Lower North Shore
Plumber in Cammeray
Blocked drains, sewer repairs, hot water and roofing across Cammeray, from the Federation and weatherboard houses to the unit blocks off Miller Street.
- Since 2007 on the North Shore
- No charge for a site visit
- Upfront pricing, agreed before we start
- Our own licenced team, not subbies
What we get called out to in Cammeray
- Tree roots in old sewer lines. Established gardens and reserves mean roots in clay pipe joints are the most common blockage we clear here.
- Sandstone. It changes how a sewer repair is dug and what it costs, so we look before we price it.
- Older houses, newer bathrooms. Renovated rooms often sit over pipework nobody has looked at in decades.
- Unit blocks. Stacks and common drains, with photos and a written finding for the building manager.
- Roof and gutter leaks. Valleys and flashings on older roofs, traced to the real cause.
We have dug and repaired sewer lines in Cammeray, and it is a few minutes from Crows Nest, where we were based from 2010.
In more detail
The three we get called about most
Blocked drains
Most Cammeray blockages are roots. The older streets are still on clay pipe laid in short lengths, and every joint is a way in for a root from a street tree or a neighbour's garden.
We jet the line first, then put the camera down it so you can see what was in there and what shape the pipe is in. If the pipe is sound, jetting is the whole job. If the joint has failed, you will see that on the screen before anyone talks about digging.
Blocked drainsHot water
Plenty of Cammeray houses are on a tank that was put in by the last owner and has never been touched since. They usually fail on the coldest morning of the year.
We repair where a repair makes sense and replace where it does not, and we will tell you honestly which one you are looking at. Gas, electric and heat pump, with the old unit taken away.
Hot waterLeaks you cannot see
A water bill that has jumped, a damp patch on a wall, or a meter that ticks over with every tap in the house shut off.
We locate it before anything gets opened up, which on a Cammeray sandstone block is the difference between a small repair and a very large one.
Burst pipes and leaksIt’s an emergency! I’d better ring STS.
Old fashioned service. Modern day plumbing.
Since 2007
How we work with you
What happens from the first phone call
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You get in touch
Ring the office, send the form or email us. For anything urgent, ring — we will tell you what it usually means and what to do while we are on the way, like where your water meter is.
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We come and look
For anything bigger than a straightforward repair we come and look at it properly first, and there is no charge for that visit. Guessing at a price over the phone helps nobody.
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You get the price in writing
The job priced, not an hourly rate ticking over. If there is more than one sensible way to do it, you get both options and the difference between them explained.
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We do the work
Our own licenced plumbers, on the day we said. Drop sheets down, the mess taken away, and a phone call rather than silence if we are running behind.
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You see what we found
Photos, camera footage where we used it, and a plain explanation of what was actually wrong. If something is not right afterwards, ring us and we come back and put it right at our cost.
A job we did here
A blocked kitchen line in a Cammeray heritage home
The problem
A family in Cammeray had water backing up in the kitchen sink and every drain in the house running slow. They had been living with it for a while and were worried about what it was doing to an old house.
What we did
We got there the same day and put the camera down the line before touching anything. It was tree roots through the joints of the original clay pipe, which is what we find under most of the older streets around here. We showed them the footage, priced two options, and relined the affected section rather than digging up the garden to get at it.
The result
Done in a day, the line flowing properly, and no excavation through a heritage garden. They have the camera footage so they know exactly what was wrong and what was done about it.
Out of the van
What the work actually looks like
Our photos, off our own jobs. Not a stock library.
Not a claim, a count
The work we have actually done in Cammeray
Our job records run from 2016. Since then we have completed 531 jobs in Cammeray.
That is the figure out of our job management system, not a number we made up for the website. It is also why we can usually tell you on the phone what a problem probably is before anyone gets in a ute.
The most common of them
- 266 taps, toilets and everyday repairs
- 127 blocked drains cleared
- 95 sewer and stormwater repairs
- 82 roofing and guttering
- 54 hot water repairs and replacements
Plenty of jobs cover more than one of these, so the numbers overlap rather than add up.
About the suburb
Plumbing in Cammeray
Cammeray, postcode 2062, sits between Crows Nest and Neutral Bay on one side and Middle Harbour on the other, with the Warringah Freeway cutting across the top of it. It's a suburb of Federation houses and weatherboard cottages on the older streets, interwar flat blocks near Miller Street, and the Cammeray village shops in the middle. Below the houses the streets fall away steeply to Tunks Park, Primrose Park and Long Bay.
