Plumber in Burringbar, NSW
Working across Burringbar's Broadway strip, the creek streets and the farm country above
Burringbar is a hinterland village in the Tweed Valley. The shops along Broadway face the memorial reserve, and the old railway line, now the Northern Rivers Rail Trail, runs beside the centre. Streets drop toward Burringbar Creek near Hunter Street, where the old highway crosses it, and Upper Burringbar Road leads out toward the farm country. The Pacific Motorway opened a few miles to the east and took the through traffic, so the old highway, now Tweed Valley Way, is a quiet road. Mooball sits close enough down the valley that the houses of the two villages nearly join.
Access in Burringbar depends on the weather first. The creeks here are small, and Council says the time between rainfall and flooding is too short for the Bureau of Meteorology to issue flood warnings for them. If it has rained hard, tell us whether your street is passable before we set out. Out on the farm and acreage blocks, tell us about gates, steep stretches of drive and where the stock or dogs are kept. In the village, tell us if the only room to stand a van is on the road verge.
Burringbar was built in the railway, timber and dairy years, from the 1890s into the 1930s, and Tweed houses of the early 1900s to the 1930s are often timber and raised off the ground on stumps. That suits a plumber, because we can get under the floor and follow a pipe by hand. Newer houses sit on the slopes and farm blocks around the village. Council's guide to single property sewage pump stations says its own stations are mainly in Burringbar and Mooball, so some properties here drain through a small pump rather than straight to a street main.
What we do here most
What Burringbar's old timber houses and creek streets keep needing
Burringbar's houses are old, raised off the ground and close to small creeks that rise fast, and each job below follows from one of those three things.
Leak Detection and Repairs
A slow leak under a raised timber floor
The sign is a soft patch in the floor, or a damp smell in a room with no wet area beside it. We close the water at the meter and watch whether the dial still moves, then go under the house with a torch. On a raised floor we can follow each pipe by hand along the stumps until we reach the wet spot. Often it is one loose joint, and you hear what we found before anything is cut.
Sewer and Stormwater Drainage
Roof water pooling under the house after storms
Burringbar is valley country, so rain runs off the slope above the house as well as off the roof. When the downpipes and the drain along the back wall cannot keep up, water collects under the floor and in the yard. We trace each downpipe to see where it really goes, clear the pit it runs into, and look for pipe that has dropped or filled with silt. Then we run water through to check it leaves the block.
Blocked Drain Clearing
A gurgling toilet in a house with a pump
In a house that sends its waste through its own small pump, a gurgling toilet or a slow shower can mean three different things. The blockage may be in the house drain, at the pump, or out in the street line. We run water through the house drain first and see whether it clears, then work outward from there. By the end you know which of the three it was.
Toilet Repairs and Installation
A cistern that keeps running in an old cottage
In a cottage from the railway years, the toilet is often one of the oldest fittings in the house. A cistern that fills and refills by itself sends water down the pan all day. We take the lid off, look at the float valve and the seal, and work out whether the parts are worn or the fault is lower down. Some old fittings are no longer made, and we tell you at once if the whole cistern needs changing.
If it is urgent
If a pipe lets go in a Burringbar house near the creek
- 1Close the stop tap where the water comes in, usually at the meter near the front boundary. Switch off any hot water system that is losing water at the wall.
- 2Leave the power points near the wet area alone, and do not crawl under a raised floor while water is still running. Do not walk through water moving across the yard or the street.
- 3When you ring, tell us which street you are on, whether the floor is raised timber or on the ground, whether the house drains through its own pump, and whether the road to your drive is passable after rain.
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 Burringbar, NSW
These are the jobs a creek village of timber cottages and slope blocks produces, from a leak under the floor to roof water with nowhere to go.
Also nearby
We work in these towns too
Local, and on the phone
Tell us where your Burringbar house sits
Send us a photo of the front of the house from the road, showing the drive and how high the floor sits off the ground. Add whether you are down near Burringbar Creek or up the slope. That tells us how to plan the visit.
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