Commercial Plumber Auckland

Emergency and Planned Plumbing for Cafes, Restaurants, Offices, Retail and Body Corporate Apartment Buildings Across Auckland

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What's Included

Commercial Plumbing In Auckland

Cafes, restaurants, offices, shops and body corporate buildings: blocked drains, grease traps, backflow testing, leaks and hot water.

  • Emergency response to burst pipes, flooding, blocked drains and failed hot water in commercial premises
  • Grease trap and grease interceptor blockages, repairs and advice for cafes, restaurants and food outlets
  • Backflow prevention device installation, repair and annual testing, with records for the building warrant of fitness
  • Commercial hot water: mains-pressure cylinders, continuous-flow gas units and valve servicing
  • Shared drains, risers and isolation valves in body corporate apartment and townhouse buildings
  • Washroom, kitchen and fit-out plumbing for offices and retail tenancies
  • Written reports and photos for landlords, property managers, body corporates and insurers

Signs You Need To Call Now

  • Water through a ceiling, down a wall or across the floor of a tenancy or common area
  • Kitchen sinks, floor wastes or the grease trap backing up during service
  • Toilets or urinals blocked across a floor, or more than one fixture draining slowly
  • No hot water in a commercial kitchen, gym, salon or accommodation
  • A backflow device leaking, discharging or overdue for its annual test
  • Water pressure has dropped across a building or several units at once

Commercial plumbing problems cost more than the repair. A blocked kitchen drain can close a restaurant for a night, a burst pipe in an office ceiling can shut a floor, and a leaking riser in an apartment block can affect every unit below it. Auckland’s commercial buildings range from century-old brick shops on Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Road to glass towers in the CBD, suburban retail centres and new mixed-use buildings in Newmarket, Albany and Hobsonville. The plumbing, and who is responsible for it, varies just as much.

Cafes, restaurants and food businesses

Commercial kitchens put fats, oils and grease down the drain every day, and grease is the most common cause of hospitality drain call-outs. Most food businesses are required to have a grease trap or grease interceptor, which separates grease from the waste water before it reaches the public network.

Grease traps and trade waste

In Auckland, Watercare manages trade waste, which is liquid waste from businesses going into the wastewater network, under its trade waste bylaw. The requirements depend on the premises and what they discharge, so check with Watercare for your own business. From a plumbing point of view, the problems are practical: traps that are overdue for a pump-out, traps too small for a kitchen that has grown busier, and pipes between the kitchen and the trap that coat with grease and block. A plumber clears the line, checks the trap and the pipework, and can advise whether the trap suits your current volume.

Offices and retail

Office and retail call-outs usually involve blocked toilets and urinals, leaking tapware and flexi hoses in tea rooms, failed hot water units and burst pipes above ceilings. Older buildings in the CBD, Newmarket and suburban centres often have galvanised or ageing copper pipes mixed with newer materials from earlier fit-outs, and a leak in one tenancy can come from pipework serving another. The first job is to isolate the right section so the rest of the building can keep going, then find the source. Our leak detection service locates hidden leaks without opening up more ceiling or wall than necessary.

Body corporate apartment and townhouse buildings

Auckland has a growing number of apartment buildings and townhouse complexes, from the CBD and Ponsonby to Hobsonville Point, Flat Bush and Albany. They share drains, risers, pumps and sometimes hot water plant. Failed flexi hoses and toilet inlet valves are a common cause of water coming through a ceiling into the unit below. Some basements rely on pumped sewer or stormwater systems, which need attention quickly when they fail. The plumber works with the building manager or body corporate to isolate the right riser, find the source and report in writing, which helps everyone work out responsibility afterwards.

Backflow prevention and the building warrant of fitness

Many commercial buildings have backflow prevention devices protecting the public water supply from contamination, for example on kitchens, fire sprinklers, irrigation or processes that use chemicals. Testable devices that are specified systems on a building’s compliance schedule need regular inspection, typically every year, and the results feed into the building warrant of fitness. A qualified tester checks each device and records the results, and a plumber repairs or replaces any device that fails. A device that is leaking or discharging water should be checked promptly rather than left until the next scheduled test.

What to do before the plumber arrives

  • Isolate the water to the affected area if you know where the valve is, or at the main building valve if water is spreading.
  • Keep people away from wet floors, water near electrics and any sewage.
  • Stop using fixtures connected to a blocked drain, including dishwashers and glass washers.
  • Tell the building manager or body corporate, and anyone in tenancies below.
  • Take photos. Photos and a written report help with an insurance claim.

