Plumber in Murwillumbah, NSW
Working around Murwillumbah's Main Street, the river flats and the hill streets
Murwillumbah is the Tweed's inland town, 8 metres above sea level on the Tweed River, with Mount Warning nearby. The river splits the town in two: the centre and Main Street on one side, South Murwillumbah across the bridge. The work sits in the older streets on the flats and on the slopes that climb away from the river. More than 1,500 millimetres of rain falls here in a year, and the river has come up into the town more than once, the highest on record being in February 2022.
The first question is which side of the river you are on, because the bridge shapes how we plan the route. Many of the older houses stand on stumps, and the work is underneath the floor. We get in through a hatch, a gate in the lattice or a gap between stumps, and the clearance can be low enough that we crawl. Tell us about dogs, locked gates and stored boxes under there. On the slopes the streets climb steeply and some drives are steep, so tell us where a van can stand.
About four in five homes in Murwillumbah are detached houses, and many of the older ones are timber, raised on stumps in the Queensland style, some more than a century old. The shops in the centre are brick, rebuilt after the fire of September 1907. In a raised timber house the pipes hang under the floor in plain sight, which makes them easy to reach and easy to see rust on. In the oldest ones, expect galvanised steel water pipe, clay or cast iron drains, and floor boards that have rotted where a pipe wept for years.
What we do here most
What a river town of old timber houses keeps needing
These four jobs share one thing: a timber house standing on stumps, with its pipes underneath in plain view.
Leak Detection and Repairs
A weeping joint under a raised timber floor
In a house on stumps, a small leak drops straight through the floor boards to the ground, so you may never see a wet floor. What shows is a soft patch of timber, a stain on the underside of the boards, or a meter that keeps turning with every tap off. We go under with a torch, trace each pipe along the joists, and look for drips, green stains and rotten boards. The fix is often one joint.
Burst Pipe Repairs
Old galvanised pipe splitting in a century-old house
Water pipes put in when a Queensland-style house was built, or replaced long since, can be galvanised steel. They rust from the inside until a section thins and splits at a thread or a bend. We close the water, cut the split section back to sound pipe, and join in new pipe. Then we check the nearby lengths, because pipe that has rusted through in one place is often rusting in others.
Bathroom and Kitchen Plumbing
Renovating a bathroom on a timber floor
A bathroom on a timber floor has no concrete slab to cast pipes into. The new waste pipes run beneath the floor, between the joists, and must fall steadily to the drain. We open the floor, check the joists are sound where the old pipes ran, set the waste lines at their fall, then connect the basin, shower and toilet. If any timber has rotted from years of seepage, you see it with us before it is covered.
Blocked Drain Clearing
A slow drain running under a timber house
In a house on stumps the waste pipe runs under the floor, so a blocked drain shows first as a gurgling basin or a smell coming up through the boards. We open the access point at the low end and see whether water is standing. We clear the line, then run a camera along it, because an old clay or cast iron pipe may have cracked or taken in roots. You see the screen before anyone talks about digging.
If it is urgent
If a pipe lets go in an older Murwillumbah house on stumps
- 1Close the stop tap at the meter, which is usually near the front fence, and switch off a leaking hot water unit at the wall. If water is running through the floor to the ground, you may not see it, so listen for it.
- 2Leave the space under the house alone. Do not crawl under to look, because the clearance is low, the ground may be wet, and there can be wiring and loose timber. Do not stand on a floor that feels soft.
- 3Tell us whether the house is on stumps or on a slab, how high the floor is off the ground, and how we get under it. Tell us which side of the river you are on.
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 Murwillumbah, NSW
Every one of these services is done differently under a raised timber floor than on a slab, because here the pipes are in the open and the timber is what a slow leak damages.
Also nearby
We work in these towns too
Local, and on the phone
Tell us about your Murwillumbah house
Send a photo of the front of the house taken from the street, showing how high it stands off the ground. That tells us whether we are working under a raised timber floor or on a slab, and how we get to the pipes.
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