Blocked drains cleared, and the cause fixed

Drainage problems rarely announce themselves politely. Slow gullies, recurring blockages and unexplained damp are usually symptoms of something further down the line, and guessing is expensive. GEM approaches drainage diagnostically: clear the immediate problem, then establish the cause.

Our teams carry out high-pressure water jetting and mechanical clearance for blockages, CCTV surveys to map the condition of runs beneath London's older properties, and no-dig lining or excavation repairs where the survey shows genuine defects. You receive the footage and a plain-English condition report, not just an invoice.

What a CCTV drain survey tells you

A camera survey produces a recorded inspection of the pipe run, a defect log referenced to positions and depths, and a costed recommendation. Displaced joints, root ingress, scale and collapsed sections all look identical from above ground and cost very different amounts to fix, which is why we survey before quoting structural work. The footage is also evidence that insurers accept and that pre-purchase buyers increasingly ask for on Victorian and Edwardian stock.

No-dig repairs where they are honest

Structural lining cures a cracked or root-damaged run without excavation by curing a resin sleeve inside the existing pipe, and localised patch repairs do the same for single defects. Lining is quicker, avoids digging up gardens and driveways, and in most domestic cases costs well under half of what excavation would. Where a run has collapsed or back-falls, lining cannot help and we say so; excavation and replacement is then quoted with reinstatement included, so a repaired drain does not leave you with a ruined path.

Stopping the three a.m. blockage call

For portfolio clients we schedule preventative jetting on known problem runs, which is dramatically cheaper than the emergency alternative and keeps tenants out of the loop entirely. Shared kitchen stacks in HMOs, grease-prone commercial runs and tree-lined garden drains are the usual candidates, and a once-a-year programme typically ends the pattern of repeat callouts.

Rainwater drainage earns less attention and causes a surprising share of damp claims. Blocked gullies and silted ACO channels push surface water against walls and under thresholds, and the resulting damp is routinely misdiagnosed as rising damp and treated with the wrong, expensive remedy. Clearing and maintaining the external drainage is often the entire fix.