A detached home exterior with an established front garden

Plumber Northwood

Licensed local plumbers, on the Lower North Shore.

Northwood 2066 24/7 NSW Lic. 476657C

Blocked drains, hot water, leaks, gas and emergency repairs for Northwood homes, businesses and strata — with a fixed price agreed before the work starts.

No callout fee on eligible jobs · Free quotes

Fixed upfront pricingPriced by the job, not the hour
24/7 emergencySomeone answers at 3am
Lifetime labour warrantyOn eligible work
Licensed & insuredNSW licence 476657C

What the plumbing is like in Northwood

Named for Northwood House, designed by Edmund Blacket and built for Mrs Jane Davy in 1878. She had a ferry built at her own expense so the family could reach the city by water — the service that opened the peninsula up.

The opposite of everywhere else in this group: 92.7% of occupied dwellings are separate houses and just 1.4% are flats, across only 289 dwellings.

Freestanding houses on a river peninsula means long private drainage runs from the house to the connection, and the whole line is the owner’s.

Why it matters: This is the one suburb in the group where the ownership question is simple and the locating question is hard: long private runs on sloping riverside blocks, where finding the fault accurately is most of the job.
Copper plumbing fittings laid out ready for installation

What typically goes wrong in Northwood

These jobs come up here more than they come up elsewhere. They follow from what Northwood is built from, when it was built, and what it sits on.

The whole private line is yours

At 92.7% separate houses, nearly every job here involves a private drain running the full distance from the house to the connection. A fault can sit anywhere along it.

Woodland roots on river blocks

The suburb was named for its woodland, and mature trees sit close to private drainage on most properties.

Sloping riverside sites

Land falling towards the Lane Cove River between Woodford Bay and Gore Creek means long stormwater paths and retaining structures that depend on drainage nobody sees.

A new drainage pipe bedded in gravel in an open trench

Most repeat blockages are a pipe problem, not a blockage problem. We look before we quote.

What we do in Northwood

Every job below is handled by a licensed plumber, quoted before it starts, and covered by the lifetime labour warranty on eligible work.

Blocked drains

Cleared properly, with a camera down the line to find out why it blocked.

Pipe relining

Fix a cracked or root-damaged pipe without digging up the garden.

Emergency plumbing

Burst pipes, sewage overflows and gas faults — 24 hours a day.

Hot water

Repairs and replacements across electric, gas, solar and heat pump.

Leak detection

Find a hidden leak before anyone opens a wall or a slab.

Gas fitting

Licensed gas work — appliances, new lines and suspected faults.

CCTV drain inspections

See what is actually in the pipe instead of guessing at it.

Burst pipes

Isolate, repair and make good — usually the same day.

Stormwater drainage

Get roof and surface water away from the house properly.

Copper plumbing fittings laid out ready for installation

Not sure what you’re dealing with?

Describe what’s happening at your Northwood property and we’ll tell you straight — including when the simple fix is the whole job.

The ground under Northwood

What a job looks like here depends on what the suburb is built from and built on. Start with how people actually live in it:

Separate houses 92.7%Semis & townhouses 3.5%Flats & apartments 1.4%

Ground and slope

On the northern side of the Lane Cove River between Woodford Bay and Gore Creek, about 8 km north-west of the CBD.

Trees and roots

A woodland setting — the name means exactly that — with mature trees close to private drainage on most blocks.

Council

Northwood sits in the Municipality of Lane Cove, postcode 2066. Work needing a compliance certificate is lodged the same way across the LGA.

What plumbing work costs in Northwood

Nobody likes ringing for a price and being told “it depends”. These are typical ranges across the Sydney market — not Voyager’s price list, but a realistic yardstick to judge any quote against, including ours.

$150 – $400Clearing a simple blockage
$450 – $800Pipe relining, per lineal metre
$1,200 – $3,500Hot water replaced, supplied and installed
Drains and pipes
Clearing a simple blockage $150 – $400
Clearing a blocked main sewer line $300 – $600
High-pressure jetting $250 – $600
Cutting tree roots from a line $400 – $1,200
CCTV drain inspection $250 – $550
Pipe relining, per lineal metre $450 – $800
Pipe relining, typical whole job $4,000 – $10,000
Excavate and replace, per metre $300 – $600
Repairs
Leaking tap — washer or cartridge $120 – $250
Burst pipe, accessible $250 – $500
Burst pipe, underground $800 – $2,500+
Hot water, leaks and emergencies
Hot water repair (element, thermostat, anode) $150 – $550
Hot water replaced, supplied and installed $1,200 – $3,500
Water leak detection $250 – $600
After-hours emergency attendance $400 – $900
What drives the price in Northwood: The opposite of its neighbours: freestanding houses on long private runs, so locating the fault accurately is most of the value. A camera and a pipe locator turn a whole-yard excavation into a single-metre repair on blocks this size.

Hot water replacement above is supplied and installed — labour-only quotes look cheaper because they are not the same thing. And relining costs more per metre than digging, but that comparison ignores excavation, spoil removal and putting your driveway back, which is where dig jobs get expensive.

Voyager prices by the job, not by the hour, so the number you approve is the number you pay.

Whose pipe is it in Northwood?

Northwood is 92.7% freestanding houses, so the ownership question here is usually straightforward — and worth knowing, because it decides who pays.

