Chelsea
Blocked, burst or leaking in Chelsea?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Chelsea, from the beach sand to the drained swamp inland, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Chelsea
Sand ridges, drained swamp and a late sewer
The old Chelsea municipality covered a narrow stretch of coastal sandy ridges and former swampland, with beachside lots on sand and inland streets on drained swamp. Sand slumps in a trench wall, while soft swamp lets an earthenware drain settle until its joints open, so a sagging line is often relined rather than cleared again.
After the war, subdivisions spread from the coast, across the railway line and onto former swampland. Those inland houses mostly have postwar clay sewers and galvanised water pipe sitting in soft ground, and a camera looking for displaced joints is the first step on a recurring blockage.
The district was unsewered in common with the rest of the municipality until 1965. An older holiday house may have had its sewer drain added through a yard first laid out for a septic system.
Jobs in Chelsea
Settling joints and late sewer runs
Blocked drains
Clay sewers that have settled in soft drained swamp ground.
Pipe relining
A lining through a sagging earthenware line instead of clearing it again.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera to map a sewer added after the house, before anything is opened.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Chelsea questions
The big open drain, foreshore lots and septic yards
Who handles flooding from the big open drain?
Away from the beach the suburb is described as running along Secondary Drain, a large open channel with reserves beside it. Kingston looks after council drains, but Melbourne Water takes care of flooding if it occurs from a main drain, river or creek, so the right authority is settled before an outfall is touched.
Can machinery reach a sewer on a foreshore lot?
Not always easily. The foreshore was sold to private buyers, leaving a narrow strip between the sea and the railway with few public roads giving access to the beach, so the route of the sewer branch and whose land a digger must cross are confirmed first.
Does a house connected late to the sewer need a camera first?
It helps. A sewer added after the house rarely runs where you would guess, its falls can be odd, and a disused tank may still sit in the yard, so a camera maps the line before anything is opened.
