Bathroom Plumbing Ferntree Gully

Renovating an older bathroom

Many 1970s and 1980s bathrooms in Ferntree Gully still have separate bath and shower recesses, wall-hung cisterns and galvanised or tired copper pipe in the walls. A renovation is the time to replace old pipes, rethink the layout and set up for modern tapware.

Rough-in and fit-off

We work with your builder, tiler or directly with you. At rough-in we install or move water, waste and drainage, set positions for the shower, vanity, toilet and bath, and pressure-test everything before walls close. After tiling we fit off tapware, toilet, vanity, shower and bath and test the finished room.

Homes on stumps

Many homes here sit on stumps, which makes moving drainage under the floor easier than in slab homes. We check the fall and the sewer position before you commit to a layout.

Shower leaks and smaller jobs

We find whether a shower leak is coming from tapware, the waste or the waterproofing and fix the plumbing side. We also replace tapware and vanities, fit rail showers and plumb accessible bathrooms with step-free showers and lever taps.

Planning your layout

Before you choose tiles or a vanity, it helps to know where the plumbing can go. The position of the sewer line and the fall needed on new waste pipes set limits on where a toilet, shower or bath can sit. In homes on stumps, there is usually more flexibility; on slabs, moving a toilet a long way may mean cutting into the floor. We can visit early, look at the existing plumbing and tell you what is practical so the design and budget work together.

Hot water and pressure

A new bathroom is a good time to check your hot water supply and pressure. A larger shower head, a freestanding bath or a second bathroom can put more demand on the hot water system. We make sure the system can keep up and fit tempering valves to keep water at a safe temperature.

Compliance

We lodge the compliance certificate for the plumbing work when it is finished.

Ferntree Gully ground and pipes

Ferntree Gully's ground changes as you climb towards the ranges: clay and silty loam on the lower streets, rockier, steeper ground near Upper Ferntree Gully and The Basin. Most homes built before the 1980s were connected with earthenware sewer pipe, and on a slope every joint moves a little over the years and lets roots in. Water service lines from the meter are often long and run through rocky ground or under established gardens. Stormwater has to be carried down the block and away from the house. We use cameras, locators and pressure tests to see what is happening before we dig.

From your call to the finished job