Blocked Drains, Clifton Gardens & Mosman

We Find Why It is Blocked. Not Just Clear It.

Name: Plumber Sydney
Address: 7 Collins Avenue, Rose Bay, NSW, 2029, AU
Telephone: 1300 026 452
Price range: 0

The majority of drain clears are temporary. CCTV inspection is used to demonstrate to you the real picture of what is happening inside your pipes and then deal with the actual source of the problem leaving you not back at the start in three months. $0 call-out, no upfront pricing and we service you on the same-day across Clifton Gardens.

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Blocked Drains?

1300 026 452

CCTV Inspection First
Before we commence we place a camera before we know nothing about the cause of the blockage or its location.

Hydro Jetting of Hard Blockages
High-pressure Water jetting is used to cut through root intrusions and solidified grease that electric eels are unable to move.

0 Call-Out,
There to turn up, always free. You pay the job done, and then when we have given you a fixed price.

Emergencies Drain 24/7
not business hours. We answer Clifton Gardens call-outs 24 hours a day.

Why It's Blocked

What is Really Causing the Clifton Gardens Drain Blockages.

You can do something with some of these. The rest are the product of the housing stock and mature landscaping of the suburb and they require professional solution. This is what we really see when we place a camera therein.

Most Common

Tree Root Intrusion

Some of the oldest private gardens in Sydney are in Clifton Gardens and the Mosman area in general, which has jacarandas, figs, Moreton Bay figs, Port Jackson figs, and large eucalypts. Their root systems are ferocious, and very sensitive at detecting moisture. Older clay and terracotta sewer lines (which are still present in most buildings older than 1980s) have joints that open just enough over the decades to provide ideal points of access. When roots have been laid within a pipe, the obstruction is gradual, and is sluggish at the start, but then suddenly complete.

Very Common

Grease Accumulation

Fat that is poured down a sink discharges the house as a warm liquid, which solidifies and hardens on the sides of the pipes in metres of the drain opening. As months and years pass, the contact makes the bore narrow. With time a piece of food waste or wet wipes become attached to the grease layer and a complete blockage develops. This is the most preventable cause, and at the same time the most common especially in drains in the kitchen.

Common

Deteriorated Pipes

The homes of many Clifton Gardens were constructed between 1920s and 1960s and a large number of these homes continue to have underground drainage facilities. Terracotta pipes crack, joints part way and parts of the pipe may partially collapse under soil or root pressure. A partially broken pipe cannot drain to the full capacity, it forms a depression where solids are deposited. Such an error is evident on a CCTV check-up; it is hard to diagnose without a CCTV check-up.

Common

Hair and Soap Scum

Blockages in bathroom drains are nearly always a mix of soap and hair. Soaps are stuck together by hair creating a kind of semi solid mass which slowly accumulates at a drain bend or strainer. They are typically the simplest blockages to clear, often a straightforward electric eel job, but can be more severe when the pipe behind the blockage is rough, as a result of deposit of a mineral or corrosion.

Common

Non-Flushable Items

The so-called flushable wet wipes do not dissolve in water, they clog the joints of the pipes or roots embedded in them. We also frequently clear toilet drains of sanitary products, cotton buds, dental floss and (where there are young children in the house) little toys and plastic objects. These objects form a support on which other debris sticks.

Seasonal

Stormwater Overflow (Autumn/Winter)

Clifton Gardens trees that have grown to be old drop considerable leaf debris. Gully drains and stormwater grates are filled in case there has been a lot of leaf matter that has accumulated. The overflow then forces debris into storm water lines that result in downstream blockages. This pattern of call-out is habitual in May and June when the leaf fall coincides with the wettest season in Sydney.

Warning Signs

Seven Red Flags that Your Clifton Gardens Drain Requires Immediate Repair.

Drains do not usually malfunction. The following symptoms can be noted several weeks or even months before a complete blockage and this fact provides time to correct it in the right way instead of addressing an overflow at the most inappropriate time.

Dribble in one of the fixtures.

One slow drain (only the shower, only the kitchen sink) typically indicates a localised partial obstruction near that bathroom or kitchen, simpler and less expensive to repair at this point.

Multiple slow drains simultaneously.

Two or more fixtures that drain gradually in the same time will cause a more serious blockage in the system frequently in the main sewer line. This is a more severe vice that should be addressed immediately.

Toilet or drain gurgling.

Gurgling noises following a flush or when you drain a different appliance means that there is air trapped, the pipe fails to empty itself adequately. This is a side effect of a future blockage in progress.

Sulphur smell or sewage smell.

Constant smell of a drain, even a weak odour, indicates that waste is stagnant in a drain or is blocked up through it. Don’t cover it up with drain cleaner; get to the root of the matter.

Water supporting into another pipe.

Washing the machine makes the toilet to bubble. Running a tap causes the shower to fill. The net result of these cross-fixture effects is that the common drain line is compromised.

Wet soil or damp areas in the yard.

Wet grass or soil that is not expected, particularly around areas known to have pipes, may be an indication of a broken drain or sewer pipe that is leaking underground. Roots of trees are commonly in the area.

