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.
Blocked stormwater on a Labrador property. The 90mm PVC underground had compressed and collapsed. Full upgrade: new stormwater runs, earth-mover reshape, straight out to the kerb.
What the customer called us for
Property flooding, blocked stormwater. The owner had tried clearing with a garden hose, no joy. Water was ponding every rainfall and the yard was starting to soften around the slab.
What we found when we got there
First pass cleared a lot of sand out of the line, which was the surface symptom. The CCTV then showed the real story: the original pipe was 90mm PVC and it had slowly compressed and collapsed under the driveway load. Sand had built up wherever the pipe deformed. That is a very common failure mode on newer Gold Coast and Tweed estates where 90mm PVC was used in-ground.
Why we did it this way
You can keep clearing a collapsed 90mm PVC line forever. The pipe keeps closing, sand keeps settling, the flooding comes back after every big rain. Once we saw the collapse on camera, the right call was to upgrade the full stormwater system rather than keep patching. 90mm is not built to hold shape once buried under a driveway or garden bed, and the fix is to replace it with correctly-sized DWV pipe that holds its wall thickness.
What we did on site
- Hydrojet cleared the blocked line as the first step so the customer wasn’t dealing with active flooding.
- CCTV camera down the full run to confirm the diagnosis (collapsed 90mm, sand accumulation).
- Earth-mover in to excavate the failed stormwater run.
- Reshape the ground levels around the house with the earth-mover so surface water falls away.
- Install new stormwater pipework around the property.
- Extend the new line out to the street and kerb so stormwater actually leaves the site.
The result
Property is set up for the summer storm season. No more ponding against the slab, no more recurring stormwater blockages. The new system is sized to handle the real rainfall load the site sees.
If you have the same issue
If your yard ponds after rain, or you have had a plumber clear the same stormwater line more than once, get a camera down it before you clear it again. If the pipe is 90mm PVC and the line was installed in the last 15 years, there is a strong chance it is collapsing or already collapsed. The newer streets around Tweed Heads, Banora Point and the Kingscliff estates see the same failure. 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 90mm PVC fail underground?
90mm has very thin walls relative to its diameter. Buried under a driveway, garden bed or regular foot traffic, it slowly deforms. Once it starts to deform, sand and silt collect at the low spots and the pipe closes off further.
How can I tell if my stormwater is 90mm?
The quickest way is a CCTV inspection: the camera shows the internal diameter and the pipe markings. If your house was built in the last 15 years and nobody has ever upgraded the stormwater, 90mm is a reasonable default assumption.
Can you just reline a collapsed stormwater pipe?
If the pipe is only partially deformed, sometimes yes. If it has fully collapsed, there is nothing left for the sleeve to bond to, and dig-and-replace is the only option. The CCTV footage tells us which.
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