Plumber Shelley

Shelley WA 6148, City of Canning. About 13 km south-east of the Perth CBD.

Shelley occupies a bend of the Canning River about thirteen kilometres south-east of the Perth CBD in the City of Canning, separated from Riverton in the mid-1960s and bounded to the south-west by Leach Highway. Much of the suburb runs down to a long river foreshore. For a plumber that means low ground with a winter water table, drainage with very little fall, and 1960s and 1970s housing that is now at the age where its original services matter.

• A long river foreshore and low groundThe northern half of Shelley falls toward the Canning River, where groundwater sits close to the surface through winter. Soak wells on those blocks have almost nowhere to discharge to, which is a drainage design problem rather than a blockage.
• Very little fall for drainageOn the flat riverside blocks a waste line has minimal gradient to work with, and that is unforgiving of any sag or settlement. A drain that runs slowly here is often a levels problem rather than something stuck in the pipe.
• Sandy river ground that shiftsThe sandy soil along the foreshore moves with the water table, and that movement pulls at rigid drainage over time. Displaced joints in older Shelley sewer lines are frequently ground movement rather than roots, and the repair is different.
• Sixties and seventies housingThe original housing here is at the age where hot water units, cisterns and tapware are due together, and where the drainage warrants inspecting before anyone prices a repair on it.