Woollahra Drain Clearing Specialists

Blocked Drains Coogee

The aboriginal name of Coogee, koojah, meant the smell of drying seaweed. Today, the only scent one can expect to emanate out of Coogee is the ocean. Otherwise, you probably have a blocked drain. We sweep them out of the suburbs each week, apartments, houses, commercial premises and we do it the first time.

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Ninety Years on a Drainage Network of Apartment Buildings to serve a Beach Village

In 1838 Coogee was declared a village. It grew slowly for decades, a scattering of homes, a school, a pub that opened in 1873. The electric tram came in 1902 and linked Coogee to the city and the course of the suburb was changed overnight. By the 1930s, apartments were being erected in the form of buildings. Since then they have not stopped. Coogee is now one of the biggest densely populated beachside suburbs in Australia with apartment buildings of all architectural forms since the 1930s and a population of approximately 14,600 crowded within the two square kilometres.

Drainage is a matter of that history. The old pipes were fitted to a small village by the sea. The drainage system which Randwick Council is currently managing was to a large extent developed during the 1950s and 1960s, when the suburb was already starting to become a dense residential community, but long before the extent of the modern development got its full impact. The council in Randwick local government area has more than 261 kilometres of drainage pipes and over 10,120 drainage pits and they are aware that most of the drainage networks are old.

Coogee Bay catchment, which was formally investigated by Randwick Council and adopted in 2013, is 2.9 square kilometres in size, encompassing the majority of Coogee, the North of South Coogee and the eastside of Randwick. The entire stormwater in that catchment is ultimately drained towards Coogee Beach. In the case of a large amount of rain, that focussed flow overtakes the trunk drainage and leads to localised flooding in the low-lying streets and properties nearest to the bay.

To boot, the sewer lines serving the older properties in Coogee, the terrace houses, semis and the early apartment blocks were laid with terracotta pipe in one metre sections. Sixty to ninety years later those joints have moved, snapped and are now holes that allow tree roots and soil to enter. That is the scenery we are operating in each time we get a blocked drain call in Coogee.

Drain services that we offer:

  • ✓ Several sewer drains are blocked.
  • ✓ Kitchen, bathroom and laundry drains.
  • ✓ Blocked toilet repairs.
  • ✓ Stormwater drain clearing.
  • ✓ Removal of tree roots in sewer pipes.
  • ✓ Drain camera checks on CCTV.
  • ✓ Jet blasting of high-pressure water.
  • ✓ Pipe relining (no-dig repair).
  • ✓ Excavation of drains and replacement of pipes.
  • ✓ Strata, commercial and hospitality drainage.

The Numbers That Matter, Coogee Drainage

2.9km²

All of the Coogee Bay stormwater catchment drains to the beach.. All obstructed grates and part choked pipes place stress on that system when it rains.

261km

Drainage pipe through Randwick City of council. Most of them were constructed in the 1950s60s and now are showing their age under loads they were never intended to.

14,634

Coogee (2021 Census) is densely populated and living in 2 sq km. Increased population density in apartment buildings leads to increased demands on the available drainage.

55.6%

Coogee properties are under rent. Until there is an issue, tenants are not always aware of the location of the shut-off valve or cleanout point.

Sources: Randwick Council Coogee Bay Flood Study and drainage asset information; ABS Census 2021; OpenAgent suburb profile.

What Blocks Drains in Coogee

The mixed development of Coogee with old pipes, high density apartment living, mature trees, and coastal stormwater pressure forms a unique set of drainage issues. This is what we most have to do with.

🌳

Roots of Trees in ancient Clay Pipes

The residential streets of Coogee have trees which are older than the buildings. The Norfolk Island pines, Moreton bay figs and established garden plantations extend their root systems in the old terracotta sewer pipes. Each joint is one metre long and is an entry point. Roots grow to occupy the inside and entrap debris until the pipe is choked. In dry seasons, the growth of the roots increases as trees go even deeper down the ground in search of water, and sewer lines offer just that.

