Camberwell
Blocked, burst or leaking in Camberwell?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Camberwell, from the older western streets to the Hartwell and Willison reserves, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Camberwell
Interwar brick, sandy ground and old plantings
Camberwell grew quickest between the wars, when brick houses began to outnumber timber. A house of that age usually keeps its original earthenware sewer with cement joints and a galvanised water service, so low pressure and rooted clay are both on the list.
Much of the canopy comes from the council's determined street tree plantings, and the roots have had generations to reach those joints. A recurring blockage is treated as root intrusion until a camera shows otherwise.
Early surveyors called the area light sandy country, timbered with gum and oak. Sandy topsoil over clay can slump as a trench is opened, so a deep drain trench is shored or battered.
Jobs in Camberwell
Rooted sewers, low yards and street fronts
Blocked drains
Rooted earthenware under the street canopy, and yard drains on the low ground by the reserves.
Pipe relining
A lining for a cracked interwar sewer where a sectional dig would tear up the garden.
Gutters and downpipes
Visible roof plumbing checked against the heritage overlay before it is changed.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Camberwell questions
Heritage streets, the Junction and low yards
Who is responsible for the stormwater pipe under the footpath?
The owner. Boroondara makes owners maintain drains and underground pipes from the property up to the legal point of discharge, including under footpaths, so the council supplies the discharge point and a road opening permit comes before the nature strip is dug.
Do heritage controls reach ordinary interwar homes?
They can. Boroondara's heritage gap study assessed Camberwell as a suburb in its own right, and overlays now cover many ordinary interwar houses. Before gutters, downpipes or external pipework visible from the front are replaced, the planning property report is checked, as a permit can be needed first.
Is a sewer connection near the Junction big enough for new units?
Not always. A Housing Choice and Transport Zone applied to the residential catchment around the centre now allows multi-storey buildings where one house had one connection. The zone and Yarra Valley Water's consent for the larger load are confirmed before a new connection is sized.
Why do yards near the reserves fill with water?
The Hartwell and Willison areas have more reserves, a number of which adjoin water courses. Those properties sit on the low ground where street stormwater outfalls, so an undersized or blocked house drain backs up into the yard first.
