Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting Ltd

15/10/2026

Congratulations to all the winners in the Kerikeri plumbing trade. This is a pretty amazing achievement for a small town. We are especially proud of our main man Jeff Mendoza.

Jeff started with us in 2019 as an apprentice straight from working in a tyre shop. He really worked incredibly hard to progress through his training and passed his board exams before he’d completed his apprenticeship. Personally, I have never known a young guy to be so diligent and hard working. It’s no stretch of the truth to say he’s never let us down and is looked upon as much a good mate as he is a valuable employee. Congratulations mate, we are extremely proud of you.

15/10/2026

A fun day today. We’re sponsoring the 16th hole at the Boici Golf Day at the Bay of Islands Kerikeri Golf Club. We’ve set a a little challenge called the Prime Plumbing Skrewball Challenge. The golf ball goes in one pipe, rolls down and has the option of three branches it can take to exit. The challenge for the golfers to predict which pipe the ball will exit from and then connect a club to it while it’s rolling. The winners get a shot of Skrewball Peanut Butter Wh**ky! I’m predicting by the time they reach the 16th a few of them will be a bit Shakey on their feet. Should be a laugh.

Note our main man Jeff Mendoza’s trophy he won for being judged Northland/Auckland Plumber & Gas Fitter for 2026 at the recent Master Plumbers awards night. More to come on that.

17/09/2026

Thanks to Bill, René and Alan at Plumbing & Gas Supplies for the smoko shout this morning. Each mouthful came with an extra gym session for me I think but it was very much appreciated!

17/09/2026

Over the last couple of days we've been laying the sub-floor sanitary drainage pipe work for what is undoubtedly the biggest residential project we have ever been involved with. This one is for Bay Builders, who we're proud to have been providing plumbing services to for over ten years now. They are excellent builders and great to work with.

We've done a couple of large scale school projects before but this one definitely required a lot more planning and precision than the average house. Comprising of six and a half bathrooms, two kitchens, a bar, a laundry and nine floor waste gullies, it's been a hard slog for myself and the boys for the last couple of days.

Very satisfying to get it all done before the rain hits tonight. Just some storm water and a bit of tidying up to do when it's dry and the builders can carry on with the floor prep.

09/09/2026

There comes a time in every plumbers life when they have to get their hands dirty.
We were called to a job where we’d previously installed a macerator pump box that had supposedly failed. These Zenit Blue Box units are a great tool, and generally very reliable. But unfortunately they’re not designed to macerate ten rolls of toilet paper at a time….
It’s a fact of life, we deal with the less pleasant side of the human function. And when the day arrives you just have to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in. This was the day our apprentice became a man🤣🤣

10/08/2026

We are often asked whether both gas cylinders should be turned on, or should one be left off. Our answer is always, turn both cylinders on. Here is a really good explanation why from another gas fitter.

30/07/2026

Did you know that Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting Ltd are a "Works" partner with Legasea? If you are a fisho I am sure you will know of the amazing work they do on our behalf to advocate for, protect and preserve our fish stocks for future generations. We are proud to be financial supporters of this great organisation.

Right now the future of our fishery is under threat and the more we can do to support Legasea the better the outcome we should achieve for the future.

Click the link to check out their website, and if you can afford it, consider making an annual donation.

LegaSea is a non profit organisation dedicated to restoring the abundance, biodiversity and health of New Zealand’s marine environment.

28/07/2026

On my way to repair a leaking wall hung toilet pan out on the coast. Had to share the view.

21/07/2026

It’s not often I get to work with my best mate. So when I do she rides sh***un.

21/07/2026

We recently got a call from a property manager who we do gas fitting for, who had a tenant that had a burst HWC. Her regular plumber was looking after his son who’d just had surgery. Funny thing was that I was already on my way to replace another HWC that was not so urgent in a vacant house. So, change of plans for the day! I arrived to find the leaking cylinder was a very old 430mm diameter 180ltr from the turn of last century. The new cylinders the same capacity are 490mm. The door to the cupboard measured 450mm. No way of making it bigger. See the problem? Fortunately the solution was obvious (maybe because I’ve been in the trade nearly 25 years!). Fit a new HWC under the floor, with new hot and cold feed, plus a new electrical supply. A builder was organised quickly by the property manager, a plinth was built, the new HWC was installed just in time for the sparky to connect his wiring before the end of the day. And the tenant enjoyed a hot shower that night. A great result considering initially I thought there was no way we’d get everything in a row at such short notice.
And for anyone that notices, yes, there was a third seismic restraint fitted to to base of the cylinder after I took the photo.…..