Croydon
Blocked, burst or leaking in Croydon?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Croydon, from Tarralla Creek to the old golf course estate, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Croydon
White Flats clay and a garden suburb that stopped short
Croydon was first known as White Flats, and early industry here included extraction of clay that was suited to ceramics. That clay swells wet and shrinks dry, so rigid joints in older drains crack and shift over time, and a camera finds the break before relining or digging is decided.
Walter and Marion Burley Griffin planned a garden suburb estate around today's Cheong Park, but only a small part was laid out and houses were mostly built after 1945. Those postwar homes likely have clay sewers, and because the curving streets mean a drain may not run square to the frontage, the connection is located before anyone digs.
The golf course moved to Yering, and within a few years its former land in Croydon came under houses. Drains there are likely modern plastic, so a blockage is more likely debris or a fitting than a failed clay joint.
Jobs in Croydon
Swelling clay and curving frontages
Blocked drains
Cracked joints in postwar clay drains on the old Griffin estate.
Pipe relining
A lining for clay drains where roots near protected trees rule out a trench.
CCTV drain inspection
A camera to find where a drain meets a curving frontage before digging.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Croydon questions
A daylighted creek, moving kerbs and a heritage centre
Where does stormwater go now that the creek is open?
On one stretch of Tarralla Creek the underground concrete drain was removed and replaced with a natural channel, and more of the pipe is planned to be opened up. A property line that once met the old drain may now meet an open channel, so the point of discharge is confirmed with Maroondah before a repair or reconnection.
Why are tree roots blamed for a sagging drain?
Maroondah's works on one Croydon road include moving a kerb to protect trees and rectify the ongoing settlement of the east side kerb caused by the trees. Roots that can shift concrete will find old drain joints too, so a camera checks for roots before any digging near protected trees.
Does plumbing on the heritage health centre need a permit?
Some of it. The Maternal and Child Health Centre is on the Victorian Heritage Register, and its permit exemptions include installing or removing external fixtures such as hot water services and taps. Anything beyond the exemptions, such as roof drainage or new external pipework, needs a Heritage Victoria permit first.
