Brighton wears its history on its sleeve, from the old streetscapes and period facades to the mature gardens that have slowly grown over more than a century of people calling the suburb home. Less visible but still important is the age of the plumbing beneath those homes all that time and it’s a pretty old story. South East Water has confirmed that some of Brighton’s water mains date back to 1871, think cast iron pipes on New Street, then Huntley Street pipes from 1892 and Westley Avenue mains from 1916, and all of these are slowly being upgraded using trenchless tech to be a lot less of a pain to deal with. Meanwhile, the plumbing in homes across Brighton is a bit of a mixed bag, too, with everything from old-fashioned Victorian terraces to mid-century brick veneer all having their own very different systems that can co-exist but which also offer their own unique problems.
Gas Heating: The Service Check That Protects the Household
In Brighton, gas heating is pretty common in the older houses and it’s wall furnaces and floor console heaters in period homes that are the most likely to have them. In fact, Energy Safe Victoria and the Building and Plumbing Commission both reckon that you should get your gas water heaters, space heaters and central heaters serviced by a proper gasfitter or plumber Brighton at least every couple of years. And the reason for this is because of the carbon monoxide problem; gas is colourless and odourless, so a dodgy heater can be pumping out a killer gas without you ever even realising what’s going on.
The service isn’t just a quick clean. When a gasfitter comes out, they’ll be checking the flue to make sure it’s still in good nick, running a few tests on the heat exchanger, doing a combustion gas analysis and a whole bunch of other stuff. And in Brighton, where old homes can have weird and wonderful original flue configurations and ventilation, a written record of that check is a big safety thing.
All gas work in Victoria has to be done by someone who’s registered or licensed with the Building and Plumbing Commission and to do Type A appliance servicing, which is what we’re talking about here, they’ve got to have a special endorsement.
Blocked Drains in a Place That’s Really Established
Brighton has a drain problem that’s basically all down to the suburb’s age and all the wonderful old trees growing above ground, and older clay and early cast iron pipes underneath. And as those pipes age and get a bit worn out, the joints start to develop gaps and then roots just love to move in and grow inside the pipes and it’s basically a sure thing that they’ll end up causing blockages in the lines that have got them.
High-pressure jetting will clear the blockage but the joint gap will still be there, and if you don’t do a CCTV inspection after you’ve cleared it, you’ve no idea whether the blockage will come back again because you’ve still got the gap.
What Heritage Listings Add to Any Plumbing Job?
Heritage overlay regulations managed by Bayside City Council apply to numerous buildings located in Brighton. The practical criteria for works done on the listed buildings depend on the heritage overlay schedule and the nature of the work being done, since some works need permits, while some works are exempt from this requirement. In case of doubt, it would be better to clarify this question with the council.
The methods of trenchless repairs are often used in cases of working with heritage buildings exactly due to the fact that this process does not involve any excavations. If you have some works connected to roofing or other external works (for example, changing downpipes or gutters on the facade of a heritage-listed building), then your approach will be based on the specific heritage conditions.
The Questions Worth Asking Before Booking
Not all plumbers work widely with old houses with the period materials and heritage regulations. A quick talk before booking will help to find out whether the plumber has experience in dealing with the galvanised steel, lead or initial copper pipe arrangements, whether his public liability insurance policy is suitable for the works with heritage properties and whether he has the licence class needed to work with gas.
