As we’ve discussed in this blog before, the history of plumbing is fascinating. Whether it is the ancient plumbing systems of the Romans or even the more recent technological advancements, plumbing continues to advance and innovate. Sometimes it is fun to see just how far we as Americans have come by taking a look at America’s past plumbing systems. A recent article in the Seattle Times discussed a fascinating finding in Spokane, WA of 1890s era plumbing. While renovating an area of the city, road crews found a wooden pipe. As the article states, “Technically, it was a wooden stave pipe, a type of pipe made with long wooden planks cut to join snugly and lashed together by coiled metal. It looks something like a long barrel, and was made using similar “cooper” barrel-making technology.” Wooden pipes were used before steel, cast iron, asbestos cement, and plastic pipes. Mike Schimmels, owner of one of the companies contracted to do the construction, discussed the state of the pipes. “As long as the sunlight and heat and weather doesn’t get to it, they’ll last. Once you take it out of the ground and it doesn’t have any water in it, it just disintegrates.” It’s with discoveries like this that I’m grateful I live in 21st century America with modern technologies, even underground. And imagine working on these underground systems without backhoes, shoring, compactors, etc. They don’t call early settlers ‘pioneers’ for nothing!
When it comes to today’s plumbing systems below ground, we at APEX are constantly looking for ways to innovate and utilize the newest technologies wherever helpful. Being around for 33 years, we’ve seen quite a few changes in the industry and have both adjusted accordingly and helped to usher in some of those changes in the Denver area. This has helped to cement us as the premier water and sewer line repair experts in Denver. Let the experts handle your sewer line repair or water line replacement. Our highly qualified and trained crews are ready to tackle most any problem, even if it’s replacing wooden pipes! Contact us today for your FREE estimate!
