Specialist Building & Property Maintenance Services You Can Depend On.
Emergency drainage — North Wales, Cheshire and Wirral
Emergency Drainage & Drain Repairs
Across North Wales, Cheshire and Wirral
A blocked, collapsed or overflowing drain does not wait for office hours. Quirks Property Maintenance Ltd attends drainage emergencies across Flintshire, Chester and Ellesmere Port, Wrexham, the Wirral and North Wales 24 hours a day — with our own high-pressure jetting unit and CCTV drain survey camera on the van, and a building team behind them that can dig, repair, rebuild the manhole and make good the drive afterwards.
5.0★★★★★Based on 100+ Google reviews
20+years trading
£5 millionpublic liability insurance in place
Workmanship guarantee on completed worksOne contractorAll trades under one roofMemberships and certifications
If it is dangerous right now
In short: we clear the drain, survey it with our own camera so you see why it failed, and carry out the repair — excavation, new pipework, manhole and gully rebuilds and the making-good — as one contractor, 24 hours a day.
Where there is any risk to life — flood water reaching sockets or electrics, a smell of gas anywhere near the drain, or ground that has given way — call the emergency services first, before you call us.
Then stop putting water into the system: no taps, washing machines or flushing while waste is backing up. Keep children and pets away from lifted covers, open excavations and standing waste water. If water is entering the building, move what you can and leave the electrics alone unless the consumer unit is safely clear of the water.
Then send us a photo of the drain, gully or manhole on WhatsApp or call 01244 638219. On the call-out the area is made as safe as conditions allow, the cause is found, temporary protection goes in where it is needed, and you get a written quotation for the permanent repair.
Where we cover
- Wrexham
Wrexham town, the villages and Wrexham Industrial Estate
- Flintshire & Deeside
Connah’s Quay, Shotton, Buckley, Mold, Flint, Holywell and Deeside Industrial Park
- Chester & Ellesmere Port
Hoole, Handbridge, Blacon, Upton, the city centre, Whitby and the Suttons
- Wirral
Birkenhead and Wallasey to Heswall, West Kirby and Hoylake
We also cover wider Cheshire, Denbighshire, Conwy and the North Wales coast — send a photo and we will tell you how soon we can be with you.
Recent Drainage Work
Wirral
A fractured clay surface-water drain beside a front door, dug out and replaced, and the flagged path relaid.
Emergency Drain Repairs in Wirral
Wrexham
A drain leaking under a tiled floor: the floor opened in two areas, the pipe repaired, new membrane and concrete.
Emergency Drain Repairs in Wrexham
Chester
A new channel drain cut in along a commercial unit’s threshold and tied into the yard drainage.
Emergency Drain Repairs in Chester
Flintshire
A new foul drain with a chamber at each end, tested before backfilling and signed off by Building Control.
Drain Repairs in Flintshire & Deeside
What we attend
What counts as a drainage emergency?
Some drainage faults can wait for a convenient appointment. These cannot, because every hour makes the damage worse or the property unusable:
Waste water or sewage backing up into a toilet, bath, shower or sink
A drain, gully or manhole overflowing outside, especially in rain
Foul smells inside the building that get stronger near floors, walls or the kitchen
Ground sinking, a new hollow in a drive or lawn, or a wet patch that never dries — signs of a collapsed or leaking pipe
A commercial kitchen, care home, pub or unit that cannot operate until the drain is clear
A blocked drain in a rented property where the tenant has no working toilet
If any of those is happening now, send a photo on WhatsApp or call 01244 638219. We run a 24-hour call-out service, seven days a week.
Sewage is a health risk
Foul water coming back into a building is contaminated, and the rooms affected cannot be used safely until the drain is running and the area has been cleaned.
A blockage does not clear itself
Every flush and every tap adds to what is already backed up, so the level keeps rising until the run is cleared.
Water finds the building
An overflowing drain or gully sends water against walls and under floors, where it soaks in and causes damp long after the surface looks dry.
The ground keeps moving
A leaking or collapsed pipe washes out the ground around it. A small hollow in a drive or path becomes a bigger repair the longer it is left.
What we do on the day
Clearing a drain is the first step, not the whole job. Most call-outs follow the same five steps, carried out by our own operatives with our own equipment.
Locate
We identify the run, the manholes and the chambers, and work out which section is blocked, collapsed or leaking.
Clear
High-pressure water jetting clears blockages, fat, scale and roots to restore flow.
Survey
A CCTV drain survey shows why it blocked, such as cracks, root ingress or a collapsed section.
Repair
We excavate and replace failed sections, renew gullies and covers, and rebuild manholes where needed.
Make good
We reinstate the drive, path, lawn or floor and carry out a final check.
What that means in practice. Knowing whose pipe it is comes first, because a shared or public sewer is the water company’s to repair, not yours. We rod where a jetter cannot reach. Clearing gets the property back in use, but it does not tell you why the drain blocked — that is what the CCTV survey is for, and it also shows displaced joints or a fall that was never right. You see the footage. Repairs include manhole rebuilds and re-benching in brick and concrete, and the same team that opened the ground puts it back, so there is no waiting for another contractor.
