Services
Repairs for Older Phoenix Homes, 1950s to 1980s
Block walls, two-prong outlets, galvanized pipe, aluminum windows, a flat roof. What's different about an older Valley house and how we work on it.
Arizona ROC #366903 · Licensed, Bonded & Insured
A house in central Phoenix, Arcadia, Tempe or old Scottsdale built between the 1950s and 1980s is built differently from the stucco-and-foam houses that came after. Most of what's different is better: block walls, real wood trim, bigger lots. Some of it needs a different approach. We work on these houses all the time.
Walls
Exterior walls are often block with plaster or stucco straight on it, which means no studs to anchor to and masonry anchors for everything. Interior walls may be plaster over lath instead of drywall, and plaster cracks and patches differently. Hanging a shelf or a grab bar on block takes the right anchor, and we bring them.
Electrical
Two-prong outlets with no ground are common. The fix without rewiring is a GFCI marked "no equipment ground." Some late-'60s and '70s homes have aluminum branch wiring, which needs special connectors at every device. Fuse boxes and small panels need upgrading before a kitchen remodel. We can help with both.
Plumbing
Galvanized steel supply pipes corrode from the inside and cut water pressure. Cast iron drains rust through. We fix the fixtures and can help with re-piping too. Original shutoff valves are usually seized and get replaced as we go.
Windows and doors
Single-pane aluminum windows, often with worn weatherstripping and broken latches. Glass gets replaced, hardware gets replaced, and whole windows get replaced in the same opening. Solid-core doors with mortise locks, which are worth keeping and repairing.
Roofs
Flat or low-slope roofs with scuppers and parapets. We clear scuppers, reseal the edge, and can help with the roof membrane too.
Popcorn ceilings and plaster
Popcorn ceilings get scraped and retextured or covered with new drywall, and plaster walls get patched in plaster.
Problems we fix on this page
- Want a 1950s or 1960s home updated (a remodel project)
- Old galvanized pipes (a remodel project)
- Want original plaster walls updated (a remodel project)
- Original single-pane windows
- Old aluminum sliders hard to open
- Original doors sticking
- Plaster cracks in an older home
- Old metal cabinets rusting
- Old tile counters and backsplash
- Original hardware worn out
- Old three-handle shower valves
- Two-prong outlets throughout
- Original fuse box or old panel
- Not enough outlets in older rooms
- Old cloth wiring
- Galvanized pipes with low pressure
- Polybutylene supply lines from the 1980s
- Original water heater in a closet
- Old gas wall heater
- Old swamp cooler ducts still in the attic
- Swamp cooler vents in the ceiling to close off
How it starts
Send photos and the year the house was built. Fixed price before we start. Levi runs the job.
Questions
- Can you hang things on my block walls?
- Yes. Masonry anchors hold shelves, mirrors and grab bars on block the way studs do on frame.
- Is aluminum wiring dangerous?
- It can be at the connections. The fix is special connectors at every outlet and switch, and we can help with that.
Related pages
Outlets and GFCI
Dead, loose, scorched or two-prong. Replaced with the right outlet for the spot, including GFCI and USB.
Windows
Windows that slam shut, won't open or won't lock. Fixed in the frame you have.
Popcorn ceilings
The textured ceiling from the '70s, scraped and retextured. Older plaster walls patched the way plaster needs.
Ready to get it fixed?
Tell us what needs doing. Quotes are free. We usually reply within minutes, and always within 24 hours.