Fairforest is a census-designated community just west of the City of Spartanburg, next to Arcadia and Saxon, with about 1,646 people in 2020 on roughly two square miles. It had a post office by 1884. Local tradition says a pioneer named it after looking over the land and calling it a fair forest.
Today it works as a Spartanburg suburb, close to the interstates, with children attending District 6 schools. It is also home to the sewer district's big treatment plant, built as the Fairforest plant and later renamed the A. Manning Lynch Wastewater Treatment Facility. That is a fair sign of how well served by public sewer this side of the county is, though not every lot is on it.
Because Fairforest is unincorporated, Spartanburg County Building Codes issues permits. Natural gas is Piedmont, and water and sewer come from Spartanburg Water and its sanitary sewer district. Most of what we see in homes like these is ordinary wear on houses built in the second half of the 20th century: water heaters, worn shutoff valves, drain lines and the occasional gas appliance swap.
Fairforest at a glance
- Natural gas
- Piedmont Natural Gas. Piedmont serves the west side of Spartanburg; ask Piedmont to confirm service at your address if your house was built on propane or all-electric.
- Water
- Spartanburg Water
- Sewer
- Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District, or septic on some lots
- Permits
- Spartanburg County Building Codes
- Housing
- Mostly mid-century to late 20th century single-family homes, with some newer houses and older properties on larger lots.
Plumbing and gas in Fairforest: what to know
Houses built before PEX
Homes from the 1960s through the 1990s may have copper, CPVC or, in some cases, polybutylene supply lines. Polybutylene is gray plastic, was common for a stretch of those years, and tends to fail at fittings without warning. If you see it at the water heater or under a sink, it is worth planning its replacement.
Shutoff valves that will not shut
Old multi-turn valves under sinks and toilets, and at the main, often seize or weep when finally turned. Test them once in a while. Replacing a stuck main shutoff before an emergency is much better than learning it is stuck while water is on the floor.
Swapping electric for gas
With Piedmont on the west side, a lot of homeowners here are swapping an electric range, dryer or water heater for gas. The new appliance needs a properly sized line, a shutoff valve within reach, a sediment trap where the code calls for one, and a leak check at every new joint before it is lit.
Main line backups
A home on public sewer still owns the lateral from the house to the tap at the main. When several drains back up at once, the problem is usually in that lateral: roots, a sag, or grease build-up. A cleanout outside makes it much easier to clear without pulling a toilet.