Plumber in Fraser, MI

Plumbing work in Fraser splits between two kinds of homes. About six in ten homes date from the 1950s through the 1970s, mostly ranches on full basements. The rest leans toward condos, townhouses and apartments, and more than a quarter of all homes went up in the 1980s and 1990s. Only about 65 percent of Fraser homes are single-family detached, far fewer than in Eastpointe or Roseville, and that changes the calls. A leak in a stacked condo can show up in the neighbor’s ceiling. A water heater may live in a closet instead of a basement. Fraser fits inside four roads, Hayes, Kelly, 13 Mile and 15 Mile, and we reach it from our Warren office on Stephens Rd by way of Groesbeck Highway and Utica Road.

Condos, apartments and ranches inside Hayes, Kelly, 13 and 15 Mile

Census estimates put the median Fraser home at 1972. About 39 percent were built in the 1950s and 1960s, 24 percent in the 1970s, and 27 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. Twelve percent of homes are attached units, and roughly 18 percent sit in buildings of five or more units, including large complexes. About a quarter of households rent.

From the trade side, the older ranches look like their neighbors in Warren and Roseville: block basements, cast iron stacks, copper supply with some galvanized in the earliest houses, and a sump in many of the later ones. In the condos, bathrooms and kitchens are often stacked so several units share one vertical drain. Supply lines run through shared walls and ceilings, and the shutoff for your unit may be in a utility room you do not control. Association documents decide who pays. Finding a hidden leak without opening every wall is what our leak detection and repair work is about.

When the interceptor under 15 Mile gave way in 2016

Fraser homes send their sewage into the Macomb Interceptor, a county system that carries flow for about 600,000 people. On Christmas Eve 2016 that interceptor collapsed under 15 Mile Road, opening a sinkhole on the Fraser and Clinton Township line. Twenty-three homes were evacuated and three families lost their houses. Fraser’s mayor asked residents on the damaged line to cut back on water so sewage would not end up in rivers or in basements.

The county rebuilt that pipe. The lesson for your own house is smaller and more practical. The public sewer can surcharge for reasons that have nothing to do with you, and the only protection inside your home is on your side of the lateral. If your basement drain has ever backed up, read our comparison of a floor drain plug and a backwater valve before choosing between them.

Utica Road to Groesbeck and down to Stephens Rd

From Stephens Rd we take Hoover Road north to 10 Mile, then Groesbeck Highway up through Roseville and Utica Road into Fraser. Because the trip is short, Fraser calls usually fit into a day of work on Warren’s east side, and we tell you when to expect us when you call.

For a condo, the first ten minutes go to finding things. Where is the unit shutoff, where is the water heater, and is there a cleanout we can reach without going through a neighbor? If water is coming through a ceiling, we start in the unit above when we can get in, because that is usually where the leak is. In a ranch we start at the problem, then check the sump, water heater and main cleanout. Before you replace a closet water heater, our guide on what size water heater you need helps you avoid buying one that will not fit.

Fraser had a rail station by the 1860s and is a compact city of about four square miles today, which is why condos, older ranches and businesses on Utica Road and Groesbeck sit so close together. On lots this tight, a sewer dig often runs a few feet from a neighbor’s driveway, so access gets settled first.

See every city we serve around Warren · More Macomb County cities · Floor drain plug or backwater valve for sewer backups · What size water heater does your household need

Last updated October 25, 2026