Periodic obstructions at the same location.

When the same drain becomes clogged after every few months, there is no solution in clearing it out, something is amiss with it. A CCTV inspection will enable us to see what and where, thus it can be permanently rectified.

Our Method

Our Blocked Drain Clearing in Clifton Gardens.

We do not arrive with a plunger and wish to do the best. The following is how we go about it on each call-out of block drains.

Phone Assessment

Please tell us what you have before we come, one or more, any recent experience of obstructions, whether you are aware of where the clean-out point is. This assists us in carrying the appropriate equipment of the probable type of fault.

CCTV Inspection

At no time do we commence any clearing work without a camera being run through the line. This reveals what the blockage is (root mass, grease, foreign object, collapsed pipe), its precise position, and how the walls of the pipes surrounding the blockage are. You may view the video with us.

Upfront Quote

When we are certain of what we are to do we offer you a definite price of the work. We describe what we discovered, what we suggest, and why. In case relining is justified, we clarify that individually, it is never included in a clearing quote without your knowledge.

Clearing or Relining

Basic blockages are cleared using high-pressure jetting or an electrical eel, depending on the type of pipes and the nature of the blockage. Root intrusions of structurally damaged pipes are solved using relining in case it is the correct long term solution in your case.

Post-Clear Camera Check

Once cleared, we repeat the camera through to ensure the line is clear and nothing that we have performed has perturbed the pipe. You have a pure clear running drain, and the quiet of having seen it with your own eyes.

Local Knowledge

Blocked Drains in Clifton Gardens, What is So Special about this Suburb.

Suburban experience is, as it may sound, important. The following is what we have come to understand, after many years of drain work in the Clifton Gardens and the greater Mosman region.

The Tree Problem Is Real, and Specific to This Area.

Clifton Gardens is located on a tree canopy that is one of the oldest residential tree canopies in Sydney. The huge block sizes of the suburb and the numerous fig trees and jacarandas and Sydney Turpentines that have been growing since 50 or 70 years ago, allow the root systems to be far below the ground including what you think the tree on the surface is. We have had root masses, in sewer lines in Clifton Gardens, which were put there by trees on the adjacent land, or by the trees in the street five or six metres distant.

The rubber-ring or mortar joints between terracotta clay sewer pipes, the typical installation in pre-1970s home construction, separate with time. A fine root hair can only enter a 23mm gap. After being indoors, the root is warm, moist, and nutritious, and grows very fast. The initial symptom is normally a drain which now takes 10 seconds longer to clear than before. When it becomes completely blocked, the mass inside the root can be large, occupying a 100mm pipe over several metres.

The reason why just clearing it is not enough.

A root-blocked drain will be cleared efficiently and within a short time using high-pressure jetting. The line will be free flowing thereafter and that is the issue. When a root intrusion has been cleared it does not imply a fixed pipe. The entry point is there, but the roots are gone. The roots reappear within 6-18 months (sometimes earlier during the growing season) causing a reoccurrence of the blockage.

In the case of Clifton Gardens properties with 2 or more drain blockages, or where our camera reveals structural damage to the wall of the pipe at the entry point of the root, we will demonstrate the appeal to reline the pipes. Relining places a layer of epoxy-resin in the inside of the existing pipe to form a jointless, sealed interior that cannot be penetrated by root hairs. When well installed, these liners are guaranteed 25-50 years and it removes the root cause completely.

We do not over-sell relining. Jetting is completely suitable to a young house with PVC pipes and a simple grease block. It depends on the material of the pipes, the type and the site of the fault, and the possibility of its repetition, which is obvious based on the CCTV footage.

A Clifton Gardens Complexity, Stormwater Drains vs. Sewer Drains.

In Clifton Gardens, the property frequently has individual stormwater and sewer drainage systems, each of them being linked to the infrastructure of Sydney Water at various points. A stormwater blockage (saturating the yard or water stagnating by gully drains) is not the same type of fault as a sewer blockage (creating odour and toilet overflow) and should be repaired in a different manner than a sewer blockage.

By rule of thumb: all the drainage to the point of connection on your property is your responsibility. The sewer main in the street and junction connection are under the responsibility of Sydney Water. Should your blockage happen to be in the part owned by Sydney Water, we will inform you, that you would report to Sydney Water, and not to us to make a repair that is not your own.

Cost Guide

The average cost of what blocked drain work typically costs in Sydney.

These are realistic work scopes. Each job is quoted separately, we do not quote jobs over the phone as we have found that phone quotes are nearly always inaccurate. This however is a benchmark.

Service	Normal Scope	Normal Cost Range
Simple drain clear (electric eel)	Bathroom or laundry hair/soap blockage. Usually 30–60 mins.	$100–$250
Hydro jetting	Grease or average root intrusion. 1–2 hours.	$250–$450
CCTV drain inspection	Camera inspection of single drain line. Videotaping review with you.	$150-350.
Hydro jetting + CCTV (combined)	Most frequent with recurrent or unknown-cause blockages. Our standard approach.	$350–$700
Pipe relining (per metre)	Installation of an epoxy liner in structurally compromised pipes. Trenchless.	$400–$1,100/m
Emergency after-hours call-out	Response during the after-hours or on a weekend. To clean work quoted to top of this.	$0 call-out*

We have a call-out fee of $0 at any time. Work done is quoted in advance and agreed on. Higher prices are indicative prices depending on the prices in the Sydney market and can change depending on the depth of the pipe, access, and site conditions. Never accept to work without a written quote.

