Ashburton
Blocked, burst or leaking in Ashburton?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Ashburton, from Solway in the south-west to the Alamein estate, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Ashburton
Commission houses, Alamein and Solway
In Alamein, east of the railway, the completed estate held about 2500 houses, built by the Housing Commission and plumbed to one standard within a few years. Their galvanised water services and clay sewer branches are wearing out together, so a repeat blockage is worth a camera survey before another spot repair.
Much of the Ashburton Housing Estate was single-storey concrete or brick houses, with clusters of walk-up flat blocks. In a precast concrete house a new pipe run goes around the panels, because they cannot simply be chased.
Solway, in the south-west, was sparsely settled until the early postwar years. Pipe of that period can include asbestos cement, which needs careful handling when it is cut.
Jobs in Ashburton
Postwar services and downhill stormwater
Blocked drains
Commission-era clay branches, and stormwater that runs downhill to the reserve by the creek.
Burst pipes
Corroded galvanised water services in postwar houses, found and repaired on the property side.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera along an old line before any dig near protected trees or concrete roads.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Ashburton questions
Creek slopes, protected roots and infill sewers
Why does the bottom of the Alamein slope flood first?
The estate overlooks the Gardiners Creek valley to the south, so its streets fall towards the reserve. A blocked street pit or overland flow shows up first at the lowest properties, and the fall and outlet are checked before a stormwater drain is cleared.
Do protected trees change how a drain is dug?
In the Great Glen Iris Railway Junction Estate Precinct it does. The heritage citation protects concrete roads and related mature street trees, so a camera goes down before any trench and the dig is planned around those roots and road slabs.
Can a sewer trench go near the rare gum by the station?
A Studley Park Gum, endangered and classified by the National Trust, stands beside the railway near Ashburton Station. Any sewer or stormwater trench in its root zone means the council arborist first and hand digging near the roots.
Is the old sewer branch big enough for new units?
Around the Ashburton and Riversdale-Willison activity centres, new controls allow taller housing on lots sewered for one house. On a knockdown the existing branch and Yarra Valley Water's connection requirements are checked before drainage is priced.
