Engineer on call now01721 540593
Fixed price agreed before we start · No fix, no fee · 10 years qualified
Answering calls day and night, 365 days a year.
Tell me what's happening and I'll ask what I need to, no call centre and no hold music.
Agreed before I set off, so there's nothing to negotiate once I'm on site.
You see exactly what was wrong and that it's sorted, then I tidy up and go.
An overflowing manhole or inspection chamber almost always means a blockage further down the main drain run, not a fault with the chamber itself. Around here it's usually one of a few things: tree roots working into an old clay pipe joint, years of fat and wet wipes narrowing the pipe until it finally gives up, or a section of pitch-fibre drain from the 1950s to 70s that's deformed or partly collapsed under the ground above it. Heavy rain and a high winter water table often tip an already-narrowed pipe over the edge, which is why chambers tend to overflow after a wet spell even if they coped fine all summer.
When I come out, I clear the run from the chamber with jetting, which shifts fat, roots and packed debris that rodding alone usually can't. Once it's flowing again I check it properly rather than just walking away, and if it's collapsed, badly cracked, or keeps coming back, I'll run a camera down afterwards so we both know exactly what's there before deciding what, if anything, needs doing next.
If the chamber only takes waste from your house and it's inside your boundary, it's yours to sort. That's what I do.
If the chamber or pipe is shared with a neighbour, or the blockage is past the point where next door's pipe joins, it's Wessex Water's responsibility and they will clear it at no cost to you. Call them on 0345 600 4 600.
If you're not sure, call me and describe it. I'll tell you honestly on the phone before you spend anything.
Most overflowing chambers aren't broken in themselves. It's normally a blockage in the main drain run downstream of the chamber, so water backs up until it finds the easiest way out, often straight over the top. Jetting from the chamber clears the great majority of these in a single visit. If it doesn't, or it happens again, a camera run down the pipe afterwards shows whether roots or a collapse further along caused it, so we know exactly what we're dealing with.
Jetting the chamber
Running clearBlockages cleared, broken runs dug out and replaced, and the ground put back properly afterwards. Every photo below is our own work, taken on the job.
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After
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After
It depends where the blockage is. If it's on the pipework serving only your house and it's within your boundary, it's yours to sort. If it's shared with a neighbour, or the blockage sits past the point where next door's pipe joins yours, it's Wessex Water's responsibility. Call me and I'll tell you honestly which applies before you spend anything.
It usually means the blockage is severe enough that even normal household water use can't get past it. That's often roots at an old clay joint or a build-up of fat and wipes further down the run.
Not usually. Most overflowing chambers clear with jetting from the manhole itself. Digging is only needed if a camera check afterwards shows a collapse or a section that's actually broken.
I answer the phone myself, day or night, and I'm usually on my way the same day, sooner for anything genuinely overflowing.
Leave your number and a quick note about the problem. I'll ring you straight back, usually within minutes during the day.
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