Plumbing

Cyclone season in Townsville brings torrential rain, gusting winds, and flooding, which can severely damage your home, your plumbing, and your sense of safety. Knowing what to expect and preparing ahead can save you thousands in damage and give your family peace of mind.  This guide walks you through the key risks your home faces and the steps you can take to be ready before, during, and after a cyclone hits. TL;DR Know Your Risk in Townsville (And What ‘Cyclone-Ready’ Means) Townsville is one of Australia’s highest cyclone-risk zones. The cyclone season runs from November to April, with most cyclones occurring between January and March. This is the same time as the wet season, so you must ensure your home and plumbing can withstand extreme rain, flooding, and storm surge.  When a cyclone hits, there are three main risks that directly affect your home: 1. The 100,000-Litre Rain Load In Australia, cyclones are classified by wind speed. A Category 3 cyclone, with wind speeds of 165–224 km/h, is common in Townsville and can dump around 400–500 mm of rain over 48 hours. On a 200 sqm roof, this amounts to 100,000 litres of water that must flow through your gutters and downpipes. If gutters are partially blocked with leaves, if downpipes are undersized, or if they discharge poorly, water has nowhere to go. It overflows onto the eaves, soaks the ceiling insulation, and can reach light fittings and wiring. This increases the risk of water damage, electrical hazards, mould growth, and structural weakening of ceilings or walls.  2. Townsville’s Reactive Soil Many Townsville suburbs sit on highly reactive clay soil, often called black soil. Here is what that means during cyclone season: That movement can crack brittle pipes and dislodge joints, causing leaks, flooding, and water intrusion into walls, floors, and foundations. 3. Backflow and Storm Surge If you live in low-lying areas like South Townsville or Railway Estate and are close to the coast, you may face storm surge.  When a cyclone hits, the strong winds push seawater or river water towards the land. If the water level outside rises above the pipes and drains in your home, it can flow back. This means that toilets, shower drains, or floor drains can start spilling seawater or dirty water into your house, causing flooding, damaging floors, walls, and carpets, and creating serious hygiene risks. To deal with all the above risks, your home and plumbing need to be cyclone-ready. That means making sure water can drain away quickly, your roof and downpipes are secure, and backflow protection is in place where needed.  In the following sections, we’ll guide you step by step on exactly what to check and do to keep your home safe when a cyclone hits. What To Do Before Cyclone Season Locate and Test Your Main Water Shutoff Water damage doesn’t always come from rain. If a tree falls on an external tap or exposed pipe, or a pipe bursts under pressure, thousands of litres of water can flood your home.  Before the season begins, locate your main shutoff valve, usually near the water metre at the front of your property under a green or black plastic lid. In Townsville, mineral-rich water can make valves stiff or stuck over time. Gently use pliers or multigrips to check if it turns. Do not force it – if it won’t move, have a plumber replace it before cyclone season.  Knowing your valve works in advance means you can shut off the water quickly if a pipe bursts during heavy rain. Check Gutters  Walk around your house and tap your PVC downpipes. A hollow sound usually means water can flow freely, while a dull thud indicates the pipe may be clogged with leaves or debris. If you can safely remove the blockage from the ground, do so carefully. If it’s too high to reach or difficult to clear, schedule a plumber to fix it.   Also, if a downpipe empties right next to your walls, attach a temporary extension or flexible drainage hose to redirect water 2–3 metres away towards the street or another safe discharge point. Look at your rain heads; these are the boxes where your gutters meet the downpipes, usually located at the roof edge. Even from the ground, you can often see debris like leaves, grass, or weeds accumulating inside them. Simply note which downpipe locations have visible blockages so the plumber knows exactly where to focus when clearing them. Clearing these areas ensures your gutters and downpipes can safely handle heavy rain. Sewer Backups and Surcharge  Townsville’s sewer system is gravity-fed, meaning it relies on downward pipes to move waste.  During a cyclone, heavy rain can flood these pipes, causing sewage to back up into your home through toilets, floor wastes, or bathroom drains.  Locate your Overflow Relief Gully (ORG), the grated drain outside near your kitchen or bathroom wall. Its job is to release sewage outside rather than into your home. Make sure it’s clear of mulch, pots, or debris. If it’s blocked and you cannot access it safely, arrange for an expert to clear it.  Sump Pumps and Retention Pits If your home is low-lying or has a basement or subfloor, you may rely on a sump pump, a device that removes water from the foundation. Test your sump pump by pouring a bucket of water into the pit. The float switch (that rises with water) should trigger the pump automatically. If the pump doesn’t start, it should be repaired or serviced.  Also, follow the outlet pipe to the street kerb. If it’s blocked by debris, leaves, or overgrown grass, the pump will struggle or burn out. Remove the blockage by hand or with a garden hose. If it is severe or difficult to reach, have a plumber fix it safely. Most sump pumps use 240V mains power. During storms, Townsville often loses electricity, which stops the pump. If your home depends on this pump to stay dry, install a battery backup or

