North Sydney is a straight run down the Pacific Highway from Gordon, where Peter lives. Blocked drains, hot water, leaks, gas and 24/7 emergencies, in the apartment buildings around the centre and the older homes on the streets behind them, from the plumber who answers the phone and turns up at your door.
North Sydney is dense. Around the centre it’s apartment buildings of every age, from interwar blocks to new towers, with shared stacks, shared hot water and a strata manager for every one of them. Behind the centre, through the streets towards the harbour, it’s older houses and terraces, some of them Federation, on tight blocks. Peter works in both.
In the apartment buildings that means strata jobs: common-property drains, a stack that backs up for everyone on it, a leak into the unit below that needs finding before it becomes a dispute, and reporting back to the manager with photos. In the houses and terraces it’s original pipework on small blocks where there’s not much room to work and no room at all for mess.
We aim to respond to all enquiries within one business day.
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Blocked, leaking, cold or smelling of gas, you don’t need to know the name of the problem to call. Tell Peter what you can see, hear or smell, or send a photo. You’ll get a straight answer on what’s likely going on, what your options are, and what it’ll cost before any work starts.
Shared stacks and sewer lines that block and affect several homes at once, run through the strata manager.
Water showing up in the apartment below, which needs finding quickly and documenting properly.
Tight blocks, old clay and galvanised pipe, and jobs that have to be done cleanly in small spaces.
Most of our North Sydney work comes through strata and property managers, because most of the suburb is apartments. We also look after the terraces and older houses on the streets behind the centre.
Tell us what’s happening. A photo often tells us most of what we need.
North Sydney sits at the southern end of the Lower North Shore, just across the Harbour Bridge from the city, with its own council and one of the largest commercial centres in Sydney outside the CBD. Around the centre it’s high-density living. On the streets behind it, running down towards the harbour, it’s older housing on small blocks.
In the apartment buildings, most of what we see is common property: shared sewer stacks that block when one unit flushes the wrong thing, pressure problems on upper floors, and hot water units failing in blocks that are now decades old. These jobs run through the strata manager, so we quote before we start and send a written report with photos when we’re done.
Inside individual units, it’s leaking taps and mixers, running toilets, seized washing machine taps and leaks into the apartment below. In a building with hundreds of people, a leak is urgent for two households, not one.
In the terraces and older houses, the blocks are small and the pipe is old. Clay sewer lines, galvanised water pipe closing up from the inside, and not much room to work. Shoes off, dust sheets down and everything back where it was matters more than ever in a small house.
North Sydney is further from our base in Gordon than the Ku-ring-gai suburbs, so we’re honest about timing when you call. For an emergency, it’s still a straight run down the highway.
A shared stack backing up in an apartment building, a kitchen sink that won’t drain, or a terrace sewer line that keeps blocking. Blocked drains are the job we’re called to most in North Sydney. In apartments we work out which fixture caused it and where to clear from. In houses we clear it, then put a camera down to show you why it blocked.
We ask what’s been happening and check where the blockage sits before we start. Flushing the toilet and seeing water come up in the shower or an outside gully tells us the main line is blocked, not just one fixture.
Depending on the blockage, that’s an electric drain machine or a high-pressure jetter that scours the pipe walls clean, roots included.
A CCTV drain camera shows what caused it: roots, a cracked pipe, a sag, or just years of build-up. You see the footage too.
If the pipe is damaged, we explain your options, including pipe relining where it suits, so you’re not paying for the same clear every few months.
Why does my drain keep blocking?
In North Sydney’s apartment buildings it’s usually grease, wipes or sanitary products in a shared stack. In the terraces and older houses it’s tree roots or a cracked section in an original clay sewer line. A camera inspection tells us which, so we fix the cause rather than clearing the same blockage again.
Can you clear it without digging up the garden?
Nearly always. Jetting and the drain machine work from the existing access points, and relining repairs a damaged section from the inside without a trench.
Are supermarket drain chemicals worth trying?
We’d skip them. They rarely clear a real blockage, they can damage older pipes, and they make the drain unsafe to work on when we arrive.
