Albion
Blocked, burst or leaking in Albion?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Albion, from the War Service Homes estate to the McKay estate flats, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Albion
Soldier homes, stone drains and walk up flats
The Albion War Service Homes estate was one of the soldier settlement estates set up after World War One, possibly one of the earliest in Australia. Houses that age may still drain through original earthenware or patched pipe of mixed age, so cracked joints and roots are expected and a camera goes in before a quote.
The estate keeps some basalt-pitched drains and a lane, with houses backing onto shared reserves. When a yard floods in heavy rain, the open stone drain may be silted or blocked rather than the private pipe, and the rear reserves can give equipment a way in.
Flats or apartments made up 25.9 percent of Albion's occupied private dwellings at the last Census, more than double the state share. Many drain jobs here start with shared stacks and common branches, so whether the fault is on common property is settled first.
Jobs in Albion
Shared stacks and soldier settlement pipe
Blocked drains
Common branches under walk up flats, and earthenware in the soldier settlement houses.
Gutters and downpipes
Bungalow gutters and downpipes matched to the original profile.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera through patched pipe of mixed age before a price.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Albion questions
Bungalow gutters, flats and body corporates
Does heritage control cover gutters on the bungalows?
On the War Service Homes estate it can. Its simple gabled, weatherboard bungalow style houses with wide eaves form a protected streetscape, so gutters, downpipes or pipework seen from the road may need heritage advice or a permit, and should match the original profile.
Who pays for a blocked drain under the walk up flats?
In the McKay estate many old houses near the station were replaced by two storey elevated walk up brick flats. Those blocks usually share one sewer branch and stormwater system under an owners corporation, so access and payment go through the body corporate.
Is a camera needed on an old estate drain?
It saves guessing. Earthenware this old can be cracked in several places, and the footage shows whether a patch, a lining or a new section makes sense.