A burst pipe can turn your day upside down in minutes. Water can damage floors, walls, ceilings, and furniture – and if it isn’t dealt with promptly, trapped moisture can lead to mould within 24-48 hours, which can cause serious health issues in the long run and further damage to your home.  This guide shows you step by step what to do during and after a burst pipe, so you can limit damage, cut down on repair costs, and feel confident handling one of the most stressful household emergencies. TL: DR First 5 Minutes: Safety and Rapid Triage When a pipe bursts, your first instinct might be to stop the water immediately to prevent it from ruining floors, walls, and furniture. But your priority should be safety because electricity running through wet areas and ceilings weakened by water is more dangerous. Electrocution or a collapsing ceiling can cause serious injury in seconds, while water damage, though costly, can be fixed later. Here is what you should do in the first 5 minutes: Before You Step In – Check for Electrical Danger In Australian homes, power circuits run at 230–240 volts, which is enough to cause serious injury or even be fatal if electricity passes through water you are standing in. Simply touching or stepping into electrified water can give you a severe shock. Before you do anything, take a careful look around and watch for these warning signs: If any of these are present, don’t step into the water. Instead, step outside and call a qualified electrician or your local emergency services.  Look Up – Ceilings Collapse Faster Than You Think If a burst pipe is in your ceiling or roof cavity, water quickly soaks into the plasterboard. Dry plasterboard is strong, but once it becomes saturated, it softens and can no longer support its own weight. As water accumulates, the ceiling starts to sag and may collapse. The more water it holds, the faster and more likely it is to fall. Here are some warning signs you shouldn’t ignore: If you notice any of these:  Work Out What Kind of Water You’re Dealing With The cleanup, health risks, and even what you can safely touch all depend on whether it’s clean water from a supply pipe or contaminated water like sewage or stormwater.  Clean Water (Category 1) Category 1 water is clean, treated drinking water that comes directly from your supply lines. It’s obviously safe to touch. Most bursts that produce clean water come from: Once you’ve confirmed the water is clean, you can manage it with the steps we will discuss later.  Contaminated Water (Category 2–3) Categories 2 and 3 water is dirty or contaminated and can carry bacteria, viruses, or harmful chemicals. Most contaminated water comes from: Once you know the water is contaminated, don’t step in it with bare hands or feet; wear gloves and boots at a minimum. Keep people and pets out of the area and stop the water from spreading to other rooms by closing doors or laying towels at doorways. Decide – Stay and Manage, Or Step Back and Call You can stay and manage if: Step outside and call for help if: If you decide to stay, you need to follow the following process to stop the water, protect your home, and prevent further damage. Step 1: Shut Off the Water (This Is Where the Damage Stops) Check if You Can Isolate the Affected Fixture If the leak is coming from under a sink, behind a toilet, or from a washing machine hose, look directly below or behind that fixture for a small shut-off valve made from chrome or brass. Turn that valve clockwise until it stops. Once it’s closed, check the leak immediately, as the water should slow and stop within seconds. If the leak slows or stops, you’ve successfully isolated it and can keep the rest of the house’s water supply running. If it doesn’t stop – or you can’t find a valve – move straight to shutting off the main water supply. Shut Off the Main Water Supply In Townsville homes, the main water shutoff is usually located in one of these spots: Once you’ve located the main water valve, turn it off immediately. There are two common types: Older Townsville homes may have ageing valves that are stiff or stuck. If the valve won’t turn easily, please don’t force it, as this could break the pipe or valve. Instead, call an emergency plumber or contact the local water authority to shut off the supply at the street. If you live in a unit or apartment with shared plumbing, contact building management first. Turning off the wrong valve could cut water to other units or damage shared pipes. Drain the System  Even after you’ve turned off the main water supply, there’s still water left inside the pipes. That water is under pressure, so the damaged pipe can continue to leak slowly. To relieve this pressure: Once the pipes are drained, active flooding stops.  Step 2: Contain the Water and Protect Important Stuff Around the House Redirect Active Drips  If water is still dripping from a ceiling or pipe joint, position buckets underneath immediately to catch the drips.  For drips that have already run across floors or tiles, you can use towels, cloths, or plastic sheeting to create a barrier or channel that leads the water into containers instead of letting it reach carpets, cabinetry, or timber floors. Pay special attention to vulnerable areas: If the Ceiling Is Bulging A bulging or sagging ceiling is serious because plasterboard loses strength when soaked and can collapse under the weight of trapped water.  You can safely release this water only if: If you meet those conditions and feel confident: Please, when in doubt or if the ceiling is large, multiple areas are sagging, or water is dripping from several points, move everyone out and call an expert immediately. Move Priority Items First After controlling drips and protecting vulnerable areas, move

