WATER MAINS · NORTH SHORE
Water Mains North Shore
The pipe between the toby and the house.
Supply line replacement and new water mains across the North Shore. If the pressure in an older house has fallen away, the cause is usually out in the ground rather than inside the walls.
Water mains
Why the pressure drops in older North Shore homes
Galvanised steel supply pipe was standard for decades and a great deal of it is still in the ground across the Shore. It fails in a particular and predictable way: it corrodes from the inside, and the corrosion builds inward until the bore is a fraction of what it started as.
From inside the house that looks like slowly declining pressure. Showers weaken, filling a bath takes longer, and running two outlets at once becomes impossible. Because it happens over years, most people adjust to it without noticing.
The thing that catches people out is spending money in the wrong place. New tapware, a new cylinder or a new shower will not improve flow that is being strangled by a supply line. It is worth establishing where the restriction actually is before replacing anything inside.
How to tell it is the supply
If pressure is poor at every outlet in the house rather than one, and the house predates the 1970s, the supply line is the first suspect. If it is poor at one outlet only, the problem is closer to that fitting. That one distinction saves a lot of money spent in the wrong direction.
What it costs
What changes the price of a supply line
Almost all of it is about what sits between the toby and the house.
How far it has to run
A townhouse with the toby a few metres from the wall is a short job. A large section in Greenhithe or Silverwater with a long driveway is a different proposition entirely, and length is the first thing we measure.
What the pipe has to cross
Lawn and garden is straightforward. A concrete driveway, established paving or mature trees are not. Sometimes we can thread a new line around the obstacle rather than through it, which is usually the cheaper answer.
Where it enters the house
The point where the supply comes through the foundation is often the most awkward part of the job, particularly on a slab or where the entry has been built over at some stage.
Whether internal pipework also needs doing
If the supply line is galvanised, the pipework inside often is too. Replacing the line outside and leaving restricted pipe inside gives a disappointing result, so it is worth knowing the state of both before deciding.
Where our responsibility starts. The water meter and the pipework on the street side of it belong to Watercare. From the toby into and around your property is the owner’s, and that is the part we work on. If the problem turns out to be on their side we will tell you, and that becomes a call to them rather than a bill from us.
What we install
New supply lines and internal replacement
New supply runs go in as polyethylene, the blue pipe, which is what current practice uses for buried supply. It is flexible enough to be routed around obstacles, it does not corrode the way galvanised steel does, and it can be laid in a narrow trench rather than an excavation.
Inside the house, replacement supply is generally copper or PEX depending on the situation, the layout and what is accessible. Where linings are already open for a renovation, that work costs a fraction of what it costs later.
We also handle the connection at both ends: the toby end, and the point where the line enters the building and meets the internal pipework.
Leak detection if water is disappearing undergroundRenovation plumbing
Backflow prevention
Coverage
Water mains work across the North Shore
Supply line work throughout the Shore and the Hibiscus Coast.
Questions
Water mains questions
How do I know if my water main is the problem?
The test is whether pressure is poor everywhere or in one place. Poor at every outlet in the house points at the supply line, particularly if the house was built before the 1970s when galvanised steel was standard. Poor at a single tap or shower points at that fitting or the run feeding it. Establishing which before spending money is the whole point.
How long does replacing a supply line take?
For a typical suburban section with a clear run, often a day. What stretches it is distance, and anything the line has to cross. A long driveway, established paving or mature trees all add time, and sometimes the better answer is routing around an obstacle rather than going through it. We measure the run before quoting.
Will a new water main fix my shower pressure?
If the restriction is in the supply line, yes, and the difference is usually obvious. If the internal pipework is also old galvanised, replacing only the outside line will improve things but not transform them, because the water still has to travel through narrowed pipe once it is inside. Worth checking the state of both before committing.
Who owns the pipe, me or Watercare?
The meter and everything on the street side of it is Watercare’s. From the toby onto and through your property is the owner’s responsibility, and that is what we work on. If we look at a pressure problem and conclude it originates on their side, we will say so, which makes it a call to them rather than work for us.
Do you have to dig up the whole lawn?
Usually not. Modern polyethylene supply pipe goes into a narrow trench rather than a wide excavation, and it is flexible enough to be routed around obstacles instead of through them. Reinstatement is part of the job. On a straightforward run the disruption is far less than people expect.
Pressure dropped off across the whole house?
Tell us roughly when the house was built and whether every outlet is affected. That usually tells us straight away whether it is the supply line or something closer in.
Or call the team09 213 9815