Plumbing most plumbers don't see any more
A lot of the Eastern Suburbs was built well before plastic pipe and modern fittings. Federation houses, terraces, Art Deco blocks and post war walk ups still run on the original pipework, or on a patchwork of repairs done over the decades.
The McElroys have been plumbing in Sydney since about 1860, so this is the work we grew up on. Other plumbers refer older building jobs to us because they'd rather not take them on.
The older systems we work on
- Old brass water pipe that has gone brittle and started to pinhole
- Gravity flusherette systems in older toilets
- Roof hot water storage tanks that feed hot water down by gravity
- Lead jointed cast iron and lead pipe
- Corroded cast iron stacks and drainage
Why experience matters in older buildings
Old pipe doesn't behave like new pipe. Brass and galvanised can crack the moment you put a spanner on it, cast iron can be thinner than it looks, and one repair often shows up the next weak spot. Knowing how these systems were put together means we can fix the problem without starting three more.
Parts are another story. A lot of the original fittings stopped being made years ago, so the job is often about adapting what's there properly, or replacing a section in a way that suits the rest of the building.
Safety in older buildings
Older buildings come with their own risks. We work to a site-specific risk assessment and Safe Work Method Statements on these jobs, and we take extra care where asbestos is likely, such as old fibro, pipe lagging and some flue and vent pipes.
If we think asbestos is there, we stop and plan around it before anything is cut or drilled. Where it needs a licensed removalist, that gets sorted before we go further.
Strata buildings and committees
For strata, we put what we find in writing, with photos and what we'd recommend doing now and what can wait. That helps a committee plan the bigger work instead of paying for the same patch up twice. See written reports for strata and planned maintenance.
Common questions
Do you still work on flusherette toilets?
Yes. Gravity flusherette systems are still in plenty of older buildings around the Eastern Suburbs. We repair them, and if it makes more sense, we'll talk you through replacing them with something modern.
Our building still has a hot water tank in the roof. Can you look after it?
Yes. Roof hot water storage tanks feed hot water down by gravity and they're common in older blocks. We repair them and can tell you honestly when one is due for replacement.
Should old brass water pipe be replaced?
Not always all at once. Brass goes brittle and pinholes with age, so once it starts leaking in a few spots it's usually time to plan a replacement. We'll look at the whole run and tell you what needs doing now and what can wait.
Can you repair cast iron drainage, or does it all need replacing?
Often it can be repaired or relined. Cast iron rusts from the inside, so we look at it with a camera first. Some sections can be relined with no digging, and some need replacing. You get a fixed price before we start.
Do you work with asbestos?
We take extra care where asbestos is likely in older buildings. We work to a site-specific risk assessment and Safe Work Method Statements, and where asbestos needs a licensed removalist, that's sorted before we cut or drill.
Why do other plumbers send this work to you?
Because a lot of plumbers have never worked on these older systems. We've been plumbing in the Eastern Suburbs for six generations, so it's familiar ground for us.
Where we do heritage plumbing work
Based in Randwick and working right across the Eastern Suburbs, including: