Caloundra facts behind a plumbing job
Mostly units
At the 2021 Census, 48.1% of occupied homes in the suburb of Caloundra were flats or apartments and 26.8% townhouses or similar. Just 23.6% were separate houses, and 42.6% were rented.
Towers at Kings and Bulcock Beach
Council's planning scheme says Kings Beach and Bulcock Beach have the area's most intensive housing, in multi storey apartment buildings.
Beach houses on larger lots
Shelly Beach, Moffat Beach and Dicky Beach keep pockets of beachside character housing, mostly on larger lots.
Sand and water
The northern part of the local plan area sits on a dune and sand plain. Currimundi Lake, Bunbubah Creek, Coondibah Lagoon, Pumicestone Creek and Tooway Creek are its main waterways.
In a unit, find out who owns the pipe
In a block of units, a leak or blockage can sit in your lot or in shared pipework. Before booking anyone, ask your body corporate or building manager whether the pipe is common property and who arranges the repair. Tell us what they said when you describe the job.
Older beach houses and shared drains
Sunshine Coast Council says some homes sit on a combined sanitary drain: one private drain shared by two or more properties, running to a single Unitywater sewer connection. Most were built in the 1930s and 40s. The owners of the connected properties maintain it, and a defect is fixed by the owner whose land holds the faulty section.
Council's Plumbing Services can tell you whether your property is on one. Any work on a combined drain needs a plumbing permit.
Keep rain out of the sewer
Unitywater says it is illegal to connect a stormwater pipe to the sewer, and a resident with that kind of connection must have a licensed plumber fix it. If a downpipe on your Caloundra house drops into a gully or sewer pipe, have it checked.
Hot water in a Caloundra home
Queensland requires a temperature control device on every new and replacement hot water system, and water must be heated to at least 60°C to prevent the growth of bacteria such as Legionella. Heat pump and solar systems must be installed by someone with a QBCC solar and heat pump endorsement. Our Sunshine Coast hot water page and installation page cover the choices, and blocked drains covers the rest.
What we would do
In an older Caloundra beach house, ask Council's Plumbing Services whether the property is on a combined sanitary drain before any drain work starts. If it is, the neighbours share the upkeep, the work needs a permit, and the plumber needs to know which section is faulty before anyone gets a bill.