Dallas
Blocked, burst or leaking in Dallas?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Dallas, from the Commission streets to the Merlynston Creek park, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Dallas
A Commission decade and a creek on the low side
Victorian Places records that most of the suburb's housing was built by the Housing Commission between 1961 and 1970, on land that had been small farms. Houses of that decade often have vitrified clay sewers with mortar or early rubber ring joints, so roots and shifted joints are the faults to expect, and the line is filmed before a quote.
The Merlynston Creek runs through the eastern part of Dallas, with a linear park along its banks. Homes on that side sit lower than the rest, so after heavy rain a stormwater outlet can back up from the street drain while the pipes under the house are perfectly clear.
Jobs in Dallas
Clay joints, flats and creek-side outlets
Blocked drains
Clay sewers in houses built by the Housing Commission between 1961 and 1970, where roots find the joints.
CCTV drain inspection
Filming a sixties line to see whether a joint has shifted before anything is dug.
Gutters and downpipes
Downpipes and pits on the creek side, checked when storms overload the street drain.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Dallas questions
Shared blocks, storm backups and Hume outlets
Who agrees to work on a drain shared by a block of flats?
The owners corporation. The Census counted 279 of Dallas's occupied private dwellings as flats or apartments, and in a block the sewer branch is usually common property. The owners agree before the common line is cleared or opened, and the cost is often split between them.
Is a gully overflowing in a storm a blocked house drain?
Not always. On the creek side the street system fills first in a downpour, and a property outlet then has nowhere to go. If the gully settles once the rain stops, the street drain is the likelier cause.
How is a new stormwater connection approved in Hume?
Hume City Council sets each property's legal point of discharge, the pit or kerb outlet a new line may join. That level is confirmed before a downpipe line is relaid, most of all on the low ground near the creek.
