Spindale was a mill town from the start. Its first textile mill, Spencer Mills, opened in 1916, the town incorporated in 1923, and Stonecutter Mills, the last of the textile mills, closed in 1999. About 4,200 people live here now, and many of them live in houses built for mill families.
Spindale sits between Rutherfordton and Forest City, and its utilities are split. The Broad River Water Authority, headquartered in Spindale, supplies water. The Town of Spindale runs its own sewer and treatment plant, which discharges to Catheys Creek and is getting a state-funded upgrade. Natural gas is Enbridge Gas North Carolina.
Permits for Spindale come from Rutherford County Building Inspections, with a town zoning permit first for additions. Gas Guys holds North Carolina license #L39015 and serves Spindale from its base in Spartanburg County, SC.
Spindale at a glance
- Natural gas
- Enbridge Gas North Carolina. Enbridge Gas North Carolina serves Spindale; a home without a main on its street would need propane.
- Water
- Broad River Water Authority
- Sewer
- Town of Spindale
- Permits
- Rutherford County Building Inspections (town zoning permit first for additions)
- Housing
- Mill village houses from the 1910s to 1930s, mid-century homes, and some newer infill.
Plumbing and gas in Spindale: what to know
Mill houses on piers
Many mill houses sit on brick piers over a shallow crawlspace, with supply lines and drains hanging from the floor joists. That makes them easy to reach but quick to freeze. Galvanized supply lines from the original plumbing, or from early updates, narrow with rust, so low pressure at one or two fixtures is common.
Cast iron and clay drains
The original drains in houses of this age were usually cast iron under the house and clay tile out to the street. Cast iron rusts through from the inside, and clay joints let roots in. Slow drains everywhere or a gurgling toilet when the washer drains point to the main line, and a camera shows which problem it is.
Adding gas to an older house
If Enbridge has a main on your street, the utility sets the meter and the house piping starts there. Gas logs, a range, a dryer or a tank or tankless water heater are the usual additions. Each new appliance has to be sized against the meter and everything else on the line, and new piping gets a pressure test before it is put in service.
Water heaters in closets and on back porches
Small houses put the water heater wherever it fit: a hall closet, a corner of the kitchen, or an enclosed back porch. A gas heater in a closet needs enough combustion air and a sound flue, and one on an unheated porch needs its lines protected from freezing. When a heater in a tight spot is replaced, those are the things to get right, not just the tank.