Lake Weeks Plumbing: Shore Lots, Hilltop Lots and Empty Houses
Lake Weeks is two things: a 57.73-acre lake with a free public boat ramp, and a subdivision platted on its north shore. Phase 1 addresses were issued in June 2001 and Phases 2 and 3 in July 2002, with 48 county sewer mains laid in those two years. The subdivision centre is roughly 0.8 mile north-northeast of the Lenna Ave and MLK Blvd crossing, with streets such as Hickory Glen Dr, Hickory Fork Dr and Apache Ln.
Homes there are now 23 to 25 years old, so original tank heaters are well past a 6-to-12-year range. The census tract around the lake is 90 percent owner-occupied but 15 percent vacant, which matters: an empty house is where a slow leak runs longest.
Shoreline Soil and Hilltop Sand, a Few Hundred Feet Apart
The lake's surface sits at 38 feet and sample points around it run 43 to 49. FEMA maps Zone AE at three of six points, at the water's edge on Lakeside Dr and Chastain Rd and at mid-lake, and Zone X at Hickory Fork Dr, Rooks Rd and Smokey Mountain Rd. Soils swing from very poorly drained depressional units on the shore to excessively drained sand on Hickory Fork Dr.
That swing changes how a leak behaves. In sand a slab leak can vanish; at the shoreline the ground stays wet and a leak looks like groundwater. We separate them with a meter test before anyone cuts concrete. For equipment in a mapped AE lot, see our flood-zone water heater note.
Lake Weeks Services, Shore to Subdivision
A few hundred feet changes the soil, so each service starts by locating your lot.
- Emergency Plumbing Repairs — A pipe failing in a house that has been empty for a week is a bigger flood than one found at breakfast, so we stop the water, then document the damage.
- Plumbing Repairs — At 23 to 25 years, fill valves, stops and hose bibs are the lake's steady repair tickets.
- Plumbing Installation — New fixtures on shoreline lots need a look at floor height and drain slope before anything is chosen.
- Leak Detection — Wet shoreline soil and dry hilltop sand make leaks read differently, so the meter test leads and the listening gear follows.
- Water Heater Repair & Replacement — Heaters in AE-mapped lots can go on a platform or upstairs, while hilltop heaters just need replacing at the right size.
- Repiping (PEX) — A 2001-03 house rarely needs new supply pipe, so a quote follows only if the same line keeps failing.
- Drain Cleaning & Hydro Jetting — With the Apache station close by, we ask whether neighbors are slow before sending a cable down the line.
Pump Station, East Edge and the House Nobody Is Watching
A county pump-station label, Apache, sits 0.15 mile from the subdivision centre, with three more within 0.75 mile, so part of the flow is pumped; the mains are 8-inch PVC. The east edge is different: points on Chastain Rd and N Smokey Mountain Rd fall outside both county water and wastewater polygons, so confirm what serves a home there before anything is priced.
Fifteen percent of units in the tract are vacant, and vacancy lets a drip become a flood. Anyone leaving the house for weeks should know where the main shut-off is; our burst-pipe guide shows the first ten minutes if something lets go while you are home.
Lake Weeks Phases and the Lakeside, Rooks Road and Smokey Mountain Streets
The lake gives its name to a 2001-2003 subdivision on its north shore and to older streets around the water, some of which sit outside the county's mapped service areas.
- Lake Weeks Phase 1 — Hickory Glen Dr, Hickory Fork Dr, Apache Ln, Red Ash Ct and Red Elm Pl; address issue dates start June 21, 2001.
- Lake Weeks Phases 2 and 3 — Golden Elm Dr, Carriage Oak Pl, Savannah Oaks Pl and Harts Oak Pl, with addresses issued July 11, 2002.
- Lakeside Dr and Chastain Rd — Lakefront lots where older and newer homes are both listed; the sampled points on both streets fall in a FEMA flood zone.
- Rooks Rd — Lies north of the subdivision; the sampled point is in FEMA Zone X, outside the lakeside flood zone.
- N Smokey Mountain Rd — The east side of the lake, where the sampled point sits outside both the county water and wastewater polygons.
- Lake Shangri-La and Shangri-La Dr — A separate lake and neighborhood about 1.2 miles north, off US 92, not part of Lake Weeks.
- Mathews Add to Seffner — A plat label on Lenna Ave in old Seffner, southwest of the lake.
- Kingsway Estates — A northwest neighbor with county mains recorded in 2018, much newer than the lakefront streets.
