Drainage services in London
Drainage is every pipe that carries water away from a building: the waste under the basin, the soil stack, the underground pipe out to the sewer, and the gutters, downpipes and gullies that deal with rain. Ninja Plumbers is a London drainage company that works on all of it, from a toilet that will not flush to a cracked pipe under a patio. Say what the problem looks like and we will point you to the right job, and say honestly when a drain is Thames Water’s to fix rather than yours.
- Gas Safe registered and fully insured
- DBS-checked engineers
- Emergency callout available 24/7
- Price agreed before work starts
- Workmanship guaranteed
Monday – Sunday, 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM · Out-of-hours emergency? Call 020 3576 5825
Tell us about the drainage problem
Three details get an engineer moving. The rest is optional.
Thanks — we’ve got it
We’ll come back to you on the number you gave us. If it’s urgent and you’d rather not wait, call 020 3576 5825.
What's happening?
Pick the closest match and go straight to the page that deals with it.
- A sink, bath or shower that will not drain Usually the trap or branch pipe. Cleared, and the cause explained.
- Everything drains slowly at once, or the manhole is full The blockage is in the stack or the pipe underground.
- The toilet is blocked or the water keeps rising Don’t flush again. Ordinary WCs and jammed macerators both covered.
- The same drain blocks again every few months Something in the pipe is catching debris. A camera shows what.
- Buying an older house and want the drains checked Footage and a written report before you exchange contracts.
- A survey has found a cracked, collapsed or root-filled pipe Sometimes fixable from inside the pipe; a collapse means digging.
- Rain sits on the patio or lawn for days A channel drain or soakaway gives it somewhere to go.
- Water spilling over the gutter or down the wall Worth fixing before it becomes a damp patch indoors.
Everything under drainage
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Drain unblocking
Sinks, baths, soil stacks, gullies and outside drains cleared with rods or a water jetter, and you are told what caused the blockage.
More on drain unblocking -
Blocked toilets
A blocked or backing-up WC, macerator and Saniflo units included. Cleared without chemicals, then checked in case the real cause lies beyond the pan.
More on blocked toilets -
CCTV drain surveys
A camera down the pipe shows what is wrong and exactly where. Footage and a written report suit buyers, insurers and repeat blockages.
More on cctv drain surveys -
Drain repairs
For pipes that are broken rather than blocked: cracked, collapsed, displaced or full of roots. Relined from inside where possible, dug out and replaced where not.
More on drain repairs -
Surface water drainage
Rainwater with nowhere to go. Channel drains across paving, soakaways where the ground allows, and downpipes connected so water stops pooling against walls.
More on surface water drainage -
Gutter repair
Gutters cleared, leaking joints resealed and sagging lengths refixed, original cast iron included, with the downpipes and gullies below checked too.
More on gutter repair
What we cover as a drainage company
Most drainage calls fall into three groups. First, blockages: sinks, baths, toilets, soil stacks, gullies and the underground pipe to the sewer, cleared with rods or a high-pressure water jetter. Second, finding and fixing damage: a camera survey to see inside the pipe, then either no-dig relining or digging out and replacing the broken section, with the surface put back afterwards. Third, rainwater: gutters, downpipes, channel drains across paving, and soakaways where the ground will take water. We work for homeowners and tenants, and for landlords, freeholders and managing agents with shared drains in blocks and converted houses.
How a drainage visit works
When you call, tell us what is affected, and whether you have already poured drain cleaner down, as the engineer may be putting their hands in that water. On site, the first job is finding where the blockage sits. Lifting the manhole covers usually answers it: a full chamber next to an empty one downstream puts the blockage between the two. The engineer clears it, shows you what came out, and tells you whether it looks like a one-off or a damaged pipe. The price is agreed before work starts, and if the fault is on Thames Water’s side, we tell you rather than charge you to clear it.
Who is responsible for which drain
This decides who pays. A drain serving only your property, inside your boundary, is yours. Since October 2011, most shared drains and sewers in England, plus the lateral drain from your boundary to the public sewer, have been the water company’s responsibility, which in London almost always means Thames Water. That matters in terraces, where houses often share one pipe across the back gardens. A blockage in that shared section is normally Thames Water’s to clear, even under your lawn. In a block of flats, the communal stack and the drains in the grounds usually fall to the freeholder or managing agent; your lease will say. We establish whose pipe it is before you pay for anything.
What we find under London’s streets
A lot of London still drains through clay pipes laid more than a century ago, in short lengths with rigid joints. In much of the city the clay ground shrinks in dry summers and swells in wet winters, cracking those joints and pulling them out of line, and tree roots find the gaps. Many older houses also have an interceptor trap in the last manhole before the sewer. When the stopper on its rodding arm drops out, it lands in the trap and blocks it. Add wipes, cooking fat and older streets where rain and waste share one combined sewer, and faults often show up after a heavy downpour.
What affects the price
Drainage work varies too much for a price list to mean anything, but the factors behind a quote are easy to explain. For a blockage: where it sits, how easy the nearest manhole is to reach, and whether rods will shift it or it needs the jetter. A chamber under paving or inside the house takes longer than one in the front garden. For a survey: how many pipes, and how long. For a repair: relining or digging, how deep the pipe lies, and what surface goes back on top. Gutter work depends on height and safe access. Out-of-hours callouts and parking play a part as well. The figure is agreed with you before work begins.
Common questions
Is a blocked drain an emergency?
It is if sewage is coming up inside, a manhole is overflowing by the house, or the only toilet is out of use. Emergency callout runs 24/7 for those. A slow basin can be booked in as normal daytime work.
Can I clear a blocked drain myself?
A single slow sink is worth a plunger and a clean of the trap underneath. Beyond that, leave it to us: manhole covers are heavy, chambers can be deep, and what sits in them is raw sewage.
How can I tell if a drain is broken rather than blocked?
Clues include repeat blockages in one spot, a smell outside that never clears, paving sinking along the pipe, or rats, which often get in through damaged drains. A CCTV survey confirms it.
Will my insurance pay for a drain repair?
Many buildings policies include some cover for accidental damage to underground pipes, but terms vary, so check yours before booking. If the insurer wants evidence, a CCTV survey comes with footage and a written report.
Can you check the drains before we buy a house?
Yes, and on an older London house it is worth it. The camera picks up cracks, roots and displaced joints that a general building survey will not, and you get the footage and report before you exchange.
Do you clear gutters, or only repair them?
Both. A blocked gutter gets cleared, and we check whether it has dropped, split at a joint or come off its brackets, because clearing alone will not stop that overflowing. The downpipe and gully below get checked too.
Drainage advice from our engineers
When Do You Actually Need a CCTV Drain Survey?
Most blocked drains do not need a camera. A handful of specific situations genuinely do.
Show us what the drain is doing
Ring 020 3576 5825, or send a picture of the manhole or the standing water to +44 7447 575645 on WhatsApp. Our office takes calls from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week, and emergency callout is 24/7. We take card and cash, the figure is settled before work begins, and new customers get £25 off their first call-out (not combinable with other offers).