What we put right afterwards
Because Quirks is a multi-trade building contractor, the same team can take on the plastering, flooring, brickwork or decorating that a drain failure leaves behind — you are not left finding a second trade to finish the job.
For your home, for your business
For your home.
Blocked toilets and drains, overflowing gullies and manholes, smells you cannot trace — we attend, clear and survey, and keep you informed at every step, so you know what was found and what the drain actually needs.
For your business.
A commercial kitchen, care home, pub or unit that cannot trade until the drain runs — plus yard gullies, interceptors and grease traps. We attend out of hours, work around your operation where access allows, and provide the survey report and invoice your accounts team or managing agent needs.
Whose drain is it?
This is the question most people ask at two in the morning, and the answer decides who pays. Since 1 October 2011, in England and Wales, most drains that serve more than one property — and any drain beyond your property boundary — belong to the water company: Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water in Wales, United Utilities in Cheshire and the Wirral. The drain that serves only your property, inside your boundary, is yours.
In practice: a blockage in the pipe from your kitchen to your own manhole is yours to fix. A blockage in a shared run at the back of a terrace, or in the sewer under the road, is the water company’s — call them first. If you are not sure, send us a photo and tell us what you can see, and we will tell you which it is likely to be before anyone attends. Where the fault is on a public sewer we say so — we would rather point you to the water company than attend a job that is theirs.
Landlords are responsible for the private drains serving the properties they let. Leaseholders in flats should check the lease — shared drains within the building are usually the freeholder’s or management company’s.
From the house to the public sewer
Where the pipe changes name, and who is normally responsible for each part.
What each part means
Private drain
Normally yoursThe pipe from your house to your boundary, serving your property only.
Lateral drain
Normally the water company’sThe same run carrying on past your boundary. It still serves only your property, but it is no longer yours.
Sewer
Normally the water company’sOnce a neighbour’s drainage joins it, the combined pipe is a sewer — wherever it runs, including across a garden.
Public sewer
The water company’sThe main under the road that the sewers in the street run into.
A sewer can also run inside a boundary
Where the pipe runs is not what decides it — what decides it is how many properties it serves.
From the junction onwards the pipe serves more than one property — so it is a sewer, even though it runs through House A’s garden.
Normally yours
The drain serving only your property, inside your boundary — for example the pipe from your kitchen to your own manhole. Landlords are normally responsible for the private drains serving the properties they let.
Normally the water company’s
Since 1 October 2011, in England and Wales, lateral drains and sewers were largely transferred to the water companies — including pipes that cross private ground and the public sewer under the road.
When a drain needs lining rather than digging up
Not every cracked drain needs excavating. Where the survey shows a pipe that is cracked, root-damaged or leaking at the joints but still round and in line, a lining installed from inside the pipe can restore it without opening the ground — useful under extensions, driveways and commercial yards. Quirks does not install linings itself. Where the CCTV survey shows lining is the right repair, we arrange it through a specialist lining contractor and manage the job as part of the works, so you still deal with one company.
Where the pipe is collapsed, out of line or has lost its fall, lining is the wrong answer and we say so.
A pipe that is cracked, root-damaged or leaking at the joints but still round and in line can be relined from the inside, with no ground opened. A pipe that has collapsed, dropped out of line or lost its fall cannot — and we tell you so rather than sell a lining that will fail.
Insurance Claims, Landlords
and Letting Agents
A blocked or collapsed drain is often an insurance matter as well as a repair. We provide the evidence an insurer asks for, and we work the way letting agents and landlords need us to work.
Insurance claims
Damage to underground pipes is often covered by buildings insurance under accidental damage, and some policies cover the cost of finding the fault as well as repairing it. Check your policy or ask us — where required, we can provide the CCTV survey footage, photographs, reports and quotations to support a claim, and we can deal with the loss adjuster on the repair.
Before you claim
Take photographs before anything is moved, and tell your insurer before repair work starts, as most want to approve the cost first.
Landlords and letting agents
We attend emergency call-outs around the clock, keep the tenant informed on site, and invoice the agent with the report attached. If the drain turns out to be the water company’s, we tell the tenant who to ring and leave it there.
One contractor
Emergency drainage services
Drain unblocking & jetting
Blockages, fat, scale and roots cleared with our own high-pressure jetting unit.
CCTV drain surveys
Our own camera shows why the drain failed — and you see the footage.
Drain repairs & excavation
Failed sections dug out and replaced; new gullies and covers; lining arranged where the survey shows it is the better repair.
Manholes, gullies & making good
Chambers rebuilt and re-benched in brick and concrete; drives, paths and floors reinstated by the same team.
Related Services for
Drainage Emergencies
A blocked or collapsed drain rarely stops at the drain. Quirks is a building contractor, so the plumbing, damp, structural and flooding work a drain failure leaves behind is handled by the same team.
