Plumber Guildford

Guildford WA 6055, City of Swan. About 12 km north-east of the Perth CBD.

Guildford sits about twelve kilometres north-east of the Perth CBD in the City of Swan, at the point where the Helena River meets the Swan. It is one of only three metropolitan towns on the Register of the National Trust, so a great deal of its building stock is protected. For a plumber that means two things that decide how a job is done: heritage fabric that pipework has to be routed around rather than through, and low ground at the river confluence where drainage has limited fall and groundwater sits high.

• A National Trust listed townscapeMuch of Guildford is protected or retained fabric, so new pipework cannot be chased through original walls. We route replacements through subfloors, roof spaces and existing penetrations, which takes longer to plan and avoids an owner paying a restorer to repair what a plumber opened up.
• Low ground where two rivers meetGuildford sits at the confluence of the Helena and Swan Rivers. The lower blocks carry a high water table and drainage there has very little fall to work with, so stormwater has to be designed for saturated winter ground rather than to a standard detail.
• Very old services under the townThis is one of the oldest settled parts of the metropolitan area, and the water and sewer connections serving its older buildings reflect that. We camera a line before committing to a repair here rather than assuming a plan matches what is actually in the ground.
• Pubs, cafes and shops in heritage buildingsThe hospitality and retail along the main streets operate out of protected buildings, which limits where a grease trap or a new waste line can physically go. Planning that before a fit-out is quoted saves a great deal of expensive reworking later.