🏢

Apartment Stack Overload

Since the 1930s, Coogee has been apartment-heavy. Most buildings have one vertical sewer stack that runs through all floors. Once twenty or thirty homes are draining into the same pipe, the accumulative impact of wet wipes, grease and the overall rubbish accumulates quickly. When the stack is partially blocked, it serves the units of the ground floor first, as sewage falls through the lowest drain points. We empty these stacks frequently in structures along the Coogee Bay Road, Arden Street and Brook Street.

🧴

Kitchen Drains Grease

The hospitality industry in Coogee is flourishing with cafes, restaurants, pubs and takeaway stores around the beach and Coogee Bay Road. In commercial kitchens, drains are much larger than those in residential homes. Unless grease taps are routinely cleaned, the grease will go around them and line the subsequent pipe. Residential kitchens are also a contributing factor, the cooking oil that is poured down the sink will harden when it reaches the cooler pipe and reduces the bore month after month.

🧻

Wet Wipes and Non-Flushables

In a suburb with high population of renters, 55.6 per cent of Coogee homes are rented out, not all people are aware of the ground rules of what can and cannot go down the drain. Sanitary products, wet wipes and cotton buds get caught up at every joint and bend of shared sewer stacks. The issue becomes even more complicated in apartment buildings as dozens of households are connected to the same line and generate waste. It is the most avoidable cause of blockages in the apartment drains that we observe.

🌧️

Surge to the Beach Stormwater

Coogee Bay is a 2.9 square kilometre catchment which drains to the beach. In a heavy downpour, stormwater drains off roofs, roads, and footpaths, which have greatly increased in size as the suburb has been built up, and drains into drains that were sized decades ago. The most susceptible property in case the system overflows is the low-lying property in those streets behind the beach. When the rain comes, and your private stormwater drains are partly blocked, the overflow must go somewhere.

🏖️

Sand and Coastal Debris

Coogee is located on the beach. Closer to the shore, properties handle sand wash-in via external grated drains, especially following storms and high tides. Sand accumulates in the bottom of pipes and decreases the flow capacity with time. Together with salt air, which rots any exposed pipe fittings and metal grates, the coastal environment contributes to a certain degree of wear, which cannot be found anywhere but suburbs a few kilometres inland.

Six Signs That Your Drains Need To Be Fixed

Blockages build gradually. Early detection of these symptoms is cost-effective and helps avoid the type of sewage overflow that destroys a weekend and a bathroom.

1

Several Fixtures Slowing To A Drip

When all the shower, kitchen sink, and basin are slow simultaneously, then the issue is not at one of the fittings but further down the main line or common stack. The greater the number of fixtures that were involved, the greater the blockage.

2

Gurgling When One Drain Is Used On Another

Flush the toilet and the shower drain bubbles. Turn on the washing machine and the kitchen sink gurgles. Air trapped behind a partial occlusion pushes through the closest water seal. It is a good early warning that cannot be overlooked.

3

Drain Smell of Sewage or the Yard

The decomposition of waste in a partially blocked pipe yields hydrogen sulphide, rotten egg gas. When you smell it by a floor drain, shower waste or outside grate, something is blocked down the line and waste is stagnant in the line rather than draining through it.

4

A Fixture Affecting Another

You turn the toilet on and water flows up in the shower. You use the dishwasher and water is found in the floor waste of the laundry. Once the fixtures begin cross-interfering, they are obstructed by a drain line. On its own, this becomes a complete outburst.

5

Strangely Lush Patch in the Garden

A broken or leaking sewer pipe underground is a slow-fertilising fertiliser. A green and soft place in the yard than the rest, particularly where a sewer line might pass between the house and the boundary, is a symptom of a broken sewer line underneath.

6

Excess at an External Drain Grate

The first sign of a main sewer blockage can be dirty water or sewage at ground level that pools around an external grate. It is used to mean that there is a barrier to the line between your construction and the street which must be cleared out before the situation can be indoors.

The Way We Clean and Repair Drains in Coogee

Various issues require various tools. Following is a list of what we use and at what time does each approach work.

