Plumbing questions from around Kogarah

The phone is covered right around the clock, every day of the week and on public holidays. Ring at any hour and a working plumber picks up, ready to talk you through a leak or a gas smell there and then.

Response times depend on where the nearest van is and what the roads are doing. Our crews are usually working somewhere close by, so arrival is generally quick, though a busy Princes Highway or high-rise lift access can add a little time.

You reach a licensed plumber, not an outsourced call desk reading from a script. Because it is a tradesperson on the line, you get a straight answer about what to isolate and what the repair is likely to take.

For the everyday faults, yes; the vans carry the usual spares so the work wraps up in one go. A rarer component or a whole new appliance is the main reason a job might need a return trip.

The pre-1940 cottages were laid with earthenware and vitrified clay, which crack at the joints over time. The mature trees that line these blocks then send roots straight into those gaps, and the shifting shale ground widens them further.

It depends on the age and state of the unit, which the plumber checks before advising. Plenty of the storage heaters in the older brick homes are beyond a sensible repair, so we set the cost of fixing it against a fresh unit and you decide.

Absolutely. The pre-war and post-war brick stock around here tends to hide dated gas runs, and a kitchen or bathroom strip-out is the ideal time to pressure-test those lines and bring any tired fittings up to code.

Sometimes. When a big Sydney downpour arrives, the older shared drains on the low, undulating pockets take on more run-off than they were built for, and the overflow finds its way back up through gullies and floor wastes.

Head for the water meter at your front boundary and turn the mains tap a quarter turn to cut the flow, then lift rugs and valuables clear. After that, phone us and we will guide the rest while a plumber makes their way over.

Close your own mains tap at the meter as a precaution and call without delay. Where a shared building is involved we shut down the affected riser, secure the area, and write up what happened for the owners corporation and the neighbour above.

Yes, and roots pushing into old earthenware sewers are among the faults we see most on the established streets. We run a camera to locate the break, cut the roots away, and can reline the run internally so the same blockage does not creep back.