Plumber in Bangalow, NSW
Working around Bangalow's Byron Street, the creeks and the older streets
Bangalow is a hinterland village about 14 kilometres south west of Byron Bay, around 55 metres above sea level on Byron Creek. Our work centres on Byron Street, the main street of cafes and shops, and the streets around it, including Deacon, Ashton, George and Market streets. It also reaches out along Lismore Road to the East Industrial Area. The village has grown from 1,689 people in 2016 to 2,260 in 2021.
Three creeks run through the village: Byron Creek, Paddys Creek and Maori Creek. Council's draft flood study picks out Deacon and Ashton streets, George and Market streets, the industrial area on Lismore Road and the Raftons Road crossing of Paddys Creek as key flashpoints for flooding from the creeks. Much of the soil around the village is red volcanic soil that sets hard when dry and turns slippery and sticky when wet, so we ask about the driveway and the ground before we send the van up it. We also ask who holds the key.
The village grew after the branch railway reached it in 1894, on timber, dairy and cattle money, and many of its older buildings are timber in the Federation style. Timber was the usual building material across the shire until the mid 1900s. The Heritage House museum, a Queenslander-style timber building moved here in 1994, shows the type. Bangalow has its own sewage treatment plant, so we expect village houses to drain to a sewer main, and the pipes inside an old timber house are as old as the house unless someone has replaced them.
What we do here most
What old timber houses and creek-side streets keep needing
What Bangalow keeps needing is a matter of age and water: timber houses with old pipework under and inside them, and creek water that reaches some streets when it rains hard.
Burst Pipe Repairs
Split pipe under a raised timber floor
Many of Bangalow's older buildings are timber, and where the floor is raised off the ground there is a crawl space under the house. A split pipe there drips onto bare ground and can go unnoticed until a floorboard softens or the meter keeps turning. We close the stop tap, go under with a torch and follow the pipe to the wet spot. If the timber above has swelled, we show you before anything is closed up.
Sewer and Stormwater Drainage
Yard pit overflowing on a creek-side street
Streets such as Deacon, Ashton, George and Market are marked in Council's draft flood study as flashpoints for creek flooding. In a downpour, a yard pit on one of them can fill from the street side as well as from the roof. We lift the lid, check where the yard drain leaves the block and clear what has settled in the pit. Then we run water to the street to see that the line carries it.
Tap Repairs and Replacement
A tap on pipework as old as the cottage
A Federation cottage can still have the pipe it was built with behind a newer tap, and old pipe does not always forgive being turned. Before we undo anything we close the isolating tap or the stop tap and look at what the tap is screwed into. If the pipe behind is badly corroded, a simple tap swap can become a short length of new pipe, and you hear that before we cut.
Drain Camera Inspections
Camera down a cottage drain near the creek
Ground beside a creek is often wetter, and a cracked or loose joint in a drain sitting there can let silt and roots in. We cannot tell from the verandah what pipe was laid in which decade. We feed a camera in at the nearest access point and follow the line on screen, noting every joint, crack and sag and how far along it sits. You see it too, and decide what, if anything, needs doing.
If it is urgent
If a pipe lets go in a Bangalow timber house near the creek
- 1Close the stop tap, usually in a meter box near the front boundary. If a hot water unit or other appliance is leaking, switch it off at the wall, but only if the switch is dry.
- 2Leave the space under a raised floor alone until the water is off and the power points above are dry. Do not walk through creek water in the yard or street, and ring 000 if anyone is at risk.
- 3When you ring, tell us the street, whether the house is timber with a raised floor or on a slab, and how close it is to Byron Creek, Paddys Creek or Maori Creek. Say if the street was already wet before the pipe went.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Which areas do you cover?
We work across Byron Bay and the Northern Rivers, from Ewingsdale and Bangalow through to Tweed Heads and Murwillumbah. There are sixteen places on the service areas page. If your town is not on the list, give us a call and ask.
How do I get in touch?
Use the call and email buttons on any page, or the contact form. There are two phone numbers and two email addresses, and you choose which one to use. For anything urgent, call rather than write.
What should I have ready when I call?
Your town, what is happening and when it started. If you can, take a photo or a short video of the problem, and note the age of the house and where the water main is. It helps us bring the right parts.
Do you do small jobs?
Yes. A dripping tap, a running toilet or a slow drain is a normal job for us. Describe what you can see when you call.
Can you clear a blocked drain without digging?
Often the first step is to clear it from the nearest access point, then run a camera through to see what caused it. If the pipe is cracked, roots have grown in or a section has dropped, clearing only buys time, and the footage shows you what is going on.
What should I do if a pipe bursts?
Close the main tap, open a tap at the lowest point to drain the line, and switch off a leaking hot water system at the wall. Move anything electrical out of the water's path, then call us.
Can you find a leak I cannot see?
Hidden leaks often show up as damp patches, a water meter that moves when everything is turned off, or a bill that suddenly jumps. We trace the pipework to find the source before anything is opened up.
Do you repair hot water systems as well as replace them?
Yes, we do both. Whether a repair or a replacement makes sense depends on what has failed, and we explain what we find so you can decide.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Leave the area straight away and do not switch anything on or off, including lights. Ring 000 from outside, then call us once you are safe.
Do you do gas fitting?
Yes. Gas fitting and gas plumbing is one of our services, from connecting appliances to running pipework. Describe the job when you call.
Do you install septic systems?
Yes, septic system installation is one of our services. The job depends on the block, so tell us about your property and what you have now when you call.
Do you do bathroom and kitchen plumbing for renovations?
Yes, the plumbing side: moving and connecting taps, basins, toilets, showers, sinks and waste. Tiling and building are for other trades.
Everything we do here
Services in Bangalow, NSW
Each service below applies in Bangalow, and the ones that come up most are shaped by timber houses from the railway years and streets beside three creeks.
Also nearby
We work in these towns too
Local, and on the phone
Tell us about your Bangalow house
Tell us the street and whether the house has a raised timber floor or sits on a slab. That decides whether we plan to work from under the house or from above. A photo of your stop tap or meter box helps too.
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