Gully Trap Repairs Christchurch

The gully trap is the grated dish outside the kitchen, laundry or bathroom wall where the waste pipes drop into the drain. It has two jobs. The water sitting in it stops sewer gas coming back up the pipes, and its rim is the planned overflow point for the house, so if the drain downstream blocks, wastewater spills outside instead of up through the shower.

We repair, replace and raise gully traps across Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri. Our drainlayers fix the trap, check the drain behind it, and set the rim at the height the Building Code expects, so it keeps protecting the house.

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

Gully Trap Repairs Jobs We Handle Across Christchurch

• Overflowing gully trap
• Gully trap replacement
• Raise gully trap
• Cracked gully trap repair
• Smelly gully trap
• Overflow relief gully installation

Signs your gully trap needs attention

Some faults are obvious. Others only show up in heavy rain or when the washing machine pumps out. Book a check if you notice any of these: If the gully overflows because the line beyond it is blocked, that is a blocked drain job rather than a gully repair.

• Water or toilet paper sitting in the dish, or spilling over the rim
• A sewer smell near the laundry or kitchen wall
• Cracks in the concrete surround or the dish itself
• The rim level with, or below, the lawn, garden or paving
• Rainwater pooling around the grate after a southerly
• A missing, broken or concreted-over grate

Why gully traps overflow, crack and smell

An overflowing gully is a warning, not the fault itself. Usually the drain past the trap is choked by roots, fat or a broken earthenware section, and the trap is simply doing its job as the release point. If yours keeps overflowing, we clear it and then run a CCTV drain inspection so you know what is behind it.

Smells usually mean the water seal has dried out, cracked or been bypassed. A trap that only gets a trickle, such as one serving a spare basin, can lose its seal over a dry nor'west summer. Cracks come from settlement, roots lifting the surround and old age. Much of Christchurch's flat land liquefied in 2010 and 2011, and paths, patios and gully traps did not always settle by the same amount, so a gully that sat correctly before the quakes can now be low, tilted or cracked at the joint.

How It Works

Gully trap height and overflow relief rules

When a gully works as the overflow relief point for the house, its height matters. Building Code clause G13 guidance requires the overflow rim to sit at least 150 mm below the overflow level of the lowest fixture it protects, such as a shower tray or floor waste. BRANZ guidance adds that the rim should be at least 25 mm above paving and 100 mm above unpaved ground, so surface water cannot run in. The grate also has to lift freely if the drain surcharges.

New paving, raised gardens and years of topsoil often leave older gullies too low. That matters more in Christchurch than in many cities, because large parts of the city sit in Flood Management Areas and the east has high groundwater. Rain or floodwater getting into a low gully goes straight into the wastewater network. If a roof downpipe still empties into your gully, it should go to stormwater instead, and our stormwater drains team can move it on the same visit.

What we do: clear, repair, raise or replace

Most gully jobs come down to one of four fixes. We clear a blocked trap with a drain machine or jetter. We patch or rebuild a cracked surround. We raise a low gully with a riser or a new dish at the correct height, regrading the paving so water falls away. Or, where the trap is broken below ground, we dig it out and fit a new PVC gully with a fresh connection to the drain.

If the drain behind the gully is cracked, shifted or full of roots, clearing the trap alone will not last. We show you the footage and quote for drain repairs, so you can decide with the facts in front of you.

Gully trap repair cost

The final price depends on whether the trap needs raising, rebuilding or replacing, how deep it sits, whether it is under a deck or concrete that has to be cut, and whether the drain beyond it needs work. You get a fixed price before we start.

Common Christchurch gully trap problems

Older bungalows in Beckenham and St Albans often have the gully hard against a brick or roughcast base, sometimes buried under decades of garden. Homes repaired after the earthquakes can have new paths or patios poured up to the rim. In the new subdivisions of Wigram, Halswell and Rolleston, gullies are often boxed in by decks and fences, which BRANZ notes still need clear access above the trap. We leave the gully where it can be seen, cleaned and reached.

Why Choose Cheeky's Plumbers for Gully Trap Repairs

Gully Trap Repairs FAQs

Gully Trap Repairs Across Christchurch

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

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