Mosman and the harbour side
Plumber in Kirribilli
Blocked drains, leaks, hot water and strata work across Kirribilli, where most of the plumbing is shared, the access is tight and the harbour is never far away.
- 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 Kirribilli
- Apartment stacks and risers. Older buildings with shared pipework, and a report the strata manager can act on.
- Terraces with tight access. No side path and no parking. We plan the job before the day, not on it.
- Leaks between floors. Water coming through a ceiling from the unit above, found and fixed at the source.
- Salt air. Hard on roofs, flashings and exposed pipework.
- Hot water in units. Replacements that fit the space and the building's rules.
Kirribilli is a regular stop for us on the harbour side of the Lower North Shore.
In more detail
The three we get called about most
Stacks and risers
Most Kirribilli plumbing is shared. The stack that serves your bathroom serves five other flats, and a problem in one of them lands in the lowest one.
We work out which line the fault is actually on before anybody starts pulling things apart, and the finding goes to the strata manager with photos. Fixed price, agreed before we start.
Strata plumbingLeaks between floors
Water coming through a ceiling from the flat above is the most common call we get here, and it is almost never coming from where it appears.
We locate it properly, which usually means the difference between one repair and two ceilings. Then you get it in writing, which is what an owners corporation needs before it can act.
Finding leaksHot water in units
A hot water replacement in a Kirribilli flat is half plumbing and half logistics. Narrow stairs, no parking, a lift with a booking sheet and a cupboard the new unit has to fit inside.
We measure and plan it before the day rather than on it, sort the building's requirements, and take the old unit away with us.
Hot waterIt’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 failed water main under a Kirribilli kitchen
The problem
A family found a severe leak on their main water supply line. It had already damaged the kitchen and was heading for the lower level. With young children in the house they needed it dealt with properly, not patched.
What we did
We isolated the water and used leak detection gear to pin down the source before opening anything up. An ageing pipe under the kitchen floor had corroded and split. A patch would have held for a while and then failed somewhere else on the same run, so we recommended replacing the whole section in modern pipe.
The result
The run was replaced rather than patched, so the same pipe is not going to let go again in a year. Minimal time with the water off, and the price agreed before we started.
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 Kirribilli
Our job records run from 2016. Since then we have completed 272 jobs in Kirribilli.
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
- 130 taps, toilets and everyday repairs
- 73 blocked drains cleared
- 42 sewer and stormwater repairs
- 28 hot water repairs and replacements
- 18 roofing and guttering
Plenty of jobs cover more than one of these, so the numbers overlap rather than add up.
About the suburb
Plumbing in Kirribilli
Kirribilli, postcode 2061, is the small harbourside suburb just north of the Harbour Bridge, between Milsons Point and Neutral Bay. It's a suburb of Victorian terraces, Federation houses, art deco and interwar flat blocks, and newer apartments, on narrow streets that drop steeply to the water, with the shops and cafes along Fitzroy Street and Broughton Street in the middle.
The terraces and flats are old, and so is their plumbing. Earthenware sewers with roots in the joints, cast iron stacks, galvanised water services that have rusted inside, and pipework that was run wherever it would fit inside walls and under floors a century ago. A blocked drain in a Kirribilli terrace is usually roots or a collapsed section of the old line, and the fix is the camera to find it, jetting to clear it, and a reline where the pipe is sound. Where it's collapsed we replace that section and leave the rest alone.
The flat blocks along Kirribilli Avenue, Carabella Street and Elamang Avenue share their sewer stacks, stormwater and hot water between all the units, and the older ones were built with earthenware and galvanised pipe throughout. A blockage on a shared stack turns up in the lowest flat first. We work with the strata manager, camera the stack, and put the finding in writing with photos so the committee can approve the work without a second visit.
Access is the thing about Kirribilli. The streets are narrow, parking is tight, the terraces have no side access and the flats have shared entries. We plan for that, turn up with what the job needs, and keep the mess out of the common areas.
The cafes and restaurants along Fitzroy Street and Broughton Street ring us for the things that stop trade: a blocked grease trap, a hot water unit that's given up on a weekend, a tap that won't shut off in the customer toilet. We plan commercial jobs so they're done between services rather than during one.
Kirribilli is a regular stop for us on the harbour side of the Lower North Shore, a few minutes from 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, or ask us to come and look at a bigger job. There's no charge for the site 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 Kirribilli
- 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 our customers say
We've been very pleased with Simon, David and team at STS Plumbing for their work at our unit with our tenant. Always replied to emails and texts, were good at communicating timings. Knowledgeable and easy to speak with. Great local business.
Tia Hogan, Google reviewQuestions we get asked in Kirribilli
What does a plumber in Kirribilli 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.
Water is coming through my ceiling from the flat above. What do I do?
Ring us and ring your strata manager. Do not wait for the flat above to sort it out, because the longer it runs the more ceiling comes down. We find where the water is actually getting in, which is often not the flat directly above, and put the finding in writing so the owners corporation can act on it.
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 Kirribilli
Kirribilli is a regular stop for us on the harbour side of the Lower North Shore.
Need a plumber in Kirribilli?
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.