The older houses have the plumbing of their age. Earthenware sewer lines with roots in every joint, galvanised water services rusted to the point where the pressure drops, and hot water systems that were put in when the kitchen was last done. Most blocked drains we clear in Cammeray are roots, and the fix is the camera to find the entry point, jetting to clear it, and a reline so the roots stay out.
The interwar flats around Miller Street and Ernest Street share their sewer stacks and their stormwater, and the older blocks were built with earthenware and galvanised pipe throughout. A blockage on a shared stack turns up in the lowest flat first, and the fix has to be done with the strata manager informed. We hand over the camera footage and a written finding, which is what the committee needs before it can approve a reline or a replacement.
The slope matters here more than most places. Houses on the streets that run down to Tunks Park and Primrose Park have long sewer runs downhill to the main, often across easements and through sandstone, and stormwater from the roof has to be got away or it ends up in a neighbour's yard or under the house. We put the camera down before anyone digs, so a repair is one hole in the right place.
The Cammeray shops and the businesses along Miller Street and Amherst Street ring us for the things that stop trade: a blocked drain at opening time, a hot water unit that's given up, a tap that won't shut off in the customer toilet. We plan those jobs so they're done between services rather than during one.
Cammeray is next door to Crows Nest, where STS was based from 2010 to 2016, and a short run from Lane Cove, where we are now. Ring us for anything urgent. For anything bigger we'll come and look first, and there's no charge for that visit.
The STS Guarantee
Five things we promise on every job
- Licenced and insured. Plumbing, gas fitting and drainage, to the Australian Standards. NSW licence 227192C.
- You get the price before we start. Agreed upfront and in writing. No hourly rate ticking over while you wonder what it is going to come to.
- We turn up when we said we would. And if we are running behind, you get a phone call rather than silence.
- We clean up after ourselves. Drop sheets down, mess taken away, and the ground or brickwork put back the way we found it.
- Our workmanship is warranted. If something is not right after we have left, ring us and we will come back and put it right at our cost.
Who we work for in Cammeray
- Homeowners. Everything from a leaking tap to a full bathroom, with the price agreed before we start.
- Strata and building managers. Stacks, common drains and hot water plant, with photos and a written finding you can take to a committee.
- Builders and renovators. Rough-in and fit-off booked to your programme, and we turn up on the day we said.
- Agents and landlords. Repairs organised with the tenant directly and reported back to you.
What Cammeray locals say
STS Plumbing was quick to respond when I had a burst pipe in my Cammeray home. The plumber was professional, explained everything clearly, and fixed the issue promptly. Highly recommend.
Josie M., CammerayQuestions we get asked in Cammeray
What does a plumber in Cammeray cost?
It depends on the job, which is why we price the job rather than run an hourly rate. For anything bigger than a straightforward repair we come and look at it first, at no charge, and you get the price in writing before we start.
Are your plumbers licenced and insured?
Yes. STS Plumbing Co Pty Ltd holds NSW licence 227192C and carries insurance, and the blokes who turn up are our own team, not subcontracted labour.
How quickly can you get here?
Our office is open Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm, and we call back within 24 hours, guaranteed. For anything urgent, ring rather than fill in the form and we will tell you what it usually means and when we can be there.
Do you work on units and commercial buildings?
Yes. A good share of our work is strata and commercial across the North Shore, and it comes with photos and a written finding a building manager or committee can act on.
Will you have to dig up my garden?
Not always. Where the pipe is sound and the problem is roots at a joint, we can often reline it, which puts a new pipe inside the old one without a trench. Where the pipe has collapsed, digging is the only honest answer. The camera decides it, not a guess.
Do you warrant your work?
Yes. If something is not right after we have left, ring us and we will come back and put it right at our cost. That is part of the STS Guarantee above.
Where we work around Cammeray
Cammeray sits in the middle of our everyday patch. We are in these streets most weeks, not driving across Sydney to get to you.
Need a plumber in Cammeray?
Ring us for anything urgent and we will tell you what it usually means before we get there. For a bathroom, a roof or a sewer repair, ask us to come and look at it properly. There is no charge for the visit.
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.