Lake Weeks, Its Public Boat Ramp and the Roads That Reach the Shore
The lake itself is the main landmark here, and the roads below are how the shore connects to old Seffner.
- Lake Weeks — A 57.73-acre lake known for fishing and Spanish moss, according to Wikipedia.
- Lake Weeks public boat ramp — A free public ramp serves the lake, about 0.4 miles northeast of the Lenna Ave crossroads.
- Lenna Ave — Seffner's old main street, meeting MLK Boulevard about 0.4 miles southwest of the ramp.
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (SR 574) — Formerly Buffalo Avenue, the east-west road that crosses Lenna Ave southwest of the lake.
- Rodney Colson Sports Complex — A 32.63-acre county park lying roughly half a mile southwest of the water.
- Rooks Rd and Shangri-La Dr — North-side streets that mark the transition from the lake area to the Lake Shangri-La area.
Lake Weeks Shoreline Flood Zones, 2001 Sewer Mains and Wet-Ground Soils
The lake sets a small pocket of lower, wetter ground inside a community that is mostly high sand.
- Lake Weeks Phases 1 to 3 were address-issued in June 2001 and July 2002, with 48 PVC mains from 2001-2002 totaling 1.89 miles. Original water heaters and fixtures in 24-to-25-year-old builds are at or past typical service life.
- Mid-lake surface elevation is 38.0 feet versus 43 to 49 feet at the other five sampled points, and FEMA Zone AE covers 3 of 6. Lakefront lots can sit in a special flood hazard area, so how high a heater or panel sits is worth a look.
- 2 of 6 sampled points, on Chastain Rd and N Smokey Mountain Rd, fall outside both county water and wastewater polygons. The east edge of the lake area may not be on county service, so ask which system serves the house before quoting.
- Shoreline soils at 2 sampled points are very poorly drained depressional units, while Hickory Fork Dr sits on excessively drained sand. Soils that differ sharply within a few hundred feet change slab and buried-line moisture risk from lot to lot.
- Part of the sewer flow near Lake Weeks is pumped: a station called Apache sits 0.15 miles from the subdivision center and three more lie within 0.75 miles. A backup can trace to a station or force main rather than to the house line, so who to call depends on where the stoppage starts.
- Hillsborough County Public Works called Hurricane Milton's rain in the Seffner area a 200-to-500-year event, with about 15 inches in many places. Saturated ground after a rain event that size can mimic a slab leak or hide one, so shoreline lots benefit from leak detection before any floor is opened.
Leaving a Lake Weeks house empty? Shut the main first
Before a long absence, turn off the main and take a meter photo; compare when you return. If it moved, text the photos to 813-733-7188 and Tim will advise, then price the search in writing.
CALL 813-733-7188Lake Weeks Questions: Cameras, Meter Tests, East-Edge Utilities and Licenses
It shows joints, offsets, bellies where the line sags and anything lodged inside. County mains laid here in 2001-02 are PVC, and house lines of the same age are usually in decent shape, so we recommend a camera after repeat backups, not as routine. A stand-alone inspection costs $150 to $300.
Turn off every tap, the ice maker and the washer, then watch the meter's small low-flow dial or triangle. If it still turns, water is leaving somewhere. Take a photo, wait an hour, and compare. If it moved, text us the photos. Detection of the leak's location runs $200 to $450 and is credited toward repair.
Maybe not. Sample points on those two roads fall outside both county water and wastewater polygons, while the subdivision itself is inside them. Your bills decide it. If you pay the county for water and wastewater you are connected; if not, tell us you may have a well or septic tank.
At 23 to 25 years: the first or second tank heater, toilet fill valves and flappers, the stops under sinks, hose bibs and any garbage disposal. InterNACHI lists faucets at 15 to 20 years. We pair a heater check with the small parts so one visit covers the list, priced in writing.
After-hours, weekend and holiday dispatch runs $150 to $250. Most emergency repairs land between $250 and $900 in total, and a backup runs $250 to $700. The written price comes before work starts, even late at night. On anything over about $1,500, a second quote is a fair request.
Neighbors Beyond the Lake's Edge
Old Seffner
The 1885 crossroads under a mile southwest, with the oldest houses in Seffner.
Old Hillsborough Estates
A 39-house 1986-88 plat 0.6 mile away, in Zone X despite the lake.
Hickory Hill
Older sibling to the south-southwest, built 1985-91 with unmapped sewer.
Pemberton Creek
Another flood-mapped pocket, north of I-4 beside Lake Thonotosassa.
Seffner
The whole 33584 picture, including the east edge at 36 to 47 feet.