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Blocked drains cleared in north London
Rods, a high pressure jetter and a CCTV camera. So the blockage goes, and you find out what caused it rather than paying someone to shift it again in six months.
Three bits of kit, and why all three matter
Most blocked drain callouts are cleared and left at that. The blockage moves, everyone is happy, and the same drain blocks again the following winter. We carry the kit to do the job properly the first time.
- Drain rods for soft blockages close to an access point. Fast, and often all that is needed.
- High pressure jetting where rods will not do. Jetting scours the full bore of the pipe, so fat, scale and root fibre come away instead of being pushed aside.
- A CCTV drain camera to look at the pipe once it is running, and show you what actually caused it.
What usually causes it round here
North London terraces mostly still run on Victorian salt-glazed clay. It is a hundred and something years old, laid in short lengths, and it moves. The usual culprits are fat and wipes from inside, roots finding a displaced joint from outside, and pipes that have simply cracked or dropped at a joint.
The first two are a clearing job. The third is not, and the only way to tell them apart is to put a camera down there. If it is a broken pipe we will show you the footage and tell you so, rather than clearing it every few months.
Shared drains, and when it is not your bill
A lot of terraced houses share a drain run. Since October 2011 most shared drains, and the lateral run beyond your boundary, became the water company’s responsibility rather than yours. In this part of London that is Thames Water.
It matters because people pay to have work done on drains that were never theirs to pay for. If the camera shows the problem is past your boundary, we will tell you, and you can go to Thames Water instead.
Where we work
Islington, Hackney and Haringey, including Canonbury, De Beauvoir, Highbury, Stoke Newington, Dalston, Newington Green, Finsbury Park, Crouch End, Muswell Hill, Holloway and Tufnell Park.
We also do gutter cleaning and jet washing, and the same jetter does the drains and the driveway.
Where drains go wrong on a London terrace.
Questions we get asked.
What can you clear?
Blocked sinks, toilets, showers and soil stacks inside, and outside gullies, inspection chambers and the run out to the main sewer. Domestic and commercial.
What is the difference between rodding and jetting?
Rods are mechanical. They push or auger through a blockage and are usually enough for a soft blockage close to the access point. Jetting is high pressure water, which scours the whole bore of the pipe rather than punching a hole through the middle. Fat, scale and root fibres need jetting, because rods leave enough behind for it to close up again.
Why use a camera at all?
Because clearing a drain and knowing why it blocked are two different jobs. The CCTV camera goes down the pipe afterwards and shows whether it was fat, roots, a displaced joint or a cracked pipe. On Victorian clay drains it is very often the pipe itself, and no amount of rodding fixes that.
My drain is shared with next door. Whose is it?
Usually the water company. Since October 2011 most shared drains and the lateral run beyond your boundary transferred to the local water company, which for this part of London is Thames Water. Drains inside your boundary that only serve your property are still yours. If we get the camera down it and it turns out to be theirs, we will tell you, so you can call them instead of paying us.
Do you work for landlords and businesses?
Yes. A lot of the drain work is for property companies and landlords, where the same drain keeps going and somebody needs to find out why.
How quickly can you come?
Call Patrick on 07975 860 927 and he will tell you straight when he can get to you. He would rather say tomorrow morning and turn up than say today and not.
The other things we do.
Tell us what needs doing.
Send a postcode and a couple of photos. You will get a straight answer on price, usually the same day.
07975 860 927