Drain Repairs Christchurch

When a drain keeps blocking, smells or leaves a soft patch in the lawn, the pipe itself is usually damaged. Roots have opened a joint, ground movement has cracked or pulled a section apart, or an old pipe has simply collapsed. Clearing it again only buys time. The fix is to repair or replace the damaged length.

We repair residential and commercial drains across Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri. Every repair starts with a CCTV drain inspection, so we know where the damage is and how far it runs before anyone digs. That means smaller excavations and more accurate quotes, and the drainlaying is done by drainlayers authorised by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.

Pricing: quotes are free, and every job gets a fixed price before we start, so there are no surprises on the invoice.

Drain Repairs Jobs We Handle Across Christchurch

• Drain repairs
• Sewer line repair
• Collapsed drain repair
• Cracked clay pipe replacement
• Pipe bursting
• Root-damaged drains

Signs your drain needs repairing, not just clearing

If a drain blocks again soon after it was cleared, or shows any of these signs, the pipe itself is probably damaged:

• A wet, sunken or unusually green strip of lawn along the drain line
• A sewage smell outside with no obvious blockage
• Cracks in paths or the driveway that follow the drain route
• The gully trap filling after heavy rain, which can mean groundwater or stormwater is getting in
• Camera footage showing cracks, open joints, a dip that holds water or a collapsed section

Earthquakes, liquefaction and Christchurch drains

The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes are still the biggest story under Christchurch sections. On flat land now mapped as TC2 or TC3, liquefaction moved the ground, and rigid earthenware and concrete pipes with mortared joints cracked, separated or settled into dips. Some of that damage was repaired, some was never found, and the repaired joints themselves are now well over a decade old. Where groundwater sits high, as it does in parts of the east, a cracked pipe also lets groundwater in, which overloads the system in wet weather.

Repaired and rebuilt houses are common, so a camera inspection before you buy is money well spent. On TC2 and TC3 land we use flexible, well-detailed drainage that copes with movement better than the mortared joints it replaces.

How It Works

Whose pipe is it?

In Christchurch, the answer depends on the type of system. On a gravity sewer, the owner owns and maintains the lateral on their land, while the council owns the main, the connection and roughly the first metre of lateral inside the property. On a pressure sewer, the lateral from the house to the tank is the owner's, and the tank may be council owned (including tanks installed during the post-quake rebuild) or private. On a vacuum sewer, such as in Shirley, Aranui and Prestons, call the council first; if the vacuum system is working, a drainlayer checks the private lateral.

Camera footage with a locator shows exactly where the fault sits, so you are not paying for the council's pipe. Waimakariri District Council reimburses private plumber or drainlayer costs caused by a fault in its own wastewater pipes, which is worth knowing in Rangiora and Kaiapoi. If your home has a pump tank, see our wastewater pump stations page.

Repair options, from a patch to full replacement

The right repair depends on what the camera shows. A single cracked joint may only need a short section dug up and replaced with new PVC. A longer run of root-affected earthenware in good alignment may suit pipe relining from the inside. A line that has sagged or collapsed after ground movement usually has to be replaced, because a liner follows the shape of the old pipe, dip and all.

We lay each option out with its price, because the cheapest repair today is not always the cheapest over ten years. Smaller faults at the surface, such as a cracked or sunken gully, are handled by our gully trap repairs.

Consents, inspections and paperwork

Drainlaying is restricted work in New Zealand and must be done or supervised by someone authorised by the PGDB; you can check anyone on the public register. Depending on the scope, a repair may need a building consent and an inspection before the trench is backfilled. Christchurch City Council, Selwyn District Council and Waimakariri District Council each run their own consents, so we deal with whichever covers your address and arrange the Code Compliance Certificate where one is needed.

When the work is done you get as-built details for the council record. That paperwork matters when you sell, especially on a house that has already been through earthquake repairs.

What affects the cost

Every drain repair is quoted free after a camera inspection, because two jobs that look alike from the surface can be very different underground. The main factors are:

• Depth of the pipe and the length of the damaged section
• What sits on top: lawn, garden, concrete, a deck or the house itself
• High groundwater that has to be managed while the trench is open
• Whether the drain is shared with neighbours or close to the council main
• Building consent requirements for the scope of work
• Reinstating concrete, paving or landscaping afterwards

Why Choose Cheeky's Plumbers for Drain Repairs

Drain Repairs FAQs

Drain Repairs Across Christchurch

Our drain repairs team works in every Christchurch suburb. Find your local plumbers:

Drain Repairs Guides

• Buying a Quake-Repaired House in Christchurch: Plumbing Checks
• Vacuum Sewers in Shirley, Aranui and Prestons: What Not to Flush
• Pressure Sewer Pump Alarm Going Off? What to Do in Christchurch

Related Services

See all drainage services or every service we offer.