Plumber Dalkeith

Dalkeith WA 6009, City of Nedlands. About 7 km west of the Perth CBD.

Dalkeith lies about seven kilometres west of the Perth CBD in the City of Nedlands, surrounded on three sides by the Swan River. It takes its name from Dalkeith Cottage, built in 1833 by Captain Adam Armstrong, and Gallop House of around 1872 is the oldest surviving private residence in the suburb. The farm was subdivided for housing in 1897. Sunset Hospital on the riverside was built in 1904 and closed in 1995, and several of its buildings are heritage listed.

• Ground falling toward the river on three sidesThe Swan River wraps around Dalkeith, so a great many blocks slope toward the water. Stormwater moves fast down that fall and collects on the properties below, which is why downhill blocks here need drainage sized for runoff arriving from above them rather than only for the rain landing on them.
• Large houses with long service runsA house with several bathrooms, a pool and irrigation places demands on its water service that a standard domestic connection was never sized for. Poor pressure in a big Dalkeith home is usually the service rather than the tapware, and replacing fittings will not fix it.
• Housing subdivided from 1897 onwardThe original farm was sold off in lots in 1897, so the oldest Dalkeith properties carry pipework well past its service life. Those homes are being rebuilt rather than patched now, and new work has to join a sewer connection that may be more than a century old.
• Heritage buildings on the riverfrontSeveral of the former Sunset Hospital buildings of 1904 are heritage listed. Protected fabric cannot simply be chased through for new pipework, so replacements are routed through subfloors and roof spaces, which takes longer to plan and avoids a restoration bill.