Leaks, drains, hot water
Ash Swell is a two-van plumbing crew working the Swell Point coast. Emergencies come first; planned bathroom and pipework jobs are booked around them.
Isolate first · Written quote before work · Floors covered and site cleared
Start here
Four symptoms cover most of what we're called out to. Knowing which one you have makes the first visit shorter and the quote more honest.
A ceiling stain that grows, damp skirting, or a meter that keeps ticking with every tap closed. Often a split pressure line or a perished flexi hose under a vanity.
First move on siteIsolate at the meter, open the smallest access we can, and pressure-test the run before anything else gets cut.
One slow fixture is usually a local problem. Every fixture slow at once, or gurgling when another runs, points at the main line or a blocked vent.
First move on siteCamera the line from the cleanest access, clear it mechanically, then show you the footage before we quote any pipe replacement.
Warm then cold usually means a failed element or thermostat. Nothing at all, with a breaker that won't stay in, is an electrical fault we'll identify before touching the tank.
First move on siteTest the element and thermostat, check the anode and relief valve, and say plainly whether a repair is worth it on a tank that age.
A whole-house drop normally sits at the main, the pressure-limiting valve, or a stop tap left half-closed after other trades were in.
First move on siteGauge the main, check the limiting valve and strainer, then work inward fixture by fixture.
Our first job is to stop the damage, not to sell you a repipe. We isolate, make the area safe, and find the leak with gauges and acoustic listening before opening a wall or slab. If the fix needs a part we don't carry, we'll make it watertight for the night and come back with it.
Most blockages are roots, fat or a collapsed section, and each needs a different answer. We clear mechanically first, then camera the line so you can see what caused it. Root intrusion gets cut and the joint treated; a collapsed section gets measured and quoted properly rather than cleared again in six weeks.
We repair tanks worth repairing and say so when they aren't. On a replacement we'll walk you through tank versus continuous flow, what your gas or electrical supply can actually carry, and where a unit can legally sit. Old units are drained, disconnected and taken away the same day.
We handle the plumbing stages of a renovation and work to the tiler's and cabinetmaker's dates rather than our own. Rough-in is set out from your tile and vanity sizes, waterproofing points are confirmed before the screed goes down, and second fix happens once surfaces are protected.
When a house starts leaking in two places a month, patching stops being the cheaper option. We map what's there, stage the renewal so you keep water overnight, and route new runs where they can be reached again. Smaller jobs — a dripping mixer, a running cistern, a washer swap — are grouped into one visit.
A good plumber leaves you knowing what went wrong, not just a quiet pipe.Ash Swell — working practice
How a visit runs
The same sequence applies to a dripping tap and a slab leak. Only the time on site changes.
Use the request form below and pick the closest symptom. Photos of the fixture, the meter or the stain help us load the right parts before we leave the yard.
You get a window, not a vague day. If the van is held up on the job before yours, we tell you while there's still time to change your plans.
If water is moving, it gets shut off before anything else. Then we test and locate rather than guess, and we explain what we found in plain terms.
You approve a figure for the repair before a tool comes out. If the job opens up and the scope genuinely changes, we stop and re-quote instead of adding it to the invoice.
Repairs are pressure-tested and drains re-run before we pack up. Floors are covered on the way in and the offcuts, old parts and packaging leave with us.
You get a short written summary: what was replaced, which isolation valve controls it, and anything worth watching over the next few months.
Hours & coverage
Out of hours. After-hours callouts carry a higher rate. We quote that rate before the van leaves, so you can decide whether the job can wait until morning. Sometimes it can, and we'll say so.
Just outside one of these? Ask anyway. If we can reach you between two booked jobs we will, and if we can't, we'll tell you straight away rather than leave the request sitting.
Before you compare quotes
Two quotes for "a leak repair" can differ honestly. These are the variables worth asking every plumber about, including us.
A fitting under an open vanity is a short job. The same fitting under a tiled slab, behind a built-in robe or in a crawl space with 500mm of clearance is mostly labour, and the repair itself is the small part.
Copper and modern PEX take a clean repair. Galvanised steel and early poly often fail again next to a new joint, so the sensible fix is a longer section rather than a patch — more cost now, fewer callouts later.
Grouping jobs into one visit is cheaper than three separate callouts. If you have a slow drain and a running cistern as well, mention both in the request and we'll allow the time.
We're happy to install fixtures you've bought, and the labour is the same. What changes is the warranty path: supplied-by-you items are covered by their own seller, not by us, so keep the receipts.
Planned work in a normal weekday slot is the lowest rate. Same-day, weekend and after-hours attendance costs more because it displaces booked jobs. If the water can be isolated safely, waiting until Monday is often the cheaper call.
Yes. We diagnose first, then give you a written figure for the repair and wait for you to approve it. If the job turns out to be different once a panel is off, we stop, explain what changed and re-quote rather than adding it to the final invoice.
If water is actively escaping, close the main stop tap at the meter — a quarter turn clockwise is usually enough. Then clear the space under the affected sink or around the hot water unit, and keep pets somewhere else while the door is open.
If you can, find the meter before we get there. Hunting for it in long grass eats the first fifteen minutes.
Usually, yes. Send a photo of the box or the model number with your request so we can check it suits your water pressure and the existing rough-in. Mixers designed for a different pressure range are the one thing we'll ask you to swap before we fit them.
We make the opening as small as the job allows and leave it clean and square, but we don't tile or plaster. We'll tell you what the patch involves so you can line up that trade, and we'll coordinate dates with them if you'd like us to.
A like-for-like storage swap in an accessible spot is typically a half-day, including draining, disconnection and removing the old unit. It gets longer if the unit moves position, the supply needs upsizing, or a tempering valve has to be added to meet current requirements for bathroom outlets.
Come back to us. If we cleared a line and it blocks again in the same place, the camera footage from the first visit tells us whether we missed something or whether the pipe itself is the problem. Where it was our clearing at fault, the return visit is on us.
Yes, but honestly: emergency calls outrank booked work, so a renovation stage scheduled mid-storm-season may shift by a day. We'll give you a date range rather than a false single date, and we won't start a bathroom rough-in we can't finish on time.
Request a plumber
One form, no back and forth. We reply with an arrival window and anything we need you to check first.
If water is running right now, close the main stop tap at the meter before you finish typing. Then add "water isolated" in the details so we know the house is safe.