Fawkner
Blocked, burst or leaking in Fawkner?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Fawkner, from the Moomba Park estate to the Merri Creek, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Fawkner
Sewered first, then built
When the Coburg council objected to big estates in Fawkner, fearing more pollution of the Merri Creek, the Housing Commission stopped work until the area could be sewered. Most houses were likely on the sewer from the start rather than converted from septic.
Private developers followed, and in north Fawkner they began the Moomba Park estate of some seven hundred houses. An estate that size tends to repeat a handful of plans, so once the drain run and inspection opening are found on one house, the neighbours often follow suit.
Jobs in Fawkner
Postwar clay and repeated plans
Blocked drains
Postwar earthenware house drains with cracked joints and root entry.
CCTV drain inspection
Repeated drain layouts across the estate traced with a camera.
Gutters and downpipes
Roof plumbing on older cement sheeting, with a materials check first.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Fawkner questions
Catchment drains, easements and the old church roof
Why might a wet yard not mean a blocked house drain?
In one Fawkner catchment Merri-bek built a new underground drain and pits out to the open space reserve to alleviate flooding within the road reserve and properties. That council drain crosses private land, so it and any easement are located before digging, and standing water is not put down to the house line by default.
Does the heritage overlay affect roof plumbing on the old Methodist church?
Yes. The former church and Sunday School is a single storey weatherboard building with a gabled corrugated cement roof, so gutter or downpipe work likely needs a permit, and sheeting of that period may contain asbestos, so materials are checked before anything is drilled or cut.
What fails first in a postwar clay drain?
Usually the joints. Earthenware shifts and cracks at the sockets with age, roots find the gap and the line slowly chokes, so a camera shows how many joints have gone before a repair or lining is chosen.
