How The Changes In Seasons Can Affect Your Water Pipes [Port Adelaide Situation]

In Adelaide we have quiet distinct changes in seasons from cold wet winters through to hot dry summers, we certainly get a good variety of weather through the 12 months of the year.  With these changes in season, you might notice things like movement in a building where doors may get tighter to close and cracks in the house may open and then close depending on the time of year. What you may or may not notice is the ground shrinking and expanding with the various seasons we experience.  This can be a problem for the plumbing pipes in the ground and lead to burst water pipe or a cracked drain line below ground.

Common Plumbing Problems Caused by Ground Movement

When summer time comes, we often find ourselves very busy in and around Port Adelaide and Rose Water.  This location of Adelaide is known for its heavy industry with companies such as Adelaide Brighton Cement, ASC, Kalari, Symons Clark Logistics, Rapid Haulage and Port Adelaide Construction.  All these businesses rely upon key elements of their plumbing pipes to function consistently without a glitch. Unfortunately, during summer when the ground dries out and becomes very hot the copper water lines in the ground are put under extreme pressure and any weak point can lead to a split or burst water line.  It’s not uncommon to be called out to Largs Bay and Osborne for multiple broken water pipes during summer and of course let’s not forget the occasional broken fire hydrant that gets backed over by a truck every now and again!

Soil Conditions in Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide and its surrounding suburbs such as Birken Head, Semaphore, Taperoo and Ethelton are all very close to the ocean and with this means that majority of the properties soil conditions are sandy.  Sandy soil typically means much easy digging for our plumbers, so that can be one bonus of repairing broken water mains in the Port. Another positive with the location of these properties so close to the ocean is that the underground aquifer is shallow so those people who have a bore will find pumping water relatively easy as many of these suction lines are only around 4 to 7 metres in depth. Many of the old warehouses used for wool, SA Ambulance and other goods right in the heart of Port Adelaide on Crozier Street and Fisher Street are still standing strong today and this would have due to the deep footings and piles drilled into the ground to allow these huge structures to withstand the sandy soils and their movements during seasonal changes.

The Future of the Port

Port Adelaide has been under redevelopment now for many years and with this we are seeing the introduction of multi storey apartment blocks, hotels such as the Quest and many of the old pubs being restored to the former beauty.  I think it is still a long way off before the port becomes 100% transformed but as the popularity of Adelaide grows so will the attraction or the Port and its beautiful beach side suburbs. If you need a plumber in Port Adelaide call MAYFAIR PLUMBING on 0429 361 819