24 hour plumbing in Monash, Canberra
Monash is a quiet, mostly level suburb in the middle of the valley, close to Erindale, the town centre and Isabella Pond. It has the same 1970s brick veneer stock as Wanniassa but without the hills, so drainage relies on very gentle falls to the main and the clay underneath has had almost fifty years to move things around.
What usually goes wrong in Monash
- Sewer lines with very little fall silting up and holding water until they block completely
- Tree roots from street trees along Isabella Drive and Ashley Drive entering opened joints
- Pinhole leaks in original copper under the slab found after weeks of a warm floor
- Shared drainage in ex-govie flats near the shops blocking for the whole block
- High water table near the wetlands after wet winters affecting drainage and stormwater
Local notes from the plumbers
Monash went in from 1976 and it is one of the flatter suburbs in the valley, which changes the mix of problems. Fewer stormwater surges down driveways, more slow drainage from sewer lines with almost no fall that silt up and hold water. The clay under the suburb is reactive, and the older PVC and earthenware junctions near the boundary trap have opened up enough for roots from the street trees along Isabella Drive and Ashley Drive to get in. Plumbing inside the homes is typical 1970s Tuggeranong: copper under the slab, brass tap sets, and a laundry or outdoor hot water tank that has been swapped at least twice. Pinholes in copper are a regular find, often after a section of floor has been warm for weeks. Monash shops and the primary school sit in the middle of the suburb, and the streets around them include ex-govie flats with shared drainage where a blocked line affects the whole block. A stretch of the suburb backs onto the Lake Tuggeranong wetlands, and homes there deal with a high water table after wet winters.
Housing in Monash
Flat 1976-era suburb between Wanniassa and Isabella Plains: single-storey brick veneer homes on concrete slabs, ex-govie flats and townhouses around the Monash shops and primary school, and a strip of houses backing onto the Lake Tuggeranong wetlands.