Wellington Drainlayers — Fixed-Price Drain Replacement
Broken gully trap? Collapsed stormwater line? Sewage backing up onto the lawn? Southern’s drainlayers have been digging, laying and repairing Wellington drains since 1982 — 40+ years, around 29,000 jobs completed across Wellington city, the Hutt Valley, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.
Every job is quoted fixed-price before we start. And if we don’t show when we said we would, you don’t pay — Your Job On Time, or It’s Free. Call 0800 484 353.
Every Drainage Job, Start to Finish
We do the full scope of residential and commercial drainage — we own the excavators, the CCTV rigs and the water blasters, so you don’t end up paying three different contractors:
- New drain laying for renovations and additions
- Gully trap and sump replacements
- Stormwater and sewer line replacement
- Drainage investigations and dye testing
- CCTV drain inspections
- Drain unblocking — mechanical, water blast, hydro-jet
- Septic tank servicing
- Basement seepage and ground-water drainage
- Pipe relining (no-dig repairs)
Every job is certified to Wellington and NZ Building Code drainage standards.
See Inside the Drain Before You Dig It Up
Guessing where a blockage is means digging up half the lawn. A CCTV inspection gives you the answer in 20 minutes — we run a camera down the drain, record the footage, and show you exactly what’s happening and where.
You’ll see whether it’s tree roots, a cracked pipe, a collapsed section, or just a build-up of fat and wipes. We mark the surface location so repair work is targeted — no exploratory trenches.
Most pre-purchase drain inspections and insurance claim reports use CCTV footage as evidence.
Tree Roots, Collapsed Pipes & Recurring Blockages
Wellington’s hilly terrain, heavy clay soil and mature trees are a perfect recipe for drain problems. If you keep getting the same blockage back every few months, the root cause is usually one of these:
- Tree roots growing into earthenware joints — especially older Wellington suburbs with heritage plantings
- Cracked or collapsed earthenware pipes in homes built pre-1980
- Ground movement from Wellington’s seismic activity shearing pipe joints
- Bellied sections where the pipe has dropped and traps solids
- Council-side blockages on the public main
Unblocking is a short-term fix. We’ll CCTV first, identify the real cause, and quote a permanent repair — usually either spot-dig and replace or trenchless pipe relining.
Blocked Sumps, Drain Pits & Stormwater
Wellington rainfall doesn’t muck around. When a sump, channel drain or driveway pit can’t cope, water ends up in garages, basements and under the floorboards. We clear, repair and replace them:
- Blocked sump and drain pit clearing (water blaster + vacuum)
- Replacing collapsed or rusted-out sumps
- New channel drains for driveways and patios
- Stormwater line repairs and re-routing
- Soakpit installations and maintenance
- Downpipe-to-stormwater connections
If water’s coming up through your basement floor, read our page on ground-water seepage.
Licensed, Certified & Council-Compliant
Drainage work in Wellington has to be done by a licensed drainlayer and signed off to the NZ Building Code. We have Certifying Drainlayers on staff, we handle council notifications, and we’ve been Master Plumbers Association members for 25+ years.
Every new drain run is pressure-tested and inspected before backfill. You get a compliance certificate and CCTV footage of the completed pipe — useful for resale, insurance or future renovations.
Whether you’re in Karori, Johnsonville, Island Bay, Paraparaumu or Lower Hutt, we’ll handle the consenting paperwork.
Residential & Commercial Drainlaying
Residential drainlaying is our bread and butter — everything from a blocked gully trap to a full new-build drainage package.
We also handle commercial work: cafe and restaurant grease traps, body-corporate stormwater, school sumps, retail fit-outs, and body-corp apartment buildings. After-hours work available so we don’t disrupt your trading hours.
Call 0800 484 353 to book a site visit, or request a written quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. Under NZ law, sanitary drainage work must be done by a licensed drainlayer. Southern has Certifying Drainlayers on staff, plus Certifying Plumbers and Gasfitters — so we can handle the whole job, including council notifications and sign-off.