Waverton is the far end of our patch, a straight run down the Pacific Highway from Gordon, where Peter lives. Blocked drains, hot water, leaks, gas and 24/7 emergencies for the period homes on the hill and the apartment blocks around the station, from the plumber who answers the phone and turns up at your door.
Waverton is small, steep and old. Federation and interwar homes on narrow streets that drop away towards the harbour at Balls Head and Berry Island, with apartment blocks around the station and along Bay Road. It’s one stop from North Sydney on the line, and it has kept more of its original housing than most of the Lower North Shore.
On a steep Waverton block, drains run downhill a long way to the street, stormwater has to be managed at every level, and the pipework is often as old as the house. In the apartment blocks it’s strata work: shared stacks, common-property drains and hot water that serves more than one home. Peter works in both, and knows which kind of job he’s walking into before he arrives.
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.
Long downhill sewer runs, stormwater on terraced gardens, and original clay pipe with roots in the joints.
Galvanised water pipe losing pressure, old fixtures and drains that have been working since the house was built.
Shared stacks and sewer lines in the unit blocks that block and affect several homes at once.
Most of our Waverton work is in people’s homes, many of them old and on steep streets. We also look after the apartment blocks around the station and along Bay Road through strata and property managers.
Tell us what’s happening. A photo often tells us most of what we need.
Waverton sits on the Lower North Shore between North Sydney and Wollstonecraft, in North Sydney Council, on the North Shore rail line and on the harbour. It’s a small suburb of period homes on steep streets, with apartment living around the station and bushland reserves at Balls Head and Berry Island where the land meets the water.
Steep ground shapes the plumbing. Sewer lines run a long way downhill to the street, and on Waverton’s older homes that’s original clay pipe, joined every metre, with a century of garden roots working into the joints. Stormwater on a terraced block has to be managed on every level, so after heavy rain the calls are about water pooling, overflowing downpipes and damp coming through at ground level.
Inside the period homes, galvanised water pipe corrodes from the inside out, so pressure fades slowly and the first sign of trouble is discoloured water in the morning or a pinhole leak. Hot water systems are tucked wherever the house had room, and many were sized for a different household decades ago.
In the apartment blocks, 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 batches. These jobs run through the strata manager, so we quote before we start and send a written report with photos when we’re done.
Waverton is the far end of our run from Gordon, so we’re honest about timing when you call. For an emergency, it’s still a straight run down the highway.
A toilet backing up, a slow kitchen sink, or the same blockage back again a month later. Blocked drains are the job we’re called to most in Waverton, and on these steep blocks the cause is usually roots in a long downhill run of original clay sewer pipe. We clear it, then put a camera down the line to show you why it blocked, so it doesn’t keep happening.
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 Waverton’s older homes it’s usually tree roots in the original clay sewer line, sometimes a cracked or sagging section where the ground has moved on a slope. In the apartment blocks it’s more often what’s gone down a shared stack. 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 tank that’s started to leak. We repair and install gas, electric and continuous flow hot water systems across Waverton, 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. Waverton 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.
Usually in a box near the front boundary, which on a steep Waverton street can be a flight of steps above or below the house. In an apartment there’s a stop valve for your unit, often under the kitchen sink. It’s worth finding yours before you need it. Turn clockwise until it stops.
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.
Waverton is the far end of our run down the highway from Gordon. We cover the whole suburb and the suburbs around it on the Lower North Shore.
All of it, from the station down to the harbour at Balls Head and Berry Island.
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 older homes, tree roots in the original clay sewer lines, sometimes a section that has cracked or sagged on a slope. In the apartment blocks, a shared stack. 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.