Burst pipes and leaks
across Ashfield

Two separate things, and it helps to keep them separate. First, stopping it, which is urgent and does not wait on anybody's permission. Second, working out what failed and whose pipework it was, which decides who pays. We do the first immediately and the second properly, and we write the second down while the evidence is still there, because within days it will have dried out and become an argument between neighbours instead of a fact.

Sometimes, and sometimes it costs more than it saves. Strata policies carry an excess the scheme pays, and in a small block that excess can be a meaningful share of the repair. A $3,000 repair against a $1,500 excess is often not worth a claim once you factor in what it may do to the premium. A $30,000 water damage bill obviously is. We give you the repair figure quickly so that decision can be made on real numbers rather than guesswork.

By isolating and testing rather than by looking at where the water came out. Water follows the fall of a slab, a joist or a wall cavity and appears wherever it can escape, which can be a room away or a floor down from the actual failure. We pressure test the lines, use acoustic equipment where the pipework is buried, and identify the specific failed component. That is what a cause-and-origin finding needs to be worth anything.

Whoever is on the committee, and in a self-managed six-pack that is usually two or three owners. What they need from you is not a description, it is a document. We provide a written finding stating what failed, where, whether it was lot or common property pipework, what the repair costs and what the damage looks like. That is what turns a neighbourly disagreement into something that can be resolved.

Making it safe, absolutely, and we would encourage it. Nobody should leave water running into a building while ownership is debated. The full repair is worth pausing on only long enough to establish the responsibility, because doing that afterwards is far harder once the failed component has been removed and the wall closed up. We photograph and record before we replace anything, for exactly that reason.

They are among the most common causes of serious water damage in Australian homes and they have a service life of about five to ten years. In a walk-up that matters more than in a house, because when one lets go on the top floor at mains pressure while nobody is home, the water goes through every flat beneath it. Replacing them across a block is a small, unglamorous job that prevents a very large claim.

An emergency make-safe is $250 to $500. Leak detection is $300 to $600. Repair once located is $400 to $1,200 for most jobs. A written cause-and-origin finding is included on any job involving more than one flat, because in a small scheme that document is worth more than the repair itself.