Ascot Vale
Blocked, burst or leaking in Ascot Vale?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Ascot Vale, from the land boom streets to the Maribyrnong flats, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Ascot Vale
Boom cottages, a basalt rise and river flats
Central Ascot Vale was built in the land boom, with houses that run from boom style brick and render to weatherboard cottages. Many were first drained in earthenware with cement joints, and roots find those joints. A camera run shows where a joint has moved before anyone quotes a dig or a lining.
Ascot Vale West changes ground within a few streets. The old Maribyrnong estate sits on a prominent basaltic rise overlooking the Maribyrnong alluvium flood plain, so one trench meets rock or heavy clay and the next meets soft, wet silt. The plumber checks which ground the drain runs through before pricing it.
Victorian Places notes that the flood prone land, the showgrounds and the racecourse together constituted half of Ascot Vale West. On that low ground a stormwater drain backs up quickly in heavy rain, so outlet levels are checked before a line is added or cleared.
Jobs in Ascot Vale
Clay joints, shared flats and low ground
Blocked drains
Old earthenware joints under the houses near the station, and shared lines under walk-up flats.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera along the line first, where boom era clay drains have often been patched in parts.
Burst pipes
Leaks on the property side of the meter; a burst in the street main goes to the water corporation.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Ascot Vale questions
Walk-up flats, bluestone lanes and the river side
Who signs off a blocked drain under walk-up flats?
After the war the Housing Commission built walk-up flats and houses on what had been the Ascot racecourse. Flats like these share one sewer branch, held by the housing authority or an owners corporation, so the plumber confirms who owns the pipe before clearing it.
Does bluestone paving change how a sewer is dug?
It does inside the Ascot Vale Estate heritage precinct, which lists its bluestone laneways and bluestone kerb and channel among its significant features. A trench across them means lifting and relaying the stones rather than patching in concrete. Visible downpipe changes on a contributory house need a heritage permit first.
Are the oldest drains near the station?
Mostly. The land boom estates near the railway, Temperance Township among them, carry the suburb's oldest house drains, often original earthenware replaced in parts. The line is traced with a camera before any dig.
What happens when a water main bursts nearby?
Greater Western Water owns and repairs the mains under Ascot Vale streets. After one burst it told nearby customers not to use tap water because of possible contamination, so after a nearby main repair the house pipes are flushed before supply goes back into use.
