Kew
Blocked, burst or leaking in Kew?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Kew, from Studley Park to the river flats in the north, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Kew
Interwar spread, river flats and weathered rock
After the First World War housing development extended east and north across Kew. Those interwar homes are likely to keep vitrified clay sewers with mortar joints, which crack and let roots in, so a camera inspection is planned before any blockage is called a one off.
Down towards the river the ground changes. The Eastern Freeway was cut through the billabongs of the Yarra valley in north Kew, and the old river flats there can mean soft ground, a high water table and stormwater that is slow to clear after heavy rain.
On the Studley Park side the rock is old Silurian bedrock crossed by igneous dykes, and most dykes are weathered to clay. Those clay bands swell and shrink, which can crack rigid joints, so the whole line is filmed before one break is patched.
Jobs in Kew
Rooted clay, rock seams and new density
Blocked drains
New shared branches on townhouse sites around the Kew Junction activity centre, and rooted interwar clay.
CCTV drain inspection
Filming a line through clay-weathered rock on the Studley Park slopes.
Gutters and downpipes
Front-facing gutters and downpipes checked against the overlay first.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Kew questions
Reserve drains, converted estates and heritage reports
Who handles a drain blocked by the reserve channel?
Boroondara plans to replace an open concrete drainage channel in one council reserve with an underground pipe. Until then, anything that discharges to that channel is checked with council before it is cleared or connected.
Why do roots keep blocking pipes near that reserve?
Council found that dense vegetation in the reserve is damaging the drainage channel, adding to overflow and erosion. Growth strong enough to crack concrete makes roots a likely cause when a nearby private stormwater line blocks.
Who consents to drain work at Willsmere?
The former asylum was de-institutionalised for apartments, and the Kew Cottages site also went to medium density housing. Drains in those estates are likely shared private networks run by an owners corporation, which consents before common ground is dug.
Does a heritage overlay affect gutters in Kew?
It can. Kew was one of the suburbs assessed in Boroondara's Municipal Wide Heritage Gap Study, and its Kew amendment has been gazetted. Before gutters, downpipes or external pipework seen from the front are replaced, the planning property report is checked, as a permit can add weeks.
