Keysborough
Blocked, burst or leaking in Keysborough?
Blocked drains, burst pipes and leaks in Keysborough, from the Parkmore side to Mordialloc Creek, passed to a licensed plumber day and night.
Plumbing in Keysborough
Sand, swamp country and two creeks
Victorian Places records that the eastern boundary is Dandenong Creek and the southern boundary is Mordialloc Creek, and the southern farmland was made by draining the Carrum Swamp. Stormwater from those streets heads for flat creek country, so a surcharging pit can back up before it clears and outfall levels are checked first.
Market gardens were not so profitable on the sandy soil once transport became cheap, and the farms were cut up for housing. Sand lets a trench wall slump and lets groundwater into a dig, and it washes into a cracked earthenware drain and silts it faster than clay would.
Suburban subdivision began on the Springvale side around 1964, near Parkmore, and those streets have earthenware or early PVC drains with failing cement joints. Keysborough South is estate housing where development is almost complete. Its PVC lines are more likely blocked by builder's debris or a crushed connection than by age.
Jobs in Keysborough
Silted lines and estate pipework
Blocked drains
Silted earthenware lines in the older streets and debris in new estate drains.
Pipe relining
A lining for older lines where roots have entered through cement joints.
Gutters and downpipes
At the Church of the Resurrection, its ordinary bay windows, parapets and downpipes are part of the heritage listing, so the profile is matched.
What it costs: hot water replacement cost, gutter replacement cost, toilet installation cost
Keysborough questions
Overland flow, council drains and red gum roots
Can council be made to upgrade an undersized drain that floods the yard?
Generally not. Greater Dandenong says that where a drain was built to the standards of its time, there is no legal obligation on Council to undertake improvements. The fix then sits on the property side, such as a bigger pit, a backflow device or regrading the private stormwater line.
Does storm water cross properties in the older streets?
It can. Council says newer estates keep storm flows within the roads, but this was not always the case and overland flows may impact on properties. Before a property drain is cleared in an older street, the plumber looks at where that flow would come in.
Why do drains near Tatterson Park block again and again?
The park keeps a conservation area of redgum woodland and grassland, and red gum roots travel a long way through sand toward water. A line that blocks repeatedly near there is a camera and relining job rather than a one-off clear.