You are responsible for the wastewater pipes between your property and the point of connection to the network. Sydney Water is responsible for the main that carries waste away from multiple properties. Most of the pipe that can actually fail on a block like yours is yours to maintain.

On a detached block the fault can be anywhere along a long private run, so locating it accurately is most of the job. A camera and a pipe locator turn a whole-yard excavation into a targeted repair.

Worth knowing: the point of connection is not always inside your boundary, so “on my land” and “my responsibility” are not the same line. A Sewer Service Diagram settles it — we can pull one before quoting.

Sources: Sydney Water — maintaining your service

Emergency plumber in Northwood

Some problems wait for a booking. Burst pipes, sewage backing up, a hot water unit emptying itself into the floor and any suspected gas fault do not.

Voyager runs a 24/7 line for Northwood and the rest of the Lower North Shore. When you call, say what’s happening, where it is, and whether water, sewage or gas is involved — that’s what decides how fast someone needs to be there.

Before we arrive: turn off the affected supply if it’s safe to do so, and move what you can away from the water. Don’t pour drain chemicals down a blocked line — it makes the pipe unsafe to inspect and rarely clears the blockage.

More on emergency plumbing · Burst pipe repairs

Water running from a chrome mixer tap

Access in Northwood

Straightforward suburban access on most blocks, though the drainage line can run a long way from the street across sloping ground to the river side of the property.

We assess access before quoting rather than discovering it on the day. On constrained sites it often decides which repair method is realistic, and that changes the price.

An excavator digging a trench for underground drainage work
Rainwater pouring from a roof gutter during heavy rain

Storm season finds every drain that was never quite right. Better to know before it rains.

What happens after you call

1

Tell us what’s happening

A short call is usually enough to tell whether it’s urgent, and what’s likely to be involved.

2

We look before we quote

Where it matters, that means a camera down the line rather than a guess from the surface.

3

A fixed price, agreed first

Priced by the job, not the hour. You approve it before anything starts.

4

The work, and what’s next

You get told what caused it and whether anything else needs attention — including when the answer is nothing.

Also serving the suburbs around Northwood

Voyager covers the whole Lower North Shore. These are the closest to Northwood:

Northwood plumbing questions

How quickly can a plumber get to Northwood?

Voyager runs 24/7 for urgent work in Northwood. How fast depends on where crews are at the time, but genuine emergencies — burst pipes, sewage overflows, suspected gas — are prioritised over booked jobs. Call 0485 028 787 and describe what’s happening.

What’s the most common plumbing problem in Northwood?

The whole private line is yours. At 92.7% separate houses, nearly every job here involves a private drain running the full distance from the house to the connection. A fault can sit anywhere along it.

Who is responsible for the drain at my Northwood property?

In Northwood, where 92.7% of homes are freestanding, you are responsible for the wastewater pipes between your property and the point of connection. Sydney Water maintains the main. Because that point is not always inside your boundary, a Sewer Service Diagram is the reliable way to know where your pipework actually runs.

Do you charge a callout fee in Northwood?

There’s no callout fee on eligible jobs, and quotes are free. You get a fixed price for the work before anything starts — priced by the job, not by the hour, so a job that takes longer than expected doesn’t cost you more.

Why does the same drain keep blocking at my Northwood property?

Usually because the blockage was cleared but the cause wasn’t found. Freestanding houses on a river peninsula means long private drainage runs from the house to the connection, and the whole line is the owner’s. A camera inspection shows whether you’re dealing with a one-off or a damaged pipe that will keep catching.

Can you get equipment to my property in Northwood?

Straightforward suburban access on most blocks, though the drainage line can run a long way from the street across sloping ground to the river side of the property. We work that out before quoting, because on constrained sites it decides which repair method is realistic.

Do I need to dig up the garden to fix a broken pipe in Northwood?

Often not. This is the one suburb in the group where the ownership question is simple and the locating question is hard: long private runs on sloping riverside blocks, where finding the fault accurately is most of the job. Relining repairs the pipe from the inside, which leaves driveways, paving and established gardens intact. Whether it suits your pipe depends on its condition — that’s what the camera inspection determines.

How much will it cost to fix in Northwood?

Across the Sydney market a simple blockage runs $150–$400, jetting a main line $250–$600, and pipe relining $450–$800 per lineal metre with most whole jobs landing between $4,000 and $10,000. Those are market ranges rather than Voyager’s price list. The opposite of its neighbours: freestanding houses on long private runs, so locating the fault accurately is most of the value. A camera and a pipe locator turn a whole-yard excavation into a single-metre repair on blocks this size. Voyager prices by the job, not the hour, and the price is agreed before work starts.

Are you licensed and insured?

Yes — Voyager Plumbing holds NSW Contractor Licence 476657C, which you can check directly on the NSW Fair Trading register. All work is carried out by licensed plumbers and covered by public liability insurance.

Licensed plumbing service, NSW accreditationVoyager Plumbing lifetime labour guarantee on workmanship badge

Talk to a licensed Northwood plumber

Free quote, a fixed price agreed before the work starts, and someone on the end of the phone at any hour.

Voyager Plumbing · NSW Contractor Licence 476657C
Verify with NSW Fair Trading

Page reviewed and updated 13 August 2026