Repair Options

Pipe Relining vs. Excavation, Which is Right in your Property?

In the case of structural damage to the pipe resulting in a blocked drain, there are two broad repair options. This is the blunt comparison of homeowners of Clifton Gardens.

✓ Pipe Relining (Trenchless)

No trenching, your lawn, driveway and landscaping remain intact.
Usually half the cost of full excavation when landscape reconstruction is involved.
Relined pipes are 4x stronger than new pipes made of PVC and have a shelf life of 50 or more years.
Typically done within one day; there is less trouble to your house.
Jointless, permanently sealed interior surface permanently excludes root re-entry.
Perfect in large established gardens and harbourside landscaping of Clifton Gardens.

Best for: Pipes with cracks, root entry points, joint separation or minor collapse, where the structural integrity should be able to support a liner.

✕ Traditional Excavation

Digging up of garden, driveway or paths, major disturbance.
Landscaping restoration expenses (750-1000+ per sqm in paving) contribute significantly to overall.
The project generally requires 2-5 days; further inconvenience to home life.
New pipes made of joints may still be prone to root intrusion in the long run.
Council permits may be required for street or footpath works

Where needed: Pipes that are totally collapsed, grossly misaligned or unable to support a liner. We will explain to you which one is applicable.

Customer Reviews

From Clifton Gardens & Mosman Customers

★★★★★

"Same drain had blocked twice in eight months. they came out, ran a camera first and then touched anything and they demonstrated to me the root of the jacaranda that had broken through a cracked terracotta joint about 6 metres down. had it relined. That was 14 months ago and no trouble since. Worth every cent."

Marianne — Clifton Gardens

★★★★★

"Thursday, 9pm, called, kitchen drain overflowing, they arrived within the hour, cleared it with the jetter, inspected what was in the pipe (built-up grease, pretty grim), and gave me some genuinely useful advice as to how to ensure the same thing does not happen again."

Rob Bennett — Mosman

★★★★★

"After a heavy rain in June, the outdoor stormwater drain was completely clogged, so the yard turned into a swamp, and they used the camera to identify the blockage (leaf matter packed at a 90-degree turn), then cleared it and gave me information on the stormwater vs sewer difference so I could be sure of what was mine to fix and what was not."

Sameer B — Clifton Gardens

FAQ

Hot Water Repair Frequently asked questions in Clifton Gardens.

It is wholly based on the fault. A thermostat/pressure relief valve change is just under two hundred dollars in total. Replacement of heating elements is a bit more expensive. Where the fault involves considerable parts we will quote you the price initially and will provide you with a real comparison with a new part so that you can make your own judgment on which will be more economical. We do not quote hot water jobs on the phone as we have discovered that phone quotes are nearly always incorrect, and that two minutes on the spot to get the job right and give you a correct price.

In most cases, yes. Parts of the most common brands and the most common types of faults, heating elements, thermostats, anode rods, pressure relief valves, and thermocouple assemblies to gas systems are carried in our vans. In case the exact component that we require is not available on the van, then we can normally get it the same day out of our supplier network since Clifton Gardens is close to the city. Less frequent exceptions are minor faults on less popular or older models, where next-day is a realistic result.

Almost certainly. Lukewarm water (instead of no hot water) can imply two things: in an electric system, one heating element may still be operating as the other one has broken; in a gas system, the thermostat is adjusted improperly or is breaking down. They are both simple repairs. Another common one is to make sure that no one has set your thermostat too low by mistake, we are called out on this a couple of times and feel obliged to say before dispatching someone.

Yes. The most common faults in solar hot water are in the collector mounted on the roof (blocked evacuated tubes, pump failure, or controller) or in the ground-level storage tank and booster element. We feel at home with either. In the Sydney climate, the issue of collector efficiency rarely presents a problem with solar systems, but more frequently the pump controller or the gas/electric booster is the faulty part, both of which are easy to fix.

The label on the unit (typically on the side or back of the tank of a tank-based unit, or on the front panel of a continuous flow unit) is printed with a manufacture date. It is sometimes written in the serial number instead of printed as a clear date, but we can guess the age, just telling the brand and serial number by phone usually allows us to decode the age. Being aware of the age is really handy prior to calling out a plumber: it assists in setting the context of whether you can discuss repair or replacement as the reasonable dialogue we have when we come.

In the case of a gas system: in case you smell the gas, get out of the premises and call outside. When you do not smell any gas, then you can leave the unit as it is. In an electric system: any visible water pools should be a good reason to switch the unit off at the isolator switch (which is normally near the unit) to prevent running the element dry. Otherwise there is nothing to do, the fault will not increase as you wait. Do not run cold water over a hot leaking unit, and do not attempt to open the pressure relief valve, by hand.

Service Area