The scale of what’s planned for Glen Waverley is not just a gentle, slow-burning build-up. The Victorian Government’s Suburban Rail Loop Authority reckons that the Glen Waverley precinct as a whole will have a population of 46,500 by the 2050s, driven by all the density around the SRL East line. Now, the Glen Waverley Structure Plan area itself, a pretty specific boundary, had around 7,100 residents back in 2021. These two figures may refer to slightly different bits of the suburb, but they paint a picture of a place that’s going to be absorbing growth, and it’s going to be happening pretty quickly. And one of the things that’s not going to handle this growth particularly well is the older housing stock, the stuff we built in the 60s and 80s. That’s the type of housing that’s got plumbing that’s getting older by the year, as Glen Waverley itself undergoes this huge transformation.
When Hot Water Fails, It Can Do So Without Warning
The lifespan of a gas storage hot water system is around eight to 12 years, and, in Glen Waverley, there’s a good chunk of older homes with systems that are close to or well past that age. And if you break down the ABS 2021 Census figures, 78.3% of homes in the area are family homes, which basically means they get used like crazy, day in and day out. So when one of these systems does finally give up the ghost, it’s not like it just starts to get a bit dodgy, and then you can sort it out gradually; it just stops working, usually on the very first cold morning of winter, and then you’re stuck with a problem you need a qualified plumber Glen Waverley to fix ASAP.
According to Energy Safe Victoria and the Building and Plumbing Commission, you should get your gas water heater serviced at least every two years by a qualified plumber to pick up on these sorts of issues before they turn into full-blown failures. It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than having to get one replaced at short notice.
A lot of people in Glen Waverley are starting to look at upgrading to heat pumps, partly because they’re so much more efficient, and partly because of the incentives on offer through the Victorian Energy Upgrades program. Just remember that these systems do require some coordination between a plumber and an electrician, so you’ll need to think about that when you’re choosing a new unit.
Blocked Drains: What’s Really Going On Under Glen Waverley’s Streets?
In the older parts of Glen Waverley, the street trees have been growing alongside the underground drains for years, and clay pipes, which were pretty common before PVC became the standard, are basically designed to develop little gaps as Melbourne’s soil shifts around over the seasons. Then when the water in those joints gets a bit of moisture in, the tree roots just love to get in there and make themselves at home; and when they do, getting the blockage cleared probably only puts it off until the next time it happens.
But once you do get the CCTV drain inspection done after you’ve got through the initial clearing with a high-pressure jetter, that’s when you can figure out if it’s just a one-off problem or a recurring issue. Because if you find out that the camera reveals a gap, crack or root entry point in the pipe, then you’re looking at something that needs a bit more than just a temporary clear-out; you’re looking at something that probably needs relining or targeted repair.
Roof Plumbing Across Different Construction Eras
Glen Waverley has seen several waves of construction and thus there is a series of roof plumbing problems corresponding to certain construction periods. Housing built between the war and the end of the seventies is provided with plumbing which operates according to an old standard of load capacity and often fails during strong rainfall. Downpipes are another vulnerability of roof plumbing in older houses, especially in terms of connection to the stormwater pipes, once the joint becomes cracked, it will go unnoticed until the problem is seen from above as water starts accumulating around the ground.
There is currently an ongoing programme of upgrading drainage pits and pipes in the area carried out by the City of Monash, and this demonstrates the need for constant updates of stormwater capacity in the suburb experiencing a constant increase in housing population. Private owners should make a routine of inspecting their stormwater pipes because capacity problems in the broader catchment area may aggravate the impact of obstruction in your drainpipe.
Checking the Licence Before Booking
Every job of a plumber in Victoria has to be carried out by a practitioner registered/licenced with the Building and Plumbing Commission for the particular type of work being done. One can check any licence of a plumber through BPC’s register. It is especially important in the suburb where such a number of works take place.
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