Emergency Plumber
24 Hours
Water backing up into sinks, toilets or baths inside the property, and burst or leaking pipework, handled on the same call-out.
Damp Proofing
Services
A leaking drain at a wall base keeps the brickwork wet. We treat the damp once the pipe behind it is repaired.
Structural Crack
Repairs
Ground washed out by a leaking pipe under a wall can crack it. We repair the drain and the structure together.
Flood & Water
Damage Restoration
Where a drain failure has flooded a room or cellar, we pump out, strip back, dry and reinstate.
Soakaway
Installations
For properties off the mains, a new or rebuilt soakaway to take surface water away from the building.
Our team is on call 24 hours a day for blocked, collapsed and overflowing drains.
Why choose Quirks for emergency drainage
- Our own high-pressure jetting unit and CCTV drain survey camera on the van — no waiting for a hire
- A building contractor, not just a drain company: excavation, manhole and gully rebuilds, reinstatement and any making-good done by the same team
- A written quotation before any dig
- DBS-checked operatives — attending schools, care homes and occupied housing
- Honest about ownership: if the fault is on a public sewer, we tell you to call the water company
Emergency drainage FAQs
Do you really attend 24 hours a day?
Yes — we run a 24-hour call-out service, seven days a week. Attendance depends on where you are and where our nearest team is, so we tell you honestly when you get in touch rather than promising a figure. At any hour, the quickest way to reach us is a photo on WhatsApp.
Is the drain mine or the water company’s?
Since October 2011 most shared drains, and any drain beyond your property boundary, belong to the water company — Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water in Wales, United Utilities in Cheshire and the Wirral. The drain serving only your property inside your boundary is yours. Send us a photo and describe where it is; we will tell you which before anyone attends.
What does a drain clearance visit include?
We attend, locate the blockage, clear it with our jetting unit or rods, and check the drain is running freely before we leave. If the survey shows a collapsed pipe or another fault that needs repairing, we put it in a written quotation before any further work starts.
Do you do the CCTV survey yourselves?
Yes. We own the camera and survey the run on the same visit as the clearance, so you see why it blocked and what it needs. You get the footage and, where an insurer or landlord needs it, a written report.
Can you repair the drain as well as clear it?
Yes — that is the point of using a building contractor. We excavate and replace failed sections, rebuild manholes and benching, replace gullies and covers, and reinstate the surface afterwards. Where the survey shows lining is the right repair, we arrange it through a specialist lining contractor and manage the job for you.
Will my buildings insurance pay?
Often, for accidental damage to underground pipes — and some policies cover locating the fault as well. Check your policy or ask us; we can provide the survey footage and report to support a claim.
Is the work done by your own operatives?
Yes. Quirks’ own DBS-checked operatives attend, clear, survey and repair. The one thing we do not do in-house is install pipe linings — where lining is the right repair we arrange it through a specialist lining contractor and manage the job.
How far into North Wales do you cover?
Our regular patch runs along the coast from Rhyl and Prestatyn to Colwyn Bay, Llandudno and Conwy, and inland to Denbigh, Ruthin, St Asaph and the Conwy valley. For properties off the mains we clear and repair soakaways and the drains and outfalls serving septic tanks — we do not empty tanks, which is a licensed tanker service, but we can tell you whether the tank or the drain is the problem before you pay for either. If you are outside that patch, tell us where you are and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people.
How much does an emergency drain repair cost?
For repairs, the cost turns on depth, what the pipe runs under, whether a manhole or gully has to be rebuilt, and how much reinstatement is left behind — so no figure is honest until the run has been seen. Most jobs we can price from photographs — send yours on WhatsApp or by email and we’ll come back with a written quotation.
What affects the cost
Where the survey finds a collapsed section, root damage or a fault under a drive or floor, we give a written quotation for the repair before any excavation — nothing is dug up on a nod. What moves the price is depth, what the pipe runs under (lawn, block paving, concrete, a floor slab), whether a manhole or gully has to be rebuilt, and how much reinstatement the job leaves behind. No prices are published here because no two runs are the same; the written quotation is the price.
Send us a photo
Send us a photo, we’ll take it from there
You don’t need to describe the problem down the phone. A photo tells us most of what we need.
- WhatsApp or email us photos. — A couple of pictures of the problem and your postcode.
- We reply with what it looks like and what happens next. — Where the photos show enough, that’s a price. If they can’t, we’ll arrange a visit.
- You get a written quotation. — A clear scope of works, so you know what is included.
- We do the work and leave it clean.
Get emergency drainage help now
Send a photo of the drain, gully or manhole on WhatsApp and we will tell you what we think is wrong and what happens next — or call 01244 638219, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Email: info@quirksonline.co.uk.
Emergency drainage — send us photographs
WhatsApp or email gets the quickest reply. We come back to you as soon as we can.
Photographs may not always be enough to diagnose a drainage fault, and a site visit may still be needed.
Written and reviewed by Michael Quirk, Director.
