24 hour plumbing in Lyons, Canberra
Lyons is a compact suburb on the slope between Mount Taylor and the Woden town centre, built in the mid 1960s as government housing. It had one of the highest concentrations of Mr Fluffy homes in the valley, so new two-storey houses now sit between the original single-storey designs on many streets.
What usually goes wrong in Lyons
- New rebuilds blocking at the original clay sewer branch left at the boundary
- Galvanised and early copper lines feeding stacked wet areas bursting behind the one plumbing wall
- Hot water relief valves venting and freezing on outside walls through winter
- Root intrusion in earthenware sewers running to rear easements
- High mains pressure on the lower streets near Melrose Drive bursting old fittings
Local notes from the plumbers
A plumber working Lyons learns the street pattern quickly, because the housing is so consistent. The suburb went up in the mid 1960s as government housing, and the standard designs share the same weak points: a single galvanised or early copper line feeding a laundry, kitchen and bathroom stacked on one wall, an earthenware sewer running straight out the back to the easement, and a hot water unit in the laundry or on an outside wall. The Mr Fluffy buyback changed the streetscape more here than in most Woden suburbs. Rebuilt blocks now carry two-storey homes with PEX pipework and mains-pressure hot water, but the sewer connection at the boundary is often the original clay branch, and that is where new houses in Lyons block. The land falls from Mount Taylor towards Melrose Drive and the Woden cemetery, so lower streets see higher mains pressure and more burst fittings, while the upper streets run cold and exposed in winter. Blocked drains, frost-split garden taps and relief valves venting hot water are the regular winter calls.
Housing in Lyons
Standard-design 1960s government brick veneer homes, a noticeable number of two-storey Mr Fluffy rebuilds with new pipework, some 1970s townhouse groups near Melrose Drive and older flats close to the Lyons shops.