Questions, answered straight.

The plumbing side of it, end to end: drainage set-out and core-holes through slab, in-wall cistern and bath rough-ins, then back for the fit-off once tiling is done. We work in with your builder and tiler, and after enough bathrooms together, we can also bring trades we already trust. It is the work our Instagram is full of.

Yes. Accessibility bathrooms are part of the renovation work: set-outs for hobless showers, in-wall cisterns, grab-rail backing and floor wastes that meet the layout the OT and builder are working to. We quote the plumbing against those drawings before the room is stripped.

Yes. Donza Plumbing is run by Josh, a licensed plumber and gas fitter, and the business carries $20 million public liability cover (Donza Plumbing Pty Ltd, ABN 51 697 209 153). The gas part matters: gas work is separately licensed in NSW, so we can legally handle gas appliances and hot water that plumbing-only operators cannot. Every job is left compliant to AS/NZS 3500 and, for gas, AS/NZS 5601.

Yes, where the work requires it. Plumbing work is certified to AS/NZS 3500, and gas work is finished with a gas compliance certificate to AS/NZS 5601. It is your proof the work is safe, certified and the kind of thing your insurer or settlement agent will want to see.

Yes. TMVs blend hot and cold to a safe outlet temperature and are a regular part of our hot water and compliance work, including NDIS and commercial outlets. We install, service and replace them.

In NSW, healthcare and aged care buildings, early childhood centres, primary and secondary schools, and similar facilities for the aged, the sick, children or people with disabilities cannot rely on the water heater's own setting when hot water work is done. They need a temperature control device, and a TMV is the valve commonly specified, including on disability-access and NDIS bathrooms. Field-testing follows AS 4032.3 and the manufacturer's instructions, so the interval depends on the facility type; hospitals also run a monthly temperature check on each TMV. The owner should get a written report. Unlike a backflow result, it is not lodged with the water authority.

TMV testing in NSW

Yes. Testable backflow prevention devices must be tested and certified every year and lodged with your water authority. Central Coast Council or Hunter Water, depending on where you are. We install, repair and carry out the annual test and certification, a recurring compliance job many households and small businesses forget until a notice arrives.

Backflow testing explained

If the kitchen produces greasy or oily wastewater, yes. It counts as trade waste, so it needs a grease trap (the water authorities call it a grease arrestor) and written approval before the discharge starts. Lake Macquarie and Newcastle sites apply to Hunter Water, which recognises arrestors from 1,000 to 5,000 litres. Central Coast suburbs apply to Central Coast Council, where the required equipment is set in the approval for that site. A licensed plumber installs the trap to the authority's requirements, and an accredited contractor pumps it out.

Grease trap requirements in NSW

Yes. Burst pipes, overflowing sewers and no-hot-water jobs are quoted before we leave and attended around the clock. The after-hours rate is agreed on the phone, not after we turn up.

We give you a clear, fixed price before any work starts, so there are no surprises. Send a few details through, or call, and Josh will talk through the job and the price. You approve the number before we pick up a tool.

As a guide, licensed plumbers around Australia typically charge $90–$140 an hour, with most small jobs falling in a predictable range. We give you a clear, fixed price before we start rather than an open-ended hourly rate. See our pricing guide for typical figures.

We talk through the job and the price upfront before any work begins, so you are never surprised by the bill. Where after-hours work is genuinely needed, the rate is discussed and agreed before we head out, not after.

In NSW, plumbing and gas fitting are licensed separately, and plenty of plumbers are not authorised to touch gas. Josh holds both, so for gas hot water, cooktops, heaters and leaks you get one licensed tradesperson who can do the whole job, certify it, and not subcontract the gas out. That is the work a plumbing-only operator has to turn away.

Gas fitter on the Central Coast

Under 8 years old with a failed valve or element, repair is usually worth it. Older than 10 years, or a leaking tank, and replacement is the honest answer. We quote both options and the running-cost difference, including whether a heat-pump rebate applies, so you can make the call on real numbers.

Hot water replacement cost guide·Why your hot water might be costing more·Heat pump rebates in NSW

Yes. As a licensed gas fitter Josh can install and connect gas cooktops, ovens, heaters, gas hot water and bayonet points, run or extend gas lines, and issue the gas compliance certificate. We work with both natural gas and LPG, worth knowing here, because supply varies street by street and is a question for the meter rather than the suburb.

Swapping a gas appliance over: the guide

Most household blockages clear in a single visit with a jetter or drain machine. If a drain keeps blocking we run a CCTV camera through it so you know whether it is tree roots, a collapsed section or just buildup, and exactly what fixing it properly costs.

Why a drain keeps blocking in the same spot

Turn the water off at the meter (usually a tap at the front boundary), open a tap to drain the pressure, and keep electricals clear of the water, then call. Knowing where your isolation valve is before an emergency is half the battle.

Burst pipe: what to do before we arrive

Usually something that went down that fixture: cooking oil, fat and food scraps in the kitchen sink, hair and soap scum in the shower or basin, or wet wipes and sanitary items in the toilet, including wipes sold as flushable. Outside, tree roots through a joint, leaves and silt in a stormwater pit, or a pipe that has dropped in the ground do the same job. A plunger on the fixture is fine to try. Caustic or acid drain cleaner on a blockage you cannot see is not, and sewer inspection points should stay closed.

What causes a blocked drain

When the same drain keeps blocking, before you buy a house (a standard NSW building inspection does not normally cover drainage), before anyone quotes relining or digging, and after a sewer overflow once it is stopped and cleaned up. The camera shows roots, cracks, collapsed or bellied sections, grease and foreign objects, and how far along the pipe the fault sits. You keep the footage, and the repair is quoted as a fixed price off it. A one-off blockage that clears and stays clear does not need one.

What a CCTV drain inspection shows

We're based in Mannering Park and cover Newcastle, the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter, still servicing Lake Munmorah and the lakes corridor. Summerland Point, Gwandalan, Budgewoi, Toukley, Woongarrah, Morisset, Swansea and the suburbs between. If you're just outside that and not sure, ask.

Yes. Mains-pressure pumps and pressure vessels when the street pressure is weak, and whole-home filtration with multi-stage cartridges, UV sterilisation and a bypass so the house can stay on while the filters are serviced. We quote the setup off a look at the supply, not a catalogue page.

A drain that blocks repeatedly in one place usually means tree roots have found a joint, a section has bellied or partly collapsed, or there is a build-up of fat and debris. A CCTV camera shows exactly which it is, and we can clear it, cut roots, or quote a relining or repair so it stops coming back.

The re-blocking drain guide

Yes, commercial fitouts, trade waste and grease traps are part of the week. Recent work includes grease-trap work at a shop at Soldiers Beach, where the surface levels around the trap were raised so stormwater runoff stopped getting into the system and running the pump for nothing. If you manage a site, talk to us about what the job needs.

Commercial plumbing

Usually repaired. Most dripping taps are a worn washer or cartridge, and a running cistern usually needs a new inlet valve or flush seal, both routine repairs. A cracked pan, a toilet that leaks at the base, or an old single-flush suite is the case for replacing it. We quote both where both apply.

Repair or replace a leaking tap or toilet