Fairfield
Blocked, burst or leaking in Fairfield?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Fairfield, from the river meanders to the old Fairfield Park estate, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Fairfield
Lava rock under boom-era sewers
Apart from mudstone beside the river meanders, all of Fairfield is on basaltic land, so unlike Northcote it never had brick clay pits. The basalt came from lava that flowed down the ancient Merri and Darebin Creek valleys into the Yarra valley at Fairfield. Rock close under the yard makes any dig-up repair slow, and near footings it means careful hand work.
The rail and tram lines and land sales, including the speculator's Fairfield Park estate, started the residential boom. Homes from then and the decades after are likely to have earthenware sewers with cement or clay joints, so root entry and cracked joints are checked first.
Jobs in Fairfield
Rock, roots and long runs
Pipe relining
A lining where basalt under the yard would make a trench slow and costly.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera along a long house-to-street run to find the root entry before a price.
Blocked drains
Old earthenware sewers with cement joints, from the boom years on.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Fairfield questions
Bigger blocks and the old flood flat
Why do drains take longer to trace on a Fairfield block?
The Fairfield Park lots sold well because they were bigger than the standard blocks closer to Melbourne. That usually means side or rear access for a jetter, but a longer run from house to street and more pipe to inspect.
What should be checked when stormwater pools on the low ground?
Victorian Places records that the flood-prone Fairfield flat was drained early in the twentieth century. Old flat ground can still collect water in heavy rain, so the legal point of discharge and the pits are checked before a pipe is blamed.
Is relining an option where the ground is rock?
Often it is the first one looked at. Reaching a cracked pipe through basalt means rock breaking, while a lining goes in through the existing pipe, so a camera survey decides which is practical.
