Emergency Plumbing in Mortdale, Sorted Fast

Original vitreous clay sewer lines still sit under most of the pre-war brick cottages and semi-detached homes dominating the older blocks here, cracking at the joints as it passes the century mark.

The reason so much of it is still original comes down to timing. This suburb has been settled since 1885, and a wave of returning WWI soldiers filled out the older streets even further through the 1920s, so a lot of what went into the ground back then never got a reason to be replaced.

Mortdale Memorial Park's mature fig trees are part of that story, their root systems reaching well beyond the park boundary into the sewer lines of nearby pre-war blocks. It's a pattern that shows up across the older, leafier streets generally.

The southern edge, sloping toward the Lime Kiln Bay inlet, adds a second pressure. Heavy summer downpours overwhelm stormwater pits on that lower ground, a problem the flatter blocks further inland don't face in the same way.

Pre-war and early post-war houses often still run original galvanised supply pipes too, corroding from the inside and restricting water pressure long before anyone notices a full failure.

The shale and reactive clay under these streets moves with the seasons, which is often the final push that turns a hairline crack in old pipework into an active leak. It's a slow process until suddenly it isn't.

Morts Road's cafes, butchers and the RSL club tie into the same original clay network as the cottages behind them.

A function night at the club or a full Saturday sitting for the strip's cafes puts a spike through that line no ordinary household ever generates.

When one of these connections lets go, we're usually working further up the pipe than a home callout would need, because the load that caused it built up somewhere upstream.

A burst pipe or a sudden sewer backup rarely waits for a sensible hour, so here's what to do.

Shut the water off at the meter if it's safe to reach, and keep clear of any pooling water near powered appliances. A blocked or overflowing toilet needs the same fast response as a burst pipe.

If you smell gas, leave the property and call from outside. Do not flick switches or light flames.

Summer brings its own version of this problem, when storm surcharge and stormwater overflow test the older drainage on the lower streets hardest. Whatever the trigger, a real person takes the call, not a voicemail.

It doesn't matter whether the call comes from a Morts Road shopfront or a quiet block near Renown Park. The same priority applies either way.

1. You call (02) 9138 6510. Explain what's happening to a real plumber, day or night.
2. A van heads out, properly stocked. Loaded for the sort of job this older housing stock usually throws up.
3. We quote before we start. You see the number and approve it first.
4. We finish it properly. Backed by our Lifetime Labour Warranty.