Looking for a plumber Willoughby locals can rely on? Willoughby sits high on the Lower North Shore ridge about 8 km from the city – a settled, leafy suburb of Federation homes and interwar bungalows on generous blocks, with heritage streets around Penshurst Street, newer townhouses toward Chatswood, and land that falls away toward the gullies and Middle Harbour.
Our licensed plumbers handle all of it across Willoughby, North Willoughby and Willoughby East – blocked drains, hot water systems, gas fitting, pipe relining, leak detection and 24/7 emergency plumbing – with upfront pricing, no hidden fees and no call-out fee.
2068
Willoughby, North Willoughby & the Lower North Shore, Sydney
Same-day, often within the hour
NSW Licensed & Insured
Our experienced team covers the full range of plumbing services for residential and commercial properties - urgent repairs, routine maintenance, new installations and full re-pipes - and we establish the real cause and the fixed cost before we begin.
Willoughby’s established gardens and street trees are hard on century-old clay drains, so most blocked drains here trace back to root intrusion, a cracked joint or a line that has slowly silted up. We camera the drain to find exactly where the trouble is, clear it with high-pressure jet blasting, and show you the footage - so you can see whether the pipe is sound or whether it needs more than a clean-out.
Where a drain has cracked, or roots have broken through, relining rebuilds the pipe from the inside without trenching across an established garden, a sandstone path or a driveway. On Willoughby’s mature blocks, that usually matters more than the repair itself - the landscaping is often worth more than the pipe. The cured liner restores full flow and seals the joints against roots for decades.
A large Willoughby home with several bathrooms puts real demand on its hot water. We handle hot water repairs, installation and replacement across gas, electric, solar, heat pump and instantaneous continuous-flow systems from all the major brands - Rheem, Rinnai, Dux, Bosch and others. If yours is leaking, running cold or cutting out, you get an honest repair-or-replace answer, and most hot water jobs are finished the same day.
Older homes hide leaks well - inside walls, under floors and beneath slabs poured during a renovation. Alongside the everyday plumbing repairs (dripping taps, running toilets, showers, sinks and burst pipes), we track down the ones you can’t see, using acoustic and thermal detection to pinpoint the source before anyone lifts a floorboard.
Willoughby sits on a ridge, and the land falls away toward the gullies, so a lot of water moves through these blocks in a downpour. Blocked stormwater pits, silted lines, overflowing gutters and roof leaks all end the same way - water against the house instead of away from it. We clear and camera stormwater lines, repair and re-lay pipework, and our licensed roof plumbers sort gutters, downpipes and roof leaks at the source.
Willoughby renovates constantly - second-storey additions, rear extensions, new kitchens and bathrooms - and a good share of our local work is making old plumbing cope with it. We re-pipe homes, rough in new bathrooms and kitchens, replace tired galvanised and copper runs, and connect extensions to drainage that was never designed to carry them.
Willoughby is one of the Lower North Shore’s long-established suburbs - in the City of Willoughby at postcode 2068, about 8 km north of the city, and settled from the 1850s. It covers a bit over three square kilometres and is home to around 7,100 people. The heritage is still visible: the sandstone cottages along Penshurst Street date from the 1870s and 80s, Telford Lane off Eastern Valley Way is one of the last surviving Telford-method lanes in Sydney, and the Walter Burley Griffin–designed Incinerator in Small Street has stood since 1934 and is now an art space.
As local plumbers across the Lower North Shore, we come equipped for exactly that - CCTV drain cameras, jet blasters, no-dig relining gear, leak detection and gas-testing equipment on every van - so we can read the fault properly on the first visit and price it before we start.
NSW 2068
Federation, bungalow & renovated
City of Willoughby
Homes, apartments & strata
A handful of plumbing issues come up again and again across Willoughby, and nearly all of them trace back to the same three things: the age of the housing, the size of the trees and the fall of the land. Here’s what’s usually behind each, and how we put it right for good.
Willoughby’s mature street trees and established gardens send fine roots hunting for moisture, and they find it at the joints of century-old clay drains. What starts as a few strands becomes a solid plug - the drain gurgles, smells, then backs up, almost always just after heavy rain.
We camera the line to map every point the roots are getting in, cut and flush them out under high pressure, and reline the cracked section so there's no longer a gap for them to exploit.
Plenty of Willoughby homes still carry their original galvanised and early copper pipes. After this many decades, the metal rusts from the inside, narrows and springs pinhole leaks - showing up as low water pressure, discoloured water, or damp that appears with no obvious source.
We confirm the failing run with a camera or leak detection, then replace or reline just that section rather than tearing out pipework that's still sound, and make the surface good afterwards.
Willoughby sits high, and the land drops away toward the reserves and Middle Harbour, so a lot of run-off crosses these blocks. When pits and stormwater lines silt up with leaf litter, a downpour sends water pooling against the house or spilling across a boundary instead of draining away.