📹 Video CCTV Drain Camera Inspection

Diagnostic

We put a camera into the pipe before clearing. The live feed displays the type of blockage, its precise location and the state of the pipe surrounding it. Coogee, where pipes can be dated as old as the terracotta of the 1930s in older houses and modern PVC in newer apartment blocks, this can lead to a new angle of approach in knowing what we are dealing with. We capture the video and send it to you, your strata manager or your landlord.

💦 High-Pressure Jet Blasting

Clearing

High pressure focused water jet cuts through tree roots, grease, wet wipe deposits and sediment. Jet blasting versus a drain snake- the jet blasting cuts the entire bore of the pipe, as opposed to a drain snake which punches a small hole into the blockage. In the majority of Coogee blocked drains, be it a house, apartment or a café kitchen, jetting will restore full flow on the same visit. When used by someone who understands the difference it is safe on clay, cast iron and PVC pipes.

🔧 Pipe Relining (No-Dig Repair)

Permanent Fix

In cases where the camera reveals broken joints, root entry points or corrosion damage, relining is done without excavation of the pipe. In a new seamless pipe is made by inserting a resin liner that is cured into a new seamless pipe within the old one. No joints imply no entry of the roots in the future. Where the heritage value of a given property is at risk, small courtyards, or shared driveways, in Coogee, excavation would ruin, relining is frequently the only viable permanent restoration. Warranties on relined pipes are 35 years or more.

⛏️ Digging Up And Replacing Pipes

When Required

When the pipe has completely collapsed, moved out of position or it has several breaks in a short run, the damaged part must be removed. We dig up, put in its place modern PVC, and do repair. We do not suggest excavation unless the relining can no longer be done, but when the pipe is truly hopeless, there is no means of saving in the long run.

Apartments Since the 1930s: The Implication of that on Drainage

Coogee is not a suburb that has just been turned into an apartment-laden area. It has been thick almost 100 years. Early apartment buildings were constructed in the 1930s, the 1950s and 1960s, with additional construction during the 1970s and 1980s and present-day modern buildings. The building material, pattern and the connection standard varied in every generation of building.

It was common to use glazed earthenware or early clay pipes cement-jointed and connected in the 1930s buildings. The buildings of the 1950s-60s substituted the cast iron waste stacks and the terracotta underground sewers. PVC is employed in modern buildings. Whenever we attend to a clogged drainage system in an apartment building, the age of the building will instantly give us the clue as to what we are probably dealing with and how we can go about it without causing further damage to the pipes, which may either be brittle, corroded or glued together with cement.

The stacks of sewer used by the older blocks of apartments are also shared, which are used by all of the units in each and every level. The blockage of one of these stacks impacts more than one resident at a time. The lowest floor and basement units are the worst hit, sewage overflows through the lowest drainage point before any one on the high rise even realizes that there is a problem at hand. We empty common stacks at the correct point and view the flow as complete with a camera pass later.

Cafes, Pubs, and Commercial Drains

Coogee is not all residential. Cafes, restaurants, bars, and takeaway shops are scattered along the strip of Coogee Bay Road and the beachfront precinct in dozens. One Coogee Bay Hotel is already one of the biggest pub venues in Sydney. Hundreds of diners come to Coogee Pavilion everyday. And all these enterprises strain the drainage system.

In commercial kitchen drains, the quantities of grease, food waste, and cleaning chemicals are not experienced in residential pipes. Grease traps are also a legal requirement, although they require servicing in order to operate efficiently. In case a grease tap overfills or collapses, the fat pour into the sewer line. One cafe, which has an unattended trap can in a few weeks cover metres of shared pipe in solidified grease.

We maintain residential as well as commercial drains in Coogee. In the case of hospitality businesses, we also provide preventative jetting and grease tap repair to ensure that drains run between pump-outs. It is a small fraction of the price of an emergency call-out one Saturday night when the kitchen drain fills up in the middle of service.

The operation of a Drain Call-Out in Coogee

1
Call and Describe

Is something wrong with the drains, slow drains, overflow, smell, whatever it is. We will ask some questions, determine urgency and arrange a time of arrival.

2
In the First Movement

We send a CCTV camera through the line to find the blockage and assess pipe condition. No conjectures, no Toil. You watch the video with us.

