Vlog

Darius Follows the Water Trail and Uncovers Hidden Time Bombs in the Roof

You’d think 30ml per minute wouldn’t be a big deal — but give it enough time, and you’ve got a collapsed ceiling, soaked timber flooring, and a very stressed customer.

This job was one for the books. Darius was called out to inspect ongoing water damage with no obvious source. What he found was a classic Perth plumbing nightmare.

🔍 What Darius Found
• Ceiling collapsed with a bucket catching the steady drip
• Water bubbling up through timber flooring around the waste
• Shower above looked fine — but it wasn’t the real culprit
• External plumbing sealed poorly (not the issue, but yikes)
• Dodgy PEX piping up the wall and into the roof

💬 “This was the plumbing equivalent of ‘Where’s Wally’ — but with water.” Classic signs where water leak detection is required. 

🔧 How He Solved It
• Pressure tested the upstairs plumbing
• Found a puddle sitting in the roof space
• Cut and capped two suspicious water feeds
• Then found kinked PEX pipes with no elbows — dangerously installed and likely to fail
• Identified the root issue and recommended future-proofing the rest

✅ Pro tip: Poor installation = guaranteed future disaster. Don’t wait for the pipes to let go!

A Start-to-Finish Look at How We Tackle Blockages the Right Way

When drains block up, it’s often a case of tree roots creeping into the system — and that’s exactly what Darius found on this Perth call-out.

In this job, you’ll see Plumbdog’s full blocked drain process in action, using all the right gear to locate, clear, and confirm the issue is fully resolved.

🔍 Step 1: Locate the Blockage

After arriving on site, Darius:

• Found the inspection opening (I/O)
• Immediately saw tree roots visible in the pipe
• Dropped in the CCTV camera to assess how far the roots had spread

💬 “You can often see roots right from the I/O, but the CCTV gives us the full picture — how deep they go, and where they’re coming in.”

💦 Step 2: Clear the Roots with High-Pressure Jetting

Once the blockage was confirmed, Darius:

• Fired up the high-pressure water jetter
• Used the jetter in tandem with the CCTV camera for precision cleaning
• Methodically worked through the pipe, breaking up and flushing out the roots
• Retrieved a bucketful of roots — a satisfying result!

✅ Step 3: Confirm It’s Clear

After clearing the blockage:

• Ran the CCTV one more time to confirm the drain was root-free
• Flushed the toilet inside the house to check for proper flow
• Backfilled the inspection point and relaid the pavers neatly

Job done. Drain cleared. Customer sorted.

🐶 “Can You Move Your Van?” — The Tradie Question That Haunts Us All 🚐🤣

Richard’s Rant from the Driver’s Seat… Literally.

Let’s set the scene.

It’s 40 degrees. You’ve just rolled up to the customer’s property. You haven’t even popped the bonnet on your tool bag. You’re mid-sip of your servo coffee…

And they say:

“Umm, can you move your van? I need to get my car out.”

💥 Enter: The Worst Part of the Job™ (as declared by Richard).

🤦‍♂️ What You’ll See in This Vlog:

• Richard trying to reverse a VW Crafter (a.k.a. a yacht on wheels)
• A long, narrow driveway with zero forgiveness
• A slightly emotional rant — the kind only tradies truly understand
• And a message for all customers everywhere:

“Check the text message we sent you… we did warn you!”

📱 Yes, We Actually Warn You in Advance!

At Plumbdog, we try to make life easier:

• Every job gets an automated SMS on the way
• It includes your ETA and a friendly reminder:

“If you need access to your vehicle, please move it out of the driveway prior to arrival.”

It’s polite, professional, and totally ignored 73% of the time. 😅

🎥 Watch the Chaos Unfold

🚐 A Message to Our Fellow Tradies

We see you.
We feel your gearbox grinding.
We too have stood in a stranger’s driveway whispering, “Why… like this?”

Drop a comment if this has ever happened to you — or if you’ve ever rage-Googled “how to reverse a van without breaking your soul.”

🐾 Plumbdog — Perth’s real plumbers, real vans, and real bruised egos from reversing in driveways.

Another day, another mystery for our Plumbdog pups to sniff out—and this time, the trail led us to Morley, WA, where a homeowner was left scratching their head over a sudden spike in their water bill.

Enter Darius, our seasoned water leak detection expert from Plumbdog Plumbing Perth, ready to get to the bottom of things!

Step 1: Water Meter Check 🔎

First stop? The water meter at the front of the property. A quick check confirmed there was definitely water loss happening on the property—a clear sign of a hidden leak. Time to unleash the tools of the trade.

Step 2: Listening In with Acoustic Gear 🎧

Darius grabbed his specialty acoustic leak detection equipment—gear designed to listen for the subtle sound of water escaping underground. He walked the area slowly, ears wide open…

And guess what? The sound led him right underneath his parked van in the driveway! 😅 That’s right—the leak was directly under his own wheels the whole time.

Step 3: Pinpointing the Leak & Preparing the Fix 🔨

After moving the van, Darius used compressed air and pinpointing methods to track the exact leak location under the driveway. Once identified, he provided the homeowner with a clear and honest quote to carry out the repair.

With one leak located and logged, Darius was off again—hitting the road to help another Perth local with a burst pipe. It’s all in a day’s work for the Plumbdog pack!

🎥 Watch the full video of Darius on the job!

Got a high water bill? Suspect a hidden leak?

At Plumbdog Plumbing, we use specialist acoustic leak detection equipment to track down even the trickiest underground leaks—no digging and no guesswork.

🐾 Give us a whistle today and let the Plumbdog pups sort it out!
📞 Contact Plumbdog Plumbing