or two often serve every unit, so one clog becomes everyone’s problem.
Plumbing that 1950s Clawson houses and apartments need most
- Basement floor drain cleaning
Clawson’s combined sewer surcharges in heavy rain, and the basement floor drain is the low point. A drain packed with silt from the last storm holds water on the floor longer.
- Sewer camera inspection
A 70-year-old clay lateral can hide roots and offset joints, and the camera shows them without digging up the yard, which matters on narrow lots near downtown.
- Backwater valve installation
Residents sued the city after the August 2014 flood. On the house side, a valve on the building drain is what keeps a full street sewer out of a 1950s basement.
- Water heater repair and maintenance
Basement tank heaters in postwar houses collect sediment, and in a city where 86% of homes heat with gas, the flush and inspection includes the venting and gas valve.
- Main water line repair
The city is still verifying service line material and may ask to see the pipe entering your house. If that line is leaking or failing, we identify what it is before any repair.
- Plumbing for landlords and property managers
A quarter of households rent, and 375 units sit in buildings of 10 to 19 apartments, where one shared main means a repair gets coordinated across every unit.
- Commercial plumbing
Shops and offices along Main Street and 14 Mile need drain and restroom work scheduled around business hours, and City Hall’s Monday to Thursday schedule shapes when permits move.
From City Hall on Main Street to the museum on Fisher Court
- City Hall, 425 N. Main, two blocks north of 14 Mile, where Community & Economic Development issues building permits.
- Downtown Clawson at Main Street and 14 Mile Road.
- Blair Memorial Library, across Main Street from City Hall.
- Clawson Historical Museum, 41 Fisher Ct., a 1920s-era house the city bought in 1972.
- Hunter Community Center at the end of Fisher Court.
- Clawson Public Schools, which covers the whole city.
The museum house on Fisher Court is a reminder that Clawson’s core is older than the boom. Houses near Main Street from that era are the ones to check for galvanized water lines, and our post on how to tell if you have galvanized pipes shows what to look for at the meter. City Hall is open Monday through Thursday and closed Fridays, worth knowing when a job needs a permit.
Reaching Clawson by I-75 and the 14 Mile exit
Clawson is farther from us than the 8 Mile suburbs, so we plan the trip. From our office on Stephens Rd we go up Hoover Road to I-696, west to I-75 north, and off at 14 Mile, which runs straight into downtown. Clawson calls get grouped with other work in Troy, Royal Oak and Madison Heights, and we tell you when you call where yours fits.
In a 1950s Clawson house we check the floor drain and main cleanout first, then the water heater, its venting and the gas valve. In an apartment building we find the shared cleanout and ask which units have backed up before we open the line. If the job needs a permit, it goes through the city at 425 N. Main.
Getting to our office from Clawson
From downtown Clawson, take 14 Mile Road east to I-75, I-75 south to I-696, and I-696 east to Hoover Road, then follow Hoover south to Stephens Rd in Warren.
11355 Stephens Rd, Warren, MI 48089
Get directions to our Warren officeClawson plumbing questions
Why does my Clawson floor drain back up only in big storms?
Clawson’s sewer carries rain and sewage in one pipe. When a big storm fills it, water can push back up your lateral to the floor drain, the lowest opening in the house. If yours also backs up in dry weather, the cause is more likely roots or a break in your own line, and a camera inspection will show it.
When does a water heater in a 1950s Clawson basement need replacing instead of repair?
It depends on the tank’s age, what failed and the condition of the venting and gas line around it. A leaking tank gets replaced, and in a basement where the heater sits a few steps from the floor drain, a slow drip can hide for a while. A pilot or valve problem on a younger tank is usually a repair. Our water heater repair page goes through the checks.
Have a plumbing problem in Clawson? Tell us the address and what's happening.
(207) 419-2600Near Clawson
- Plumber in Royal OakWoodward Avenue city in the same Kuhn drainage district
- Plumber in TroyPartly in the Kuhn district, with I-75’s 14 Mile exit
- Plumber in Madison HeightsHome of the Kuhn basin at I-75 and 12 Mile
- Plumber in Berkley1940s brick homes west of Woodward, 88% owner-occupied
- Oakland CountyHow the Kuhn system ties south Oakland’s sewers together
See every city we serve around Warren · More Oakland County cities · Plumbing checklist for landlords between tenants · How often to flush a water heater and why sediment matters
Last updated October 25, 2026