By Matthew Baring-Gould, Kingscliff-based drainage plumber. Servicing Tweed Heads for 4 years. 5.0 stars across 173 Google reviews. Licensed NSW 383340C and QLD 15036450. ABN 74 605 392 348.
Brisbane mechanic was sick of calling us out every year for the same blockage, so we excavated the full sewer line to repair it properly. When we dug down to the council connection, we found the connection point itself was broken and tree roots were coming in from the council side. Urban Utilities came out within the hour, repaired their section, then we laid 100mm PVC DWV back to the main house. Ran new stormwater while the machine was already on site.
What the customer called us for
Customer, our long-time mechanic, called us out. He had been getting a sewer blockage at his workshop every year for years, unblocking it and moving on, and had finally decided to dig it up and fix it properly.
What we found when we got there
We excavated down to the council connection. The connection point itself was broken, and the tree root ingress was coming in from upstream of the connection, which meant the problem was coming from the council side not the private side. That explained why it was back every year no matter how clean we left the private line.
Why we did it this way
An annual unblock is a symptom, not a fix. On a sewer that reblocks every year to the same point, the cause is almost always one of three things: broken pipe, sagged pipe, or a broken connection at the boundary. In this case it was the boundary, which meant Urban Utilities needed to repair their side before we could certify the private side. Calling them from the open hole with photos on the day is much faster than raising a ticket cold.
What we did on site
- Excavated down to the council connection point.
- Identified the break on the council side of the connection and photographed it in the open trench.
- Called Urban Utilities on site. Crew arrived within the hour.
- Urban Utilities repaired their section of pipe work while we waited.
- Laid new 100mm PVC DWV from the connection back to the main house.
- Ran a new stormwater line for the customer while the machine was on site.
- Backfilled the trench and pressure cleaned the driveway and site on completion.
The result
Sewer and stormwater both rebuilt back to the house. Council side repaired by Urban Utilities on the day. Driveway and site pressure cleaned on completion. Customer is not expecting another annual blockage.
If you have the same issue
If you have been unblocking the same sewer every year, stop paying for the unblock and pay to find out why. A CCTV survey back to the boundary will usually show you where the real break is. If it is on the council side, they repair it. If it is on yours, you plan the dig once instead of paying for a callout every year. Call Matty on 0447 188 394 or request a quote.
Customer names and addresses have been withheld. Individual results vary. Drain Masters Plumbing is licensed in NSW (383340C) and QLD (15036450).
Frequently asked
Why does the council have to repair their side?
The sewer main in the street and the connection from the main into your property boundary is council infrastructure. If the break is on their side of the connection, they repair it. The private plumber cannot touch council pipe.
How quickly do Urban Utilities usually respond?
On this job they were on site within the hour. That is because we were already on site with the trench open and could show the break directly. A cold ticket is a different process.
Why run new stormwater at the same time?
The excavator was on site and the trench was already open along part of the same path. Running new stormwater while the machine is there saves another excavation later, and the extra material cost is a fraction of the extra site cost.
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