We have been clearing drains across London since 2013, and N5 is well within our patch. The postcode takes in Highbury.
What we cover in N5
What we take in across N5 runs across Highbury, in Islington. Since we work the surrounding postcodes as well, a run crossing a boundary needs only one contractor.
Highbury is largely Victorian terraced and semi-detached housing with mature street trees. Root ingress into clay joints under front gardens is the recurring finding on camera surveys here.
Common causes in N5
The causes we see most often in N5 follow a pattern:
- Cooking fat washed into the kitchen waste, which sets on the pipe wall
- Wet wipes, which hold together once flushed
- Roots from nearby planting working into the pipe
- Soil and grit settling where the fall is shallow
Signs worth reporting
The signs that bring people to call us in N5:
- Water standing in an outside gully when nothing is running
- Two or more fittings affected together, not just one
- A glugging noise from a plughole as another appliance drains
- A sour smell near the gully that is stronger in warm weather
How the visit works
We diagnose before we clear:
- Open the chambers in order to find where the flow stops
- Work out which side of the boundary the fault sits
- Jet the restriction out at a pressure suited to the pipe
- Run water through every fitting before we finish
Before we arrive
Before the engineer arrives, a couple of things make a real difference:
- Keep water use to nothing, particularly appliances on a timer
- Keep people and pets away from any standing waste water
- Make sure the chambers can be reached
- Jot down what is draining and what is not so we arrive prepared
Who pays for the repair
Not every blockage is yours to pay for. 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 work out where the fault is and say so, including when the answer is that you should call Thames Water instead.
What it costs in N5
Outside drain clearance is a fixed £144 plus VAT. No call-out fee applies, day or night. You get the figure before any work begins.