Drain unblocking in Richmond upon Thames

Terraces and shared drains

In a typical Twickenham or St Margarets terrace, several houses often share one drain running behind or beneath them before it reaches the sewer. A blockage at number 4 can be caused by something flushed at number 8.

Since October 2011, shared drains and lateral pipes outside your boundary have generally been the water company's responsibility rather than yours. We trace the run, clear it, and tell you honestly which part is whose, so you are not paying for a pipe that is not yours.

Conversions, basements and flats

Many big Richmond houses have been split into flats or had a basement dug out. Extra bathrooms on an old drain, and pumped waste from below ground level, make blockages more likely and more urgent. We clear soil stacks, shared pipes and pumped systems, and we can send our findings to the freeholder or managing agent.

Kew, Barnes and the riverside

Along the river at Kew, Barnes and Mortlake, many homes sit low and close to the water, with long-established gardens and old garden walls built over drain runs. Inspection chambers are often small, deep and hard to find under a century of planting. We locate them, lift them carefully and leave the garden as we found it.