Emergency Plumber Ferntree Gully

First steps while you wait

Find the water meter, usually near the front boundary. On a steep foothills block it can be tucked under ferns, mulch or a small concrete lid at the bottom of the driveway. Turn the stopcock clockwise until the water stops. If it will not move, do not hammer it or use a long bar; call us and we will talk you through it.

If water is reaching power points, lights or the switchboard, switch the power off at the main switch and keep clear of wet fittings. Turn a gas hot water unit to pilot or off, or switch off an electric unit, once the water is off.

If you smell gas, turn the gas off at the meter, put out any flames, open doors and windows and do not use switches, power points or phones inside. Go outside and call us or the gas emergency line.

If sewage is coming up through a shower, floor waste or the overflow gully outside, stop using water: no flushing, washing, showers or dishwasher until the drain is cleared.

What counts as an emergency

We treat these as urgent: a burst or split water pipe, a flexible hose that has let go, water through a ceiling or light fitting, sewage overflowing, a gas leak, no water to the property, the only toilet blocked or broken, and no hot water in a household with a baby, older residents or someone unwell.

Many other problems can wait for normal hours if they are made safe, such as a dripping tap, a slow drain, a running cistern or a relief valve dripping a little. We will tell you honestly which group your problem is in. A few minutes on the phone sometimes saves an urgent visit altogether.

The emergencies we see in Ferntree Gully

Root-choked sewers top the list. The suburb's older homes mostly have earthenware sewer lines, and the big trees and sloping ground make root intrusion common. Blockages often show up on a weekend or after heavy rain, when the overflow gully in the yard lifts and spills.

Burst pipes come next. In older homes, galvanised water pipe rusts through inside walls and under floors. Long water service lines from the meter run through rocky ground on many blocks and can crack where they have been stressed for decades. Split braided hoses under vanities and sinks flood rooms in minutes, especially in homes where the original hoses are now fifteen or twenty years old.

Winter adds its own calls: hot water units failing on the coldest mornings, gas heaters that will not light or smell wrong, and storms dumping gum leaves into gutters until water backs up under the roof.

How an emergency call runs

When you ring, we ask what is happening, help you make it safe and give you an honest time frame. When the plumber arrives, they stop the immediate problem first: isolate the water, cap a pipe, clear the drain or make the gas safe. Then they find the cause and explain the options, from a lasting repair straight away to a safe temporary fix with the full repair booked in.

You get a fixed price before the repair goes ahead, even at night. Our vans carry copper and plastic pipe and fittings, braided hoses, stopcocks, cistern parts, relief valves, a jetter and a drain camera, so most emergencies are fixed on the first visit.

Steep blocks and tricky access

Some Ferntree Gully and Upper Ferntree Gully properties sit high above the street or well below it, with long steps, narrow paths or bush gardens between the van and the problem. We bring long jetter hoses, portable cameras and gear that can be carried, and we plan access when you call so there are no surprises.

After the emergency

Once things are back to normal, we will point out anything else likely to fail soon, such as the rest of an old galvanised line, other flexible hoses of the same age or further root entries the camera found. You decide what to do and when. If you need photos and a report for insurance, we provide them.

Planning ahead

Spend two minutes today finding your stopcock and checking it turns. Show everyone in the house. Note where the gas meter is and how the valve works. Keep our number, 03 7036 4101, in your phone, and if you rent, keep your agent's after-hours number too. These small steps can turn a flood into a minor clean-up.

Honest phone advice

Not every after-hours call needs an after-hours visit. If a toilet is running, we will tell you where the isolation valve is. If a relief valve drips a little while the tank heats, that is normal. If a drain is slow but not overflowing, it can usually wait until morning. We would rather give good advice and come at a sensible time than charge for a visit you did not need.

Emergencies in winter

The coldest months bring their own emergencies to Ferntree Gully. Hot water units fail just when they are needed most, gas heaters stop working or start smelling, and heavy rain runs off the hills into stormwater systems that cannot keep up. Pipes under raised homes and on the shady side of a house are also under more stress on frosty mornings. If you are without hot water or heating in winter, especially with young children or older people in the house, tell us when you call so we can plan the visit around it.