When you’re buying a home, it’s natural to focus on what’s right in front of you – the layout, the light, the street, and the overall feel of the place. Plumbing rarely gets the same attention during inspections, simply because most of it is hidden, and problems don’t always show up during a walkthrough. By the time leaks start staining walls or drains begin backing up, you’ve already settled, and the repairing responsibility is yours. That’s why a pre-purchase plumbing inspection is worth having. It helps uncover what you can’t see before you commit. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what’s included, why it’s important, and how to choose the right inspector for the job. What a pre-purchase plumbing inspection covers: Cost, timing & prioritising issues: Choosing the right inspector: What a Pre-Purchase Plumbing Inspection Covers A pre-purchase plumbing inspection checks all the pipes, drains, and fixtures in a property you’re thinking of buying. It shows you exactly what’s working and what’s at risk before you move in, which gives you bargaining power. Water Supply and Pipework Condition This part of the inspection focuses on how water enters and moves through the home. It assesses pipe materials, leak risks, pressure levels, and shut-off controls to determine whether the system is reliable and compliant. Identifies the Pipe Material and Its Condition One of the first things a plumber checks is the material of pipes because it indicates whether replacement should be budgeted for in the near future. Galvanised steel, often found in older Townsville homes, rusts from the inside. Water reacts with the steel, forming scale buildup along the pipe walls that narrows the pipe. Eventually, the metal becomes thin, and small leaks begin to form. By the time you see water damage, the pipe is already deteriorated. Copper does not rust like steel, but it can corrode when exposed to moisture, salt air, and minerals in the local water. In coastal areas of Townsville, salty air settles on exposed pipe joints. When that salt mixes with condensation, it creates a mild acidic reaction that slowly eats away at the copper. This can lead to slow leaks that worsen over time. Polybutylene pipes, used in many homes built during the 1980s and 1990s, degrade differently. Chemicals in treated water can make the plastic brittle. These pipes often fail suddenly at pipe fittings without warning, leading to bursts and significant water damage. Check for Active and Hidden Leaks The plumber checks whether the system is already leaking. They start with visible areas by:  If nothing obvious is visible, a pressure test may be carried out. The plumber closes all taps and isolation valves to seal the water system, then uses a calibrated pressure gauge attached to the pipework or water meter to monitor the system pressure. If the gauge shows the pressure dropping over time while no taps or appliances are running, it indicates water is escaping somewhere hidden – inside walls, under floors, or beneath the slab. Measures Water Pressure to Ensure Safe Limits The plumber measures water pressure using a gauge connected to an outdoor tap. This shows how much force the water is pushing through the pipes. Under Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) guidelines, residential water pressure must not exceed 500 kPa. If the pressure exceeds 500 kilopascals, a pressure limiting valve (PLV) must be installed to protect the plumbing system. If a PLV is already installed, the plumber checks that it is working correctly. A failed or faulty valve can allow sudden pressure spikes into the system, which defeats its purpose and leaves the plumbing unprotected. Assesses Water Flow Performance in Fixtures Pressure is how hard the water is being pushed. Flow is how much water actually comes out. You can have strong pressure but still get weak flow. For example: To check for flow, the plumber runs multiple fixtures at the same time — for example, they turn on a shower and then open a basin tap. If the water flow drops sharply when the second fixture is opened, it means the supply line cannot deliver enough volume. This can happen because: This test helps identify internal restrictions that a pressure gauge alone will not detect. Even if the pressure reading is compliant, poor flow can signal ageing pipes or hidden blockages. Tests Isolation and Shut-Off Valves The final step is checking whether the water can be shut off quickly if there is an emergency. The plumber tests: Each valve must turn easily and completely stop the water flow. If a valve is stiff, seized, or does not fully close, it is a problem because in a burst-pipe situation, every minute counts. If the main valve cannot be operated, water will continue flowing into the house until the supply is shut off at the street, and that delay can cause major water damage. Drainage and Sewer Network  Many suburbs in Townsville have reactive clay soil, which expands when wet and shrinks when dry. This constant movement puts pressure on buried sewer pipes, which can crack, separate at the joints, or sink out of alignment. Repairing these issues can be expensive, often ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, depending on the damage. A proper drainage check during a pre-purchase inspection can catch these issues early, helping you avoid costly problems after you buy the home. Tests Drainage for Proper Water Flow The plumber begins by running water through the home in a controlled way. They flush toilets and turn on showers, basins, and sinks to check for: Inspects with CCTV Drain Camera Most sewer and stormwater pipes are hidden under slabs, driveways, or gardens, so surface checks are not enough. A pre-purchase plumbing inspection often includes a CCTV camera to inspect the inside of the pipes. The plumber feeds a flexible camera into the line through an access point to check for:  Identifying these issues lets the current owner plan for repairs or replacements before they become your responsibility. Assesses for Root Intrusion  Roots naturally grow

