Drainage emergencies in NW3 do not keep office hours. Our call-out runs 24 hours covering Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage, with fixed prices confirmed before any work starts.
What we cover in NW3
Our coverage of NW3 spans Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage, in Camden. As we also attend the adjoining areas, we can deal with both ends of a shared run.
Hampstead and Belsize Park have large period houses with mature gardens and a lot of basement excavation. Trees close to boundary runs and newly installed basement drainage discharging into old laterals are the two recurring issues.
Common causes in NW3
The causes we see most often in NW3 are much the same year to year:
- Foul water coming up through a chamber
- Nothing draining anywhere in the property
- Waste rising into a downstairs bathroom
- Surface water with nowhere to go
Signs worth reporting
The symptoms worth reporting when you ring:
- Water standing in an outside gully long after use
- Several fittings draining slowly at once, rather than a single sink
- Bubbling in the pan when something else empties
- A drain smell outside that keeps coming back
How the visit works
The order matters, so we work it out before we jet:
- You get an honest time, not an optimistic one
- Hold off on washing machines and dishwashers
- Most emergencies are resolved in one visit
- We tell you whether there is an underlying fault
Before we arrive
While you wait for us, a couple of things make a real difference:
- Hold off on taps, showers and appliances, especially washing machines
- Cordon off contaminated ground
- Make sure the chambers can be reached
- Jot down what is draining and what is not when you ring
Who pays for the repair
Whose pipe it is matters as much as what is in it. Since 2011, most shared drains and lateral drains in England belong to the water company, and a defect on the shared run is not your cost. We identify the location and are straight with you about it, even when that means we are not the ones doing the repair.
What it costs in NW3
Emergency attendance starts at a fixed £120 plus VAT, and we never charge for coming out. We quote a fixed price, not a rate, which means a stubborn blockage costs what we said.