Plumber Peppermint Grove

Peppermint Grove WA 6011, Shire of Peppermint Grove. About 10 km west of the Perth CBD.

Peppermint Grove sits about ten kilometres west of the Perth CBD on the north bank of the Swan River at Freshwater Bay. Its local government area, the Shire of Peppermint Grove, is the smallest in Australia at 1.1 square kilometres. The suburb is named after the Swan River peppermint trees lining its streets, and was subdivided in 1891 with lots selling for between seven and twelve pounds. It holds many historic houses including The Cliffe and the Federation Queen Anne residence St Just.

• Peppermint trees lining the streetsThe Agonis flexuosa that give the suburb its name are now mature, and their roots run alongside sewer lines laid after the 1891 subdivision. Those earthenware joints are where roots get in, and root intrusion is easily the most common blockage we clear in Peppermint Grove.
• Subdivided in 1891Lots were first sold in 1891 and the earliest houses followed shortly after, which puts the original water and sewer services well past a century old. Galvanised supply that has narrowed with corrosion is the usual explanation when a large house here has disappointing pressure.
• Large houses on a very small footprintThe whole shire is 1.1 square kilometres with around six hundred dwellings, so the houses are substantial but the blocks sit close together. There is limited room to bring equipment to a rear drain, and access often has to be arranged before the work rather than discovered on the day.
• Historic homes with protected fabricThe Cliffe, St Just and a number of other early residences carry heritage protection. New pipework cannot be chased through original walls, so replacements are routed through subfloors and roof spaces, which takes longer to plan and avoids a restoration bill on top of the plumbing.