Resin driveways
Surface water and drainage are designed together on a new drive.
Exterior
Something is wrong underground and nobody has actually looked.
A drain that keeps blocking, a smell that will not go, a survey before you buy, or a soakaway that floods every winter. Tell us what is happening and we will introduce you to drainage professionals whose insurance and credentials we have already checked.
What we cover
Typical drainage projects
- CCTV drain surveys: a camera through the run to find out what is actually happening, with a report.
- Pre-purchase surveys: commissioned before exchange, when the cost of a surprise is still someone else’s.
- Blockages and clearing: high-pressure jetting and rodding, including repeat blockages that keep coming back.
- Collapsed and cracked drains: excavation and replacement, or a lining repair where digging can be avoided.
- Root ingress: cutting out tree roots and repairing the joints that let them in.
- Soakaways and surface water: flooded gardens, saturated ground and drives that shed water the wrong way.
What we will ask you
So we can match you accurately, the enquiry asks what you are seeing and how often; whether it affects one fitting or the whole property; whether there is standing water or a smell; whether you have had it cleared before; and whether you know where the inspection chambers are.
Whether it has happened before is the most useful thing you can tell us. A one-off blockage and a drain that blocks every few months are different problems, and the second one usually means something structural that jetting alone will not fix. “Not sure” is always an option.
Why choose Kalvaro
Find out what is wrong before paying to fix it
Drainage is the one trade where the diagnosis is genuinely separate from the repair, and where guessing is expensive. A camera survey costs a fraction of an excavation and tells you whether you need a clear, a liner or a dig. Be cautious of anyone who quotes for the repair before anyone has looked down the drain.
Verified before introduction
Trading history, public liability insurance and identity, verified before a partner sees your enquiry.
Survey before repair
We introduce companies who will tell you what is wrong before quoting to put it right.
Established businesses only
Companies with a trading history and a real identity, not a magnet on a van door.
How it works
Four steps, one conversation
1Tell us what you are seeing
A few guided questions about the symptoms and the property.
2We review your requirements
A member of our team reads it personally.
3We introduce drainage specialists
A small number of suitable, vetted partners.
4You choose with confidence
Compare, decide and start on your terms.
Drainage questions
Frequently asked
Often it is not, and this is worth knowing before you pay for anything. Since October 2011 most shared drains and lateral drains beyond your boundary transferred to the regional water company. As a rough rule you are responsible for the pipework inside your boundary that serves only your property; beyond that, or where it is shared with a neighbour, it is usually the water company. They will normally attend a blockage on their pipework free of charge, so it is worth a call before you commission work.
A camera is fed through the run and you get a recording plus a written report identifying defects, their position and their severity, usually with a plan. That report is what lets you compare repair quotes on equal terms, and it is what an insurer or a seller will want to see. Ask for the report as a deliverable, not just a verbal summary at the van.
For an older property, or one with large trees nearby or a history of subsidence, it is one of the better few hundred pounds you can spend. A standard homebuyer survey does not include drains. Finding a collapsed run before exchange is a negotiation; finding it afterwards is a bill.
Frequently, yes. A cured-in-place liner can be drawn through and set inside the existing pipe, and patch repairs can treat a single defect. It is not right for everything, particularly a fully collapsed section or one that has lost its line, but it is worth asking about before agreeing to excavation, especially under a drive or a patio.
Many buildings policies cover damage caused by escaping water and some cover the drain run itself, often requiring a CCTV report to support the claim. Cover for gradual deterioration or root damage is more variable. Check the policy wording before work starts, because the order of events usually matters to an insurer.
The professional you choose does, directly with you. Pricing is agreed directly between you and the professional you choose. Kalvaro makes the introduction and takes no part in pricing, so we neither set nor guarantee what the work will cost.
Related services
Often planned together
Landscaping
Ground levels and soakaways decide where the water actually goes.
Patios
Falls and channels are part of laying a patio properly.
Tell us what is happening
A few minutes now, and someone who will look before they quote. Free to property owners, with no obligation.