No hot water, not enough of it, or a unit that’s started to leak. We repair and install gas, electric and continuous flow hot water systems across North Sydney, in houses and in apartments, and because Peter is a licensed gas fitter as well as a plumber, a gas unit doesn’t mean a second trade. We’ll tell you straight whether yours is worth fixing.
Age, condition, what’s failed and what’s likely to fail next. Have the brand and model handy, or send a photo of the sticker.
A thermostat, element, valve or thermocouple on a sound tank is usually worth fixing. A leaking tank isn’t; tanks can’t be patched.
The right type and capacity for your household, not just a like-for-like swap. Old unit removed, new one fitted tidily, area cleaned up.
Is a leaking hot water system urgent?
A small drip from the relief valve usually isn’t. Water pooling around the base of the tank is, because it won’t get better and can cause water damage. If it’s leaking heavily, turn the cold water off at the isolation valve on the inlet pipe and call us.
Storage or continuous flow?
It depends on what utilities are available and what matters more to you: efficiency, which favours continuous flow, or hot water that keeps coming if the power fails, which favours storage. Peter will talk you through both before you decide.
Do you install gas hot water?
Yes. Storage and continuous flow, repairs, servicing and replacement, all by a licensed gas fitter.
Burst pipe, sewage coming up, water through the ceiling, a smell of gas. Call 0403 404 307 any time, day or night, weekends and public holidays, and you’ll speak to Peter, the plumber who’ll come out. North Sydney is a straight run down the Pacific Highway from Gordon, where Peter lives, and we’ll tell you honestly how long that’ll take when you call.
In a house or terrace it’s usually in a box near the front boundary or on the footpath. In an apartment there’s a stop valve for your unit, often under the kitchen sink or in a hallway cupboard, and the building’s main is the strata manager’s call. It’s worth finding yours before you need it.
Electric: switch it off at the switchboard. Gas: turn the unit to off or pilot.
If water is near power points or lights, switch off at the switchboard if it’s safe to reach. Don’t touch anything wet.
Don’t use switches or flames. Turn off the gas at the meter if you can, get everyone outside, and call. If the smell is strong, call 000 first.
When a genuine emergency comes in, it goes to the front of the queue. If that means moving a booked job, the customer affected gets a straight phone call about it, not silence. We’ll tell you honestly when we can get to you.
Peter Pan Plumbing is one licensed plumber and gas fitter, based in Gordon and working across the Upper and Lower North Shore. Peter has done his share of construction work, but maintenance is where he wants to be: the drain that keeps blocking, the leak nobody can find, the hot water that’s given up on a Sunday. He likes working out what’s actually going on and fixing it properly.
When you call, you get Peter. He’ll talk you through it, give you a straight answer, and he’s the one who turns up and finishes the job.
North Sydney is a straight run down the highway from our base in Gordon. We cover the whole suburb and the suburbs around it on the Lower North Shore.
All of it, from the apartment buildings around the centre to the streets down towards the harbour.
Call 0403 404 307 or send a photo. Most jobs can be quoted before we arrive.
Most jobs can be quoted over the phone or from a photo, and phone quotes are free, so you know the price before any work starts.
Yes. We’re open 24 hours, 7 days, including weekends and public holidays. For a burst pipe, sewage backing up or a smell of gas, call 0403 404 307 straight away.
Peter. The person who answers the phone is the plumber who comes out and finishes the job. No call centre and no handovers.
Yes. Peter holds NSW licence 464374C, which covers plumbing, drainage, gas fitting and roofing, with public liability insurance. Gas and water work is done by the same person.
In the apartment buildings, a shared stack that keeps getting the wrong things put down it. In the terraces and older houses, tree roots or a cracked section in the original clay sewer line. A camera inspection tells us which.
Yes. Strata managers get a fixed quote before work starts and a written job report. Property managers get photos and an invoice they can forward straight to the owner.
Call Peter and you’ll get a straight answer about what’s wrong and what it’ll take to fix. No call centre, no runaround, and no one trying to sell you more than you need. Most jobs can be quoted over the phone or from a photo, so you’re not waiting on a site visit just to get a price.