What plumbing work can I do and when do I need to call a plumber?

What plumbing work can you do? Not much, there are very limited tasks that you can DIY when it comes to your home plumbing. Plumbing work is regulated and bound by the Australian laws and regulations. DIY plumbing work gone wrong can land you in the soup. So yes, you can try to replace a washer in a tap or install a showerhead but for everything else, like dealing with blocked drains or hot water system repairs, call a licenced plumber to ensure it's done properly and the work is fully insured.

DIY work can mean your home and contents insurance won't cover you if something goes wrong. It's a well-known fact that faulty plumbing can very quickly cause extensive damage to your home, whether it's water or sewage. It may be tempting to save some money by doing simple repairs around your home yourself. However, if anything goes wrong, you may have to shell out more money than you actually intended.

What DIY plumbing work is allowed in NSW?

There are small repairs that you can do, like:

• Replacing a washer in a leaking tap
• Installing a showerhead
• Replacing a drop valve washer, float valve washer or suction cup rubber in a water closet cistern
• Set up an irrigation or lawn watering system downstream from an isolating valve
• Clean or maintain ground level grates to traps on sanitary drains
• Replace caps to ground level inspection openings on sanitary drains

Although DIY plumbing work may look simple, often it would often take less time for an experienced plumber to do it. Even small things like washers or showerheads can be tricky to DIY as they have different configurations. You may end up wasting a lot of time and money on getting the right part and doing the installation correctly yourself. And even then it can go wrong if you break a pipe and flood your home.

What DIY plumbing is not allowed?

Like many other professional trades, plumbing is also strictly regulated and bound by the Australian laws and standards. There are limited things that you can do yourself and for the rest you need to call a licensed plumber.

Anything that deals with drinking water or sewerage cannot be done by unlicensed individuals. If you need to repair leaky taps, noisy pipes, install a new hot water system, or unblock the stormwater drains, contact a plumber immediately.

Although DIY work may sound appealing and simple to you, plumbers undergo regular training and are trained in doing the job right. So when you face any issue, give a call to our reliable local Sydney plumbers.

What happens if you ignore the plumbing laws in NSW?

• Any damage caused by the plumbing work you did cannot be claimed with insurance
• Warranty of your appliance will be void
• You can get a fine of $32,000 or more if your work is identified under Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018
• You won’t be able to sell your property in case your unlicensed plumbing work is identified during the building inspection

How to hire a plumber?

Before hiring a plumber, make sure that you check:

• Do they hold a valid license?
• Are they insured?

Monday is usually a busy day for our plumbers, fixing up the do-it-yourself plumbing work attempted on the weekends. Unfortunately, the professional repair work can often cost significantly more than just getting a licenced plumber to do the job in the first place.

Find out more here - Plumbing problems - when to call a plumber?

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