Most toilet cistern refill issues are caused by a single internal component failing to do its job, so the key to fixing this issue is finding that part. Normally, after you flush, the cistern refills when the water flows from the home’s supply line through the isolation valve beneath the toilet into the fill valve inside the cistern. As the tank fills, a float rises with the water level. Once the correct level is reached, the float signals the fill valve to shut off the supply. If any one of these parts is restricted, worn, misaligned, or partially closed, the cistern won’t refill properly. In this guide, we’ll cover how the cistern refill system works, the most common reasons it fails, and the tools and steps to get your toilet working properly again. TL;DR Check for External Causes: Is Water Reaching the Cistern? Before you lift the cistern lid, check the water supply. Often, a toilet cistern that won’t fill just isn’t getting water properly because of an external obstruction.  And usually that blockade is easy to find with a few quick steps, saves time, and avoids unnecessary fiddling with the cistern. Here’s how: Observe Water Entering the Tank Lift the cistern lid and watch the water level while the isolation valve (which controls water flow into the cistern) is fully open. This step quickly shows whether water is reaching the tank or if something is restricting it. Check the Isolation Valve Behind or beside your toilet, you’ll see a small chrome tap — that’s the isolation valve, which controls water flowing into the cistern. If it’s partially closed or blocked, the cistern can’t fill. Inspect the Supply Hose The cistern connects to your home’s cold water supply via a flexible hose made of braided stainless steel. This hose runs from the isolation valve into the tank, carrying water to refill it after each flush. Any blockage, kink, or damage in this hose can stop the cistern from filling properly. You check for the following: What to Do Next Once you’ve completed these external checks: Most Common Internal Causes (and the Fix for Each) Once you’ve ruled out supply issues, the cistern itself is the next place to look.  In Townsville, the high mineral content of the water can accelerate wear on rubber and plastic parts inside the cistern. Over time, this makes the components more prone to sticking, warping, or clogging, which can stop your toilet from refilling properly.  But the good news is that most are easy to spot and fix once you know what to look for. 1. Fill Valve Float Set Too Low Inside the cistern, the fill valve controls how water enters the tank after a flush. Attached to the valve is a float, a small buoyant sensor that rises with the water level. As the float rises, it pushes or triggers a lever inside the fill valve that tells the valve to stop letting water in. If the float is set too low, it signals the valve to shut off before the tank is actually full, leaving the cistern underfilled. This often happens after a recent move or a new toilet installation, when even a small bump can knock the float slightly out of position.  Also, over time, mineral deposits from Townsville’s hard water can build up around the float, restricting its movement. When the float can’t rise freely with the water level, it may signal the fill valve to shut off too early. This leaves the tank underfilled, resulting in weak or incomplete flushes. To check for this problem, open the cistern lid and gently lift the float. If water starts flowing as soon as you move it, the float is set too low, which means the system itself is working – it just isn’t getting the correct signal. How to fix it:  2. Debris or Mineral Scale Blocking the Fill Valve Even if your water supply is fine, the fill valve inside the cistern can get clogged by minerals in the local water, as fine sediment can slowly accumulate on the small rubber diaphragm, restricting water from entering the tank. You will notice this when the rest of the house may have normal water pressure, but the cistern either stays empty or fills very slowly. A silent tank – no trickling or hissing of water – can also indicate an internal blockage. To check for this issue:  How to fix it: Quick tip: Even after you clean the valve, mineral buildup will slowly return. It’s worth taking a few minutes every year to pop the lid off and give the fill valve a quick clean. That small bit of maintenance can save you from dealing with a slow-filling cistern later on.  3. Flapper or Flush Valve Leak At the bottom of the cistern is the flapper, a round rubber seal that sits over the flush valve opening. When you flush, the flapper lifts, allowing water to rush into the bowl. As the water level inside the cistern drops, the flapper falls back into place and seals the opening again. Once sealed, the fill valve refills the tank with fresh water. Over time, minerals accumulate on the flapper and the flush valve seat and create small gaps or rough patches that prevent the flapper from sealing properly. This allows water to leak continuously into the bowl, preventing the cistern from filling fully.  The small chain connecting the flush handle to the flapper also plays a role — if it’s too tight, it can pull the flapper slightly open even when you’re not flushing, allowing water to trickle continuously. You can spot this issue easily:   How to fix it: 4. Refill Tube Misalignment or Overflow Issues Inside the cistern, there’s a small, flexible hose called the refill tube that directs a small amount of water into the overflow pipe – the vertical pipe in the cistern that prevents water from spilling out if the tank overfills and also keeps the toilet bowl filled