What does it actually cost to fix a drain in London?

The three brackets

Clearance removes material from a sound pipe. Fixed £120 plus VAT for a sink or toilet, £144 plus VAT for an outside drain. Same price at 3am as at 3pm.

Survey tells you the condition of the pipe. Fixed £300 plus VAT including footage and a written report.

Repair fixes the pipe. Quoted after the survey, because the length and condition set both method and price. Installation work typically runs £600 to £2,500.

Full list on our prices page.

Why excavation quotes vary so much

Not because of the pipe. Because of what sits above it.

Lifting and relaying a block-paved driveway, a stone patio or a tiled kitchen floor routinely costs more than the drainage work. Two quotes for the same repair can differ substantially purely on how each contractor intends to reinstate the surface, and whether they have included it at all.

When comparing, ask explicitly: is reinstatement in the price, and to what standard. That is where the difference usually hides. More in lining or digging.

The expensive mistake

Paying for clearance repeatedly on a drain that has a structural fault. Three clearances cost more than a survey and leave you knowing nothing.

Rule of thumb: first blockage in years, clear it. Second blockage in twelve months, survey it. We set out the signals in blocked or broken.

Call-out charges and hourly rates

Two things worth checking in any quote.

Call-out charge. We do not have one, at any hour, on any day. Many firms do, and it is often where the out-of-hours premium hides.

Hourly versus fixed. An hourly rate transfers the risk of a difficult job to you. A fixed price puts it on the contractor, which is where it belongs, since they are the ones who can judge the time.

The bill you should not be paying at all

If the fault sits on a shared drain or beyond your boundary, it is usually the water company’s responsibility and they attend free of charge. Establishing that before work starts is the single biggest saving available, and it is why locating the fault comes before clearing it.

Full explanation in who is responsible for a blocked drain.

What moves the price in London specifically

Three things, none of them the pipe. Access: a rear garden reached only through the house costs more than a front driveway, because everything is carried. Reinstatement: block paving, York stone and mature planting are the real expense of an excavation, not the trench. And permits, where the work sits under a highway or a controlled parking bay.

This is also why a quote given over the phone without a survey means very little. Once the defect is located, the variables are known and the number stops moving. Coverage and typical jobs by area: services by area.

Area pages with what we typically find nearby: blocked drains in NW1.