Plumbers in Cedar Grove, NC

Farm country north of Hillsborough

Cedar Grove is an unincorporated community in northern Orange County, north of Hillsborough along NC 86 and about 20 miles from downtown Durham in a straight line. It is not a census place; the 27231 ZIP has about 2,300 residents. The Cedar Grove Rural Crossroads Historic District is listed on the National Register, the Capt. John S. Pope Farm is a local landmark, and Cedar Grove Park and the community center, which houses the Northern Human Services Center, are the main public spaces.

Older homes on rural lots

Census estimates for the 27231 area put the median home at 1984, with about 42% built before 1980. Farmhouses and older rural homes have often had plumbing added or rebuilt over several decades, so one house can hold more than one generation of pipe, and a plumber may need to trace lines before quoting.

Your own well and wastewater system

No public water or sewer provider was found for Cedar Grove. Orange County's water and sewer boundary agreement assigns service areas to OWASA, Hillsborough and other utilities, and states that outside those areas individual onsite systems are expected to be the main way homes get water and handle wastewater. Line extensions are allowed mostly to fix public health problems such as contaminated wells. Unless your property gets a utility bill, expect the house to rely on a private well and a private onsite wastewater system.

Orange County Environmental Health permits and tests private wells. In UNC's review of 7,250 Orange County well tests, about 30% exceeded the EPA manganese health advisory, about 22% exceeded the iron standard and 1.25% exceeded the arsenic limit. Orange or black staining, a metallic taste or clogged aerators are good reasons to test before buying treatment equipment.

Permits and gas

Orange County Planning & Inspections handles building, mechanical and plumbing permits. Trade permit documents go to ocinspect@orangecountync.gov, inspections are requested at 919-245-2600, and applications run through the county's Central Permits portal. Enbridge Gas North Carolina is the county-level gas utility for Orange, but service in rural Cedar Grove has not been confirmed, and many rural homes use propane. If you smell gas, get out of the house, then call 911 or your gas supplier from outside; Enbridge's emergency line is 1-877-776-2427.

Compared with Durham

Inside Durham the City supplies water and sewer, so much of the system is the utility's job. In Cedar Grove almost everything from the well pump to the wastewater tank belongs to the homeowner. Expect a plumber to ask about the pump, pressure tank and any filters or softeners. Call the number on this page, say whether you have water at all and what you are seeing, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who covers northern Orange County.