If you are not sure how to stop the water, our guide on what to do when a pipe bursts in Auckland explains the basics.

When it is not an emergency

A dripping tap in a staff kitchen, a slow washroom basin or a backflow test that is due next month can be booked in normal hours. Water coming through a ceiling, sewage in a kitchen or no hot water in premises that need it to trade are emergencies. For those, our 24 hour emergency plumber service is available across the city, and the call-out and hourly rate are explained before anyone is dispatched.

How It Works

The Job, Step By Step

01

Call

Say what the premises are, what has failed and whether the building is trading or occupied. You get an honest arrival time, and the call-out and hourly rate are explained before anyone is dispatched. Tell us who manages the building so access can be arranged.

02

Contain

The plumber isolates the affected supply or fixture so the rest of the building can keep running where possible, and establishes whether the fault is in a tenancy, in shared pipework or in the public network.

03

Repair

The repair is quoted before work starts and scheduled around trading where it can be. Blocked drains are cleared, failed pipework or valves replaced, and grease traps or backflow devices put back into working order.

04

Report

You receive a written report with photos, and test results where a backflow device has been serviced, for the owner, property manager, body corporate or insurer.

FAQ

Commercial Plumbing Questions

Do you handle emergency commercial plumbing after hours?
Yes. A burst pipe in an office ceiling, a blocked grease trap in the middle of a Friday service or a flooded ground-floor shop does not wait for business hours. You are given an honest arrival time on the phone, and the plumber's first job is to stop the damage and keep as much of the premises operating as possible. Permanent repairs that would disrupt trading can be quoted and booked for a quieter time. Tell us who manages the building so after-hours access, alarms and lifts can be sorted before the plumber arrives.
Our restaurant grease trap keeps backing up. What can be done?
Grease traps and grease interceptors separate fats, oils and grease from kitchen waste before it reaches the public wastewater network. When they back up, the usual causes are a trap that is overdue for pumping out, a trap too small for the volume the kitchen now produces, or a blocked pipe between the kitchen and the trap. The plumber clears the blockage, checks the pipework and tells you whether the trap is sized correctly. Regular pump-outs by a licensed liquid waste contractor, and sink strainers in the kitchen, prevent most repeat call-outs.
What is trade waste and does it affect my business?
Trade waste is any liquid waste from a business, other than normal domestic-type waste, that goes into the public wastewater network. In Auckland, Watercare manages trade waste under its trade waste bylaw, and many food businesses, workshops and other premises need approval and pre-treatment such as a grease trap. The requirements depend on the business and what it discharges, so check with Watercare directly for your premises. A plumber can install, repair and maintain the pre-treatment equipment and pipework so it performs as it should.
Why does our backflow preventer need testing every year?
A backflow prevention device stops water from your building flowing back into the public drinking water supply, for example from a commercial kitchen, a fire sprinkler system, irrigation or a process that uses chemicals. Testable devices that are specified systems on a building's compliance schedule need regular inspection, and annual testing is typical, with results recorded for the building warrant of fitness. Watercare also has requirements for backflow protection on connections to its network. The tester checks the device, records the results and repairs or replaces parts that fail.
Who fixes a leak in an apartment building, the owner or the body corporate?
It depends on where the leak is. Generally, pipework serving a single unit is that owner's responsibility, while common pipework such as risers, shared drains and the main supply is the body corporate's. Every building's rules differ, so check the body corporate rules or ask the building manager. In an emergency, the priority is stopping the water, which may mean isolating a riser and affecting several units. The plumber works out where the leak starts, reports it in writing and leaves the question of who pays to the owners, body corporate and insurers.
Can you work around our trading hours?
Where it is safe, yes. Emergency work to stop water, sewage or a gas leak happens straight away, but repairs that need the water off to a whole building, a kitchen closed or a washroom out of use can often be done early, late or on a day the business is closed. For retail and hospitality around Ponsonby Road, Newmarket, the CBD and Takapuna, the plumber can also plan around deliveries, loading zones and building access. Tell us your trading hours and constraints when you call, and the job is planned around them.

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Water Where It Shouldn't Be?

Turn it off at the toby, then get a licensed Auckland plumber on the way. The rate is explained before anyone is dispatched.

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