Plumber in Parkhurst

Parkhurst is one of the few Joburg suburbs where the houses still feel like the city's original blueprint. Most of the cottages along 4th Avenue, 12th Street and the cross streets between were built in the 1930s, with corrugated iron roofs, pressed-tin ceilings, narrow passages and tiny bathrooms tucked into the back of the house. They're beautiful, but they were never built with modern plumbing in mind — and that's where most of the work we do here comes from.

The original galvanised supply pipes have a service life of about 50-60 years. Most of Parkhurst is now well past that mark. We see homes where the inside of the pipework is scaled almost shut, where the joints are weeping behind walls, and where the water pressure at the kitchen tap is a third of what it should be. The fix is rarely glamorous, but it's almost always the same: chase out the old pipework section by section and replace it with copper or modern PEX, properly secured and properly insulated.

• Slow or no hot water — usually a tired element or a thermostat that's tripped. Sometimes it's a scaled-up geyser that's reached the end of its life.
• Low pressure at the kitchen tap — almost always corroded galvanised pipework on the cold supply line.
• Leaks behind tiles or under floorboards — old joints failing in places no one can see until water shows up somewhere it shouldn't.
• Blocked drains and slow runoff — old clay sewer pipes, often invaded by tree roots from the mature jacarandas and oaks lining the streets.
• Geyser failures in tight roof spaces — many Parkhurst cottages have geysers wedged into pitched roofs with very little working room.
• Pre-sale Plumbing Certificates of Compliance — older cottages almost always need a few small remediation items before they pass.

The original Parkhurst cottage bathroom is small. Often tiny. Usually with one window, an old cast-iron bath against the back wall, a basin, and a toilet jammed into whatever space was left. Many of the renovations we do here are about getting more out of the same square meterage — better layout, modern fittings, proper waterproofing, and a finish that respects the rest of the house.

1. Strip out and assess. We open up walls and floors carefully, document what's behind, and confirm the scope before we go any further.
2. Plumbing rework. Old galvanised supply lines come out, new copper or PEX goes in, and the drainage gets checked and re-laid where needed.
3. Waterproofing. Proper bath and shower waterproofing — the most important step, and the one that's most often skipped on cheap jobs.
4. Tiling and finishes. Floor and wall tiling done by our own team, not subcontracted, so the standard stays consistent.
5. Fittings. Taps, shower mixers, basins, toilet, towel rails — chosen with you, fitted by us.
6. Final test and handover. Pressure test, leak test, walk-through with you, and we don't leave until you're happy.

One of the conversations we have on every Parkhurst bathroom job is about what to keep. Original cast-iron clawfoot baths can almost always be re-enamelled and re-piped — they look stunning, last another 50 years, and are part of why you bought the cottage in the first place. Old chrome taps usually aren't worth saving. Original tile borders can sometimes be saved if you're careful. We give you the honest answer, not the one that pads the invoice.

Parkhurst geyser jobs are often more about access than anything else. The original cottages have low pitched roofs and small ceiling hatches — getting a 150L cylinder out of one of them takes patience and the right approach. We've done hundreds of these and we know which streets have the awkward roof spaces.