We clear and camera the stormwater system, check the falls, and repair or upgrade the pipework so run-off is carried safely off the block before it causes damage.
A second-storey addition or a rear extension puts new bathrooms, a new kitchen and a new laundry onto drainage that was laid for a much smaller house. The old line copes for a while, then starts backing up under the load - and by then it's under a new slab or a new deck.
We camera the existing drainage before the build where we can, size and rough in the new work properly, and reline or re-lay the sections that won't carry the extra load - rather than discovering the problem after the concrete has gone down.
Not every leak announces itself. One inside a wall or under a slab can run for months on a large Willoughby block, rotting timber or soaking the garden while the water bill quietly climbs. A faint hiss, a warm patch underfoot or a bill that jumps for no reason are the usual clues.
We pinpoint it with acoustic and thermal leak detection rather than guessing and cutting, then open up only the spot at fault - a tidy repair instead of exploratory demolition.
We turn up when we say we will, treat your home with care, and deliver quality workmanship with clear, honest communication from the first call to the finished job. It’s why Willoughby homeowners, landlords and local businesses keep calling us back, and why our customers recommend us to their neighbours.
Years on the tools
Two decades of plumbing, drains and gas across Sydney, from riverfront homes to Willoughby unit blocks.
Call-out fee
We come out and assess your job free, and you only pay once you approve a fixed, transparent price.
Emergency plumber
Around-the-clock help for burst pipes and blocked toilets, with great service and same-day response for most jobs.
Rated & guaranteed
A 5.0 local rating, fully licensed and insured plumbers and gas fitters, and a workmanship guarantee on every job.










Book any drain, sewer or stormwater job in Willoughby and the CCTV camera inspection is free. On old clay lines under an established garden that matters - you see the real condition of the pipe on screen and approve the right repair the first time, instead of paying twice.
It depends on the job, so we look before we quote rather than guessing over the phone. There’s no call-out fee at all - coming out and assessing the problem costs you nothing - the quote is free and without obligation, and the price is fixed and agreed before work starts. The figure you approve is the figure you pay: no hourly clock running, and no hidden fees on the invoice.
Three things worth checking before you book anyone: that they hold a current NSW plumbing licence and public liability insurance, that they’ll quote a fixed price in writing rather than an open-ended hourly rate, and that they guarantee their workmanship. Ask to see the problem - a plumber who cameras a drain and shows you the footage has nothing to hide.
Usually the same day, and often within the hour for anything urgent - Willoughby is part of our regular Lower North Shore run. Our emergency plumbers cover the suburb 24/7, seven days, including nights, weekends and public holidays, for burst pipes, blocked drains and toilets, sewer overflows, gas scares and hot water failures. Call 0461 330 531, and we’ll confirm the earliest available time on the spot, with the cost agreed before we begin.
More than a plunger. On a century-old clay drain, we camera it first to see what we’re dealing with, clear it with high-pressure jetting, then camera it again to confirm it’s genuinely clear and to check whether the pipe itself has cracked or sagged. If the same section keeps blocking, a clean-out won’t hold, and relining is the honest answer - we’ll show you the footage and let you decide.
Yes, and they’re common here. Willoughby sits on a ridge with land falling toward the gullies, so blocked or broken stormwater lines send water where you don’t want it in heavy rain. We camera the system to find the actual failure rather than guessing, clear it, correct the falls where we can, and repair or upgrade the pipework so run-off is carried away from the house.
Yes - all of the 2068 postcode, including North Willoughby up toward Chatswood and Willoughby East, plus the neighbouring suburbs of Naremburn, Artarmon, Northbridge, Castlecrag and Chatswood.
Most repairs and like-for-like replacements don’t. Larger drainage changes, new connections and work on heritage-listed properties or homes in a conservation area can need City of Willoughby or Sydney Water sign-off. We’ll tell you upfront whether your job needs it and can handle the paperwork.
Yes. R&G Plumbing is fully licensed and insured for plumbing, drainage and gas across NSW. Every Willoughby job is carried out by a licensed tradesperson and backed by our workmanship guarantee.
Tell us what’s happening at your Willoughby home or business, and we’ll come back with clear, no-obligation pricing. If it’s urgent, calling is quickest - you’ll reach a plumber straight away.
Across Willoughby, North Willoughby and the surrounding Lower North Shore suburbs
Nothing to pay until you’ve approved a fixed quote for the work.
Licensed for plumbing, drainage and gas in NSW, with a workmanship guarantee.
Tell us what is going on and our team will get back to you quickly.
For a licensed plumber Willoughby homeowners and businesses rely on, R&G Plumbing covers blocked drains, hot water systems, gas fitting, pipe relining, stormwater, leak detection and 24/7 emergencies right across the 2068 postcode - Willoughby, North Willoughby and Willoughby East.