New home plumbing, done properly from day one.
New build plumbing starts before the slab is poured and ends with your final compliance certificate. Hills handles every step in between. We work with builders on production homes, custom homes, knock-down rebuilds and owner-builders across the Gold Coast, from new estate housing in Pimpama and Coomera through to acreage builds in Tallai, Mudgeeraba and the hinterland.
Every new build we take on starts with reading the plans properly. Not a glance, a proper review of the slab penetrations, drainage falls, sewer connection depth, water service entry, gas points and hot water unit location. Getting these wrong at the plan stage costs thousands at finish stage.
The full new build scope we handle.
- Pre-slab drainage, sewer and stormwater (set out, depth-checked, council-inspected)
- Through-slab penetrations and set-outs for every wet area
- Sewer and stormwater connection to council mains (or septic/AWTS for acreage)
- Hot and cold water rough-in to every fixture, with isolation valves
- Gas rough-in (natural gas or LPG) for cooktop, hot water, BBQ and heater
- Hot water system supply and install, gas, electric, heat pump or solar
- Pressure-limiting valve at the meter (mandatory for new builds in QLD)
- Backflow prevention devices where required
- Tapware, mixer, basin, toilet, shower and bath fit-off
- Water meter connection, pressure testing and commissioning
- Form 4 QBCC compliance, final plumbing inspection sign-off
- Gas compliance certificate for every gas appliance
- Defect-free handover with full as-built drainage drawings
Working with your builder, without holding up the trades.
If you're a builder, the difference between a good plumber and a bad one on a build is whether the trades behind us can do their work on schedule. We attend pre-pour site meetings, hit our drainage and rough-in dates without chasing, and have the paperwork ready for the certifier before they ask. Most builders we work with on new homes treat us like part of the regular crew, which is the point.
We can run a typical new home plumbing scope across roughly 4-6 site visits: pre-slab set-out, pre-pour drainage and penetrations, rough-in after frame complete, pre-sheet pressure test, fit-off after waterproofing and tiling, and final commissioning. We coordinate with the framer, sparkie, waterproofer, tiler and certifier so nothing waits on us.
Owner-builders welcome, full scope or single stages.
Building your own place on the Gold Coast? We handle the full plumbing scope independently and deal direct with the certifier. You get the same fixed price quoting and the same finished result, just without paying a builder margin on top of our work.
We can also take individual stages if you want to project-manage yourself, e.g. just the pre-slab drainage, or just the rough-in. We'll always tell you straight if a stage is something you could do yourself versus what really needs a licensed plumber. (Gas work is licence-only in QLD, there's no DIY path on that part.)
What we install, brands we trust.
We're not tied to any one brand, but a few we install repeatedly because they hold up:
- Hot water: Rheem, Rinnai (gas continuous flow); Sanden, Reclaim, iStore (heat pump); Vulcan, Aquamax (gas storage); Stiebel Eltron (electric)
- Tapware: Methven, Phoenix, Sussex, Gareth Ashton, Astra Walker (for higher-spec builds), Caroma (volume)
- Toilets: Caroma Cube, Caroma Liano, Stylus Symphony
- Basins/baths: Caroma Forma, Stylus Eden, ADP, Decina
- Drainage: Iplex, Vinidex PVC for most runs; Acu-Drain for grated channels
- Water meter / pressure limit valves: Reliance, Honeywell
We'll always lay out options at quote stage, premium vs. mid vs. budget, and tell you honestly which one we'd use in our own house.
Pricing, how a new build quote works.
New build plumbing pricing is done off the plans. We line-item the whole scope so you can see what each part costs, and we fix the price before the slab goes down. There's no "we'll see what comes up", if something genuinely outside the agreed scope comes up later (e.g. the builder changes the bathroom layout mid-build), we quote that variation in writing before doing it.
Rough ranges for a typical 4-bedroom new home on the Gold Coast in 2026 (drainage to handover, mid-spec fixtures):
- Production-style new home (basic spec): from $14,000-22,000
- Mid-tier custom home (better tapware, heat pump): $20,000-32,000
- Premium custom home (high-end brassware, freestanding bath, gas continuous flow): $32,000-55,000+
- Acreage build (longer mains run, septic, LPG): add $4,000-12,000
Those are realistic ranges, not promises, the actual quote depends on the plan, fixture selection, location and difficulty. Free quotes during business hours.
What can go wrong on a new build, and how we avoid it.
The five most common new-build plumbing mistakes we see other plumbers make (and that we specifically avoid):
- Wrong fall on the slab drainage, once concrete's poured, the drains run at whatever grade they were set out at. Get it wrong by 5mm and you've got a permanent slow drain.
- Missed slab penetrations, every wet fixture needs a through-slab sleeve. Missing one means coring the slab later. Expensive.
- Rough-in centres off-spec for the chosen tapware, wall-mounted mixers in particular are unforgiving. 10mm off centre and the spout doesn't sit over the basin.
- Pressure-limiting valve omitted, required by AS3500 for new builds. Without it, future tap failures from pressure spikes are on you.
- No coordination with waterproofer and tiler, rough-in finishes before waterproofing, waterproofing seals around every plumbing penetration. Out-of-order = tear-out.
We've done enough new builds to have a checklist that catches all five before they happen.
Acreage and rural new builds, different rules.
If your new build is on acreage in Mudgeeraba, Tallai, Bonogin, Springbrook or the wider hinterland, the plumbing scope changes:
- Likely no mains water, rainwater tank, pump and pressure tank instead
- Often no mains sewer, septic system or aerated wastewater treatment system (AWTS), with council-approved soil tests for the disposal field
- LPG bottle gas instead of natural gas, different regulator and changeover setup
- Bore-water option for irrigation or property water
- Longer internal mains runs from meter/tank to house, needs proper sizing to maintain pressure
We do enough acreage new builds in the hinterland to have the full system spec for each of these. Quote includes all of it.
Inspections, certifications and the paperwork at handover.
At the end of your new build, your private certifier needs paperwork from your plumber to issue the certificate of classification (which lets you move in). What you should receive from us:
- QBCC Form 4, plumbing compliance certificate
- Gas compliance certificate (if gas was installed)
- Backflow prevention testing certificate (if a backflow device is installed)
- Hydrostatic pressure test certificate
- Hot water system warranty paperwork (registered to your name)
- As-built drainage plan (so future plumbers know where everything runs)
File this paperwork, you'll need it for the certificate of classification, future insurance claims and the eventual sale of the house. We deliver it as a single PDF at handover.