Plumbing in Colorado
Thawline connects homeowners across the Denver metro, Boulder County and Northern Colorado with licensed plumbers who serve their town. Plumbing here is shaped by three things: hard freezes that arrive fast, expansive clay soils that move foundations and buried pipe, and a housing stock that runs from 1890s Denver brick to 2020s subdivisions on the plains.
Licensing
Colorado licenses plumbers statewide through the State Plumbing Board in the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). Master, journeyman and residential plumber licenses are issued by the state, and you can look up any plumber's license on the DORA website before work begins.
Permits and inspections
Larger cities such as Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins and Boulder run their own building departments and plumbing inspections. In unincorporated areas the county building division handles permits, and in some places the state plumbing program does the inspections. Water heater replacements, repipes, sewer and water line work and gas piping usually need a permit.
Water and sewer providers
Water comes from a patchwork of city utilities and special districts. Denver Water serves Denver and many surrounding suburbs; Aurora, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Golden, Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley run their own utilities. Homeowners generally own the water service line from the curb stop and the sewer service line out to the main.
Climate and soil
Front Range winters bring sudden arctic fronts between mild, sunny spells, so pipes freeze and thaw repeatedly. Bentonite clay soils swell when wet and shrink when dry, which can shift slab floors, stress buried sewer lines, and crack basement walls. Spring snowmelt and summer storms put sump pumps to work.
Towns covered in Colorado
North metro
South & east metro
Northern Colorado
Colorado plumbing questions
How do I check a plumber's license in Colorado?
Do I need a permit to replace a water heater in Colorado?
When should I winterize outdoor plumbing in Colorado?
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