The plumber packs up the jetter and gives you the verdict you were half expecting: invasive tree roots. Not a few stray hairs, but a solid mat sitting in a joint six metres past your back step. He turns the camera screen around and says...
Ask around your block and you'll discover that each neighbour has got a go-to drain trick. Some swear by a jug of boiling water, someone's nan insists a fistful of salt does the job, and there's always one friend convinced a warm bottle of cola...
It usually starts small. A patch of lawn that stays soggy long after the rain has cleared, a faint whiff near the side path, or a toilet that gurgles like it's trying to tell you something. By the time most homeowners cotton on, the crack...
Sydney's Inner West is defined by its character. Federation cottages, Victorian terraces and turn-of-the-century workers' homes line the streets of Balmain, Glebe, Newtown, Annandale, Leichhardt, Rozelle, Stanmore and Petersham, giving the area its unmistakable charm. Beneath that charm, however, sits drainage infrastructure that is often...
Inner West housing stock spans more than a century. From Federation and Victorian terraces in Balmain, Glebe, Newtown, Annandale, Leichhardt, Rozelle, Stanmore and Petersham, through to mid-century brick homes in Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Lewisham, the area is defined by older buildings that have been...
The Inner West of Sydney is loved for its leafy streets, federation terraces, and the easy community feel that runs from Newtown through to Balmain and Annandale. Beneath these character-filled neighbourhoods, however, sits an aging drainage network. Many original clay drains were never built to...
If you own a terrace or Federation home in the Inner West, a damaged drain is rarely a surprise. Many of these properties still run on original terracotta and clay pipes that have sat in the ground for eighty years or more, and the area's...
A blocked toilet in the Inner West is rarely just a household nuisance. For owners of the area's Victorian terraces and Federation cottages, it is often the first visible sign of a much older problem hidden beneath the floorboards. Suburbs such as Newtown, Balmain, Leichhardt,...
The Inner West has built its reputation on character. From converted warehouses in Marrickville to heritage shopfronts along the busy strips of Newtown, Leichhardt and Balmain, the area's commercial spaces carry a charm that newer suburbs simply cannot replicate. Business owners are drawn to the...
Beneath the leafy streets of Sydney lies a hidden network of ageing sewer lines, and most homeowners only discover a problem once raw sewage backs up into the bathroom or the back garden starts to sink. By that point, the repair bill can easily climb...