3
Clear the Blockage

We restore flow using jet blasting, mechanical clearing or both. You receive a clear price prior to the commencement of work. A second camera pass is to ensure the line is clear.

4
Report and Advise

In case we identify broken pipes, root damage or structural problems, we discuss the repair solutions. In case the drain only required some clearing, we present you with tips that would help keep it running.

What Our Customers Say

★★★★★

"Our drain in the backyard kept filling up. Plumber Sydney came out, and had it figured out in a jiffy and cleared everything up, left the area clean and gave us tips on how to prevent the same in the future."

Eastern Suburbs — Eastern Suburbs
★★★★★

"Quick and effective service delivery. I dialed with a call-out to make enquiries and they came within two days at a reasonable price to offer their services, highly recommend them to your plumbing needs."

Frances C. — Sydney
★★★★★

"Callout was fast, excellent service. Highly recommend, thanks again."

Debbie R. — Sydney

Frequently Asked Questions Blocked Drains Coogee

The majority of the blockages are removed during the visit. Our arrival time is two hours across the Eastern Suburbs and we tend to be even earlier. Coogee lies 8 kilometres south of the CBD, and is accessible by Coogee Bay Road and Arden Street. Once we are sure of the cause of the blockage by the camera the actual clearing process will only take less than an hour.

No. All the areas we serve have a call out fee of 0. You get an estimate when we have inspected the drain. Nothing begins till you have accepted the price.

Structural drainage problems, sewer blockages, root damage, broken pipes, etc in the majority of cases is the duty of the landlord or property owner. In the case that misuse (pouring grease, flushing wet wipes) caused the blockage, the tenant can be held responsible. Practically speaking, the drain must be cleared, with or without the payment. We are able to give a report of the cause and location of the blockage, which is useful in resolving the question of responsibility after the fact of tenant, landlord or strata.

Repeated blockages of apartment buildings are typically indicative of a structural problem in the common drain, fractured joints in a sewer stack, advanced root intrusion, or a portion of pipe corroded internally. This is because clearing the blockage each time cures the symptom. The long-lasting solution is relining the affected area or changing it. We give CCTV footage and a written report which can be used by the strata managers to estimate the extent of repair and have it approved by the owners corporation.

Yes. We deal with the commercial kitchen drains, grease tap problems and sewer line clogging of hospitality businesses. We are also available with preventative maintenance, routine jetting and grease tap cleaning, to maintain the flow of drains between regular pump-outs. A blocked drain during a busy day when a cafe or restaurant is on service is much costlier than a planned maintenance check up during the week.

In most cases, yes. Relining is applied to terracotta, earthenware, cast iron and PVC, which are also used in buildings of different eras in Coogee. The pipe must not collapse so much that the liner cannot pass through it. Our first check is always with a camera to ensure suitability. Relining is particularly convenient in Coogee due to the fact that many of the properties have small courtyards, common entrances, or heritage value that would be ruined after excavation.

No. Chemical cleaners wear out old pipe connections, destroy rubber seals, and seldom do any more than a small surface plug. With terracotta, earthenware, cast iron pipes, which are widespread in the suburb, the chemical damage may hasten the very complications that result in the blockages in the first place. Jet clearing is more thorough and safe to the drainage system and is also carried out by professionals.

The biggest difference is made by three things. Do not put anything but water, toilet paper and human waste into the drains, no wipes, no cotton buds, no food scraps. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel and then wash. And if your property has old terracotta sewers and established trees nearby, schedule an annual CCTV inspection and preventative jet clear. That combination catches problems before they become emergencies and costs a fraction of an after-hours call-out.

Areas We Service Near Coogee

We clear blocked drains across Coogee and all surrounding Eastern Suburbs and coastal locations.

CoogeeSouth CoogeeClovellyBronteRandwickMaroubraKensingtonKingsfordBondiBondi JunctionWaverleyQueens ParkPaddingtonWoollahraDouble BayMatraville

Blocked Drain in Coogee?

Don't wait for the overflow. A slow drain today is sewage on the floor tomorrow. Call us and we'll sort it, properly, same day, at a price you've agreed to upfront.

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