Emergencies in summer

Summer has its own pattern. Garden taps and irrigation lines split, tree roots search harder for water in the sewer, and storms can drop a month's rain in an afternoon. Before the fire season, we also see calls about tank pumps that will not start and firefighting water supplies that have not been checked. We would rather check these things in spring than fix them in a hurry in January.

Sewer overflows

A sewer overflow is unpleasant and a health risk. If sewage is coming up through the overflow relief gully outside, a floor waste, a shower or the lowest toilet in the house, stop using all water straight away. That means no flushing, no showers and no washing machine. Keep children and pets away from the affected area. Call 03 7036 4101 and we will tell you whether the blockage is likely to be in your private drain or the water corporation's sewer. If it is in your drain, we clear it, camera-inspect the line and clean up the area. If it is in the main sewer, we tell you who to call.

Gas emergencies

If you smell gas inside the house, turn the gas off at the meter if it is safe to do so. Open doors and windows, do not use light switches, power points or phones inside, and do not light anything. Leave the house and call from outside. If the smell is strong or you can hear gas escaping, call the gas emergency line first. Once the immediate danger is dealt with, our gasfitters find the leak, repair it and test the system before the gas is turned back on.

Water through the ceiling

Water coming through a ceiling usually means a burst pipe in the roof space, a leaking hot water unit installed in the roof, or a blocked gutter or box gutter overflowing into the house. Turn off the water at the meter, and if water is near light fittings, turn off the power at the switchboard. Put a bucket under the drip and, if the ceiling is bulging, poke a small hole in the lowest point to let the water out in a controlled way before the plaster gives way. Then call us.

No water at all

If no water comes out of any tap, first check whether your neighbours have water. If they do not, it is likely a problem in the street, and your water corporation will have information. If they do, the problem is on your property: a closed meter valve, a burst underground pipe, a failed pump on a tank system or, in rare cases, a blocked pipe. We find the cause and get your water back on.

What an emergency visit looks like

When we arrive, we make the situation safe first: water off, gas off, power isolated if needed. Then we find the cause and explain what we have found. We give you a fixed price for the repair before any work starts. Sometimes the best option is a temporary repair that night and a permanent fix the next day when parts are available, and we will explain why if that is the case. We clean up after ourselves and leave you with clear notes on what was done.

Hot water emergencies

A hot water unit that is pouring water from the base, a relief valve gushing constantly, or a gas unit that smells of gas all need prompt attention. For a leaking storage tank, turn off the cold water valve at the inlet of the unit, then turn off the gas or the power to it. Do not try to drain a hot tank yourself, because the water can scald. We assess the unit, make it safe and, where it is beyond repair, can often replace it the same day so you are not without hot water for long.

Blocked toilets

If you only have one toilet and it is blocked, that is an emergency, particularly in a busy household. Do not keep flushing, because each flush raises the water level in the pan. A plunger may help if the blockage is close to the toilet, but if water is also rising in the shower or the overflow gully outside, the blockage is further down the drain and needs a plumber. We clear it with an electric eel or jetter and check the drain with a camera so it does not happen again next week.

Storm damage

When a storm comes over the Dandenongs, gutters overflow, downpipes come apart, trees fall on stormwater pipes and water can find its way into houses. We clear blocked gutters and drains, repair broken pipes and help stop water entering the house. If a tree has damaged your roof, we can make the plumbing safe while you arrange a roofer or tree service for the rest.

Know where your stopcock is

The best thing you can do before an emergency is know where your water meter and stopcock are, and make sure the valve turns. In most Ferntree Gully homes, the meter is near the front boundary, often hidden in a garden bed or under leaves. If yours is stiff, seized or buried, we can replace the valve so it is ready when you need it.

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.

How we approach the job

From your call to the finished job