Smith Creek is a planned residential community on Ben Brown Lane in Woodburn. The City's project page lists 834 dwellings, made up of 602 houses, 112 townhouses and 120 apartments, built in nine phases. It shows the project as under construction, so some phases may be finished and lived in while others are not.
Newer homes bring a different set of plumbing questions than an older house does. This page covers those, and it keeps what the City documents apart from general advice. Call Woodburn Pro Plumbing at (503) 974-3329 when a fixture, a drain or a water heater stops behaving.
Smith Creek at a glance
The first five cards come from City records. The last one lists what is not public.
Where it is
City addresses 105 and 690 Ben Brown Lane in Woodburn.
Size
About 148.57 acres, according to the City's zoning ordinance.
Planned homes
834 dwellings: 602 houses, 112 townhouses and 120 apartments.
Phases
Nine phases, labeled 1A through 4B on the City page.
Status
Listed by the City as under construction.
Not documented
Which phases are occupied, the pipe materials used and the builder warranty terms.
Start with the builder warranty
If your home is new, a problem in the first months may be covered by the builder or by a manufacturer warranty. Read the paperwork from closing before you pay for a repair, because a covered fix may need to go through the builder to keep the coverage. We do not know the terms for any Smith Creek builder, so check your own documents.
A leak, a failed fixture or a water heater that will not light is still worth a call. We can tell you what we see and what the paperwork should say.
Settling-in checks for a newer home
Do these in the first year, and write down what you find with the date.
- Find the main shutoff and the water heater shutoff, and label them.
- Run every faucet and flush every toilet, and note any slow drain or noisy pipe.
- Check under sinks and behind the washer for drips after the first few weeks of use.
- Look at the outdoor hose faucets and learn how to shut them off before freezing weather.
- Keep the manuals and warranty cards for the water heater and fixtures in one folder.
If any of these shows active water, close the main and call (503) 974-3329.
Houses, townhouses and apartments share a development, not a plumbing layout
A detached house has its own water heater and its own line to the street. A townhouse shares walls with neighbors, and a leak on one side can reach the other. An apartment building usually has shared risers and an owner or manager who decides who handles repairs.
Before you call anyone, find out who is responsible for the fixture. A tenant usually calls the landlord first, and a townhouse owner should check whether an association covers shared lines.
Water heaters in newer homes
New homes may have a tank, a tankless unit or a heat pump water heater, and each has its own failure signs. A tank may leak or run out of hot water, while a tankless unit may shut off with an error code. Our water heater repair page explains what to try first.
When a replacement is due years from now, our tankless water heater page covers what the switch involves.
Drains and fixtures
Construction debris can end up in new lines, and a slow drain in a new house is worth a look early rather than late. Drain cleaning with a camera shows what is in the line instead of guessing.
For a fixture that drips or a toilet that runs, see toilet repair. Most of these are small fixes if caught early.
Who maintains what
The City of Woodburn runs the public water system and the meter. The pipe from the meter to your house is the private side. In a development like this one, a builder or an association may also hold some responsibilities, so check your closing documents.
Local note: where these facts come from
Unit counts, phases and status come from the City project page. Acreage comes from the zoning ordinance. The City's page may change as phases finish.
Smith Creek plumbing questions
The City's project page lists it as under construction with nine phases. We do not know which phases are complete, so we describe only what the City shows.
Read your warranty first, and call the builder if the problem may be covered. If water is running, close the main shutoff right away and call (503) 974-3329 so the leak does not get worse while you sort out who pays.
We do not know, and the City page does not say. It depends on the builder and the phase, so a plumber needs to look at your own house.
That depends on your association documents. Ask the association or manager first. For anything inside your unit, call (503) 974-3329 and tell us which fixture is affected.
No. The City runs the public water system and the meter. The line from the meter to your house is the private side and in general the owner maintains it.
Plumbing trouble in Smith Creek? Call and we will sort out who can come out and when.
Call (503) 974-3329Plumbing in Smith Creek follows the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, based on the UPC, with permits handled through the local building authority.