r/PlumbingAustralia

I’ve lived in this apt building for almost 2 yrs 1st floor of 4. A few months ago, the bathroom started to stink. Called the REA, who sent a plumber. He’s just gone “yeah… urine”. It totally wasn’t. I’m an Aussie bloke - I know what a urinal smells like, plus I’ve had cats for over 20 years in various situations, so give me a break. He tore the toilet out and re—sealed it. Okay, whatever guy - I have no idea so I’ll take your word for it. Stank went away after about a week of bleach and air freshener. Cool! Going away -bleach in the cistern. Come back to this! Photos are with nothing else but 4 flushes. Do I need to do something? Or is it a building problem?

Hey guys need some advice. Moved into a new place recently and this is the open sewage outside. All the pipes lead there and it gets sooo clogged with toilet paper etc. obvs it’s very clogged right now and I’m getting a plumber to have a look but just wanted general advice on if you think this is dodgy plumbing. I thought having an open sewage like this wasn’t allowed anymore? Any advice would be appreciated :)

This is well out of my area of expertise, but how do we think the tiler did?

The guy who did the screeding apparently didn’t have the flanges on him at the time. A different young guy showed up on day 2 and put the first coat of waterproofing down. Then the boss showed up the day 3 and dropped off the puddle flanges and left the young guy to install them and do the second coat of waterproofing.

For context this company was one of the more expensive quotes I got and are very well reviewed and recommended. The boss who did the quoting sounded really knowledgeable and switched on, but he has not done any of the work to date. I am currently away for three weeks so it’s pretty hard for me to monitor this job.

From the minimal knowledge I have of puddle flanges, having a large channel gouged out around them sort of defeats their purpose in the first place? Any water that gets under the tiles will just sit in that gouge and not drain away?

Or am I just being an overly pedantic owner?

I should also mention in WA there is no legal requirement to issue a certificate of compliance for waterproofing.

New house build 2024. Only just picked this up.

Tap on gas pipe for HWS, tap on water pipe for HWS and Power for HWS are completely inaccessible, located behind the rainwater tank. Is this compliant? Cheers

Hi can anybody please give me any advice on what to do with my situation here with my washing machine backing up with water & stinking disgusting within a couple of hours of washer being used, I will open door to water stagnant & smelling vile, I’ve had the housing association out & they did something with the pipes under my sink but idk what really as I’m clueless but I also had a drain outside full n wouldn’t clear until he put his rods down it, also my overflow dosent stop my bath overflowing, also the noise from my kitchen sink when the water is draining from machine is really loud like popping sounds & spits water back up the plug hole, my washing machine is only 6 weeks old & brand new & only used 15 times at most since had it, any advice would be greatly appreciated plz?. I live in a very small one bed bungalow of that is any help! Thanks guys

Hi folks, I'd be grateful for help. I had a Rheem Stellar stainless 250l hot water service installed in 2021. Since that time it has burned through 4 elements. Not very stellar. In the first three cases, the element corroded and failed internally (according to the sparky). In the latest case, there is water leaking out of the electrical connections of the element (see photo).

The website says this model does not use a sacrificial anode.

I've had several electricians out to deal with this over the years and none can understand it.

The thermostat has been replaced more than once, with temp set appropriately.

Rheem say it shouldn't be happening but they haven't been much help beyond this.

Location BNE

Now onto my 5th element and I have spent more in 5 years on elements than the HWS itself, which ironically is supposed to last for years (stainless etc).

It’s a very weird male ending with a roughly 25 mm diameter and 5-6 threaded crests in 5-6mm. Can you identify a way for me to convert it to a standard 1/2 BSP so I can attach a regular shower head ?

This bad boy on my Metro 16 gives me a hawk tuah when the washing machine slams on the brakes whilst filling.

Should I risk the roof over my head by politely raising it with the real estate, or can I just pop my head in the sand and hope it goes away?

Just got quoted $1890 for a toilet replacement(I’m supplying toilet) this seems quite a high quote but maybe in wrong? Didn’t say there was any major issues I even asked if I could source my own toilet from Bunnings but said it would void warranty. Any ideas of a reasonable price?

Is it a urinal or a sprinklet

My daughter bought her first property and there was just an old tap spindle screwed into the part circled. It originally would have had a fitting to change the water flow between the shower and the tap spout. None of the plumbing stores we have asked were able to help. Any suggestions please?

Edit: The brass plug between the two taps is screwed into a fitting similar to one for a tap spindle except the pipes from each tap come in either side and another pipe goes up to the shower head and another goes down to the chrome fitting blanking off where the bath spout should be.

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to disassemble my shower column to replace/install a new hand shower rail wall mount, but I'm completely stuck trying to separate the bottom wall-mounting bracket from the vertical riser pipe.

The Setup:

• Unbranded / generic dual-head rigid riser shower system mounted on bathroom tile.

The Issue & What I've Tried:

• The outer chrome collar/sleeve is completely seized onto the internal core/wall anchor (the solid piece inside the pipe opening).
• I have already inspected the outside collar for hidden set/grub screws (none visible).
• I've attempted pulling, twisting, and leveraging it off using pliers wrapped in a cloth to protect the chrome, but it won't budge at all—it feels locked solid, likely due to internal limescale/mineral buildup or a tight friction fit.

My Question: Has anyone dealt with this specific type of generic riser bracket? Is there a hidden locking mechanism inside this inner core that releases the pipe, or does it strictly require descaling/forcing the sleeve off to reach the wall screw underneath?

Any advice on how to free this without damaging the surrounding tiles would be greatly appreciated!