The average hourly rate for a drain specialist is £41 per hour. If you have stubborn blocked drain or there is a foul smell in and around the house you probably need to call a drain specialist. Your plumber is there to install, service and repair pipes but the minute you are struggling with a bad blockage, (e.g bath water refusing to drain or water accumulating in an outside drain, not clearing away) this will usually require the specialist to come in with powerful cleaning pressure water jets and possibly even special cameras that can be placed inside sewers and water pipes to trace the inside of the pipework, investigating the cause of the blockage. Hourly rates vary because of expertise, number of heads on the job, and call out charge calculations and range from £23 to £151.
View our UK drain specialist cost per hour table.
The average daily rate for a drain specialist is £249 per day. Calling out a drainage professional can be for preventative reasons, e.g., servicing and cleaning a septic tank from any build-up of bottom sludge and floating scum, or the need can be more of an emergency investigate and repair, e.g., outside drains that are completely blocked or slow draining, a toilet that keeps getting flooded or the repair job of pipes that need sections to be replaced / relined / patched. Whatever the reason you can end up paying up to £460 per day so let us help you find you a drain specialist at a rate you can afford.
View our UK drain specialist cost per day table.
Once you know which drain experts are available, pick a couple to request an estimate or quote for your job so you get a good idea how much it is going to cost. Check to see if they are qualified, this could be a City & Guilds Drainage Engineer course, or they have completed one of the National Drainage Academy courses. For your safeguarding, there are different associations for the Drain Specialists to belong to which will ensure the tradesperson you choose follows the industry standard of practice e.g., NADC (The National Association of Drainage Contractors).
When you get the quote from the drainage specialist, study the quote to see if you have only been quoted for an inspection (and does this include CCTV footage?) or have you also been quoted to unblock the drain. If quoted to unblock, does this include any chemicals that may be required for the jetting unit and will it also include root cutting equipment if the jet pressure washer is not enough to dislodge a tree root / stump. Ask the drain specialist if there is damage to the inside lining of pipework or O-rings while dislodging any solid blockages, is it an extra charge to then repair the inside with a localised patch.
Check if the price includes VAT and discuss the method of payment before they visit your home.
They should arrive with all of the equipment needed for the job and you may only need to provide a water connection near to the blocked drain or pipe. Check what access they will need so that you can clear away the area before their arrival and unlock any backyard and side access gates. Be sure to make the entire garden accessible for them in case they need to look through a different part of the drain. The drain specialists will need the van or truck parked as close to your property as possible, therefore if you live in a city or built-up area, you may need to use your bins to block off a parking space for them as close to your home as possible.
Tips: If it is an outside drain that keeps flooding during heavy rain, make a note of how many days of rain in general before the drain backs up - is there a certain smell (an egg sulphur smell) accompanying the water, have you had any big trees cut away from the garden since living there that there might still be a root hidden underground, has this issue always happened since you have owned the property, can neighbours say if past owners had the same issue, have you called anyone else out about it before and if yes, what did they do to try and treat the issue?
| Job details | Estimate |
| Re-lining a section of drain pipework | £600 |
| Patch a section of drain pipework | £225 |
| Replace a section of pipework | £850 |
| Clean and remove debris from gutters | £100 |
| Bath water not draining away | £80 |
| Kitchen drain oil / fat / soap scum blockages | £80 |
| Kitchen drain oil / fat / soap scum blockages | £80 |
| Investigative CCTV work, drain survey | £250 |
| Jet pressure blast away a blockage | £175 |
| Cut away and remove tree roots | £300 |
| Clean and maintain outside drains | £150 |