How we quote
Every job is quoted free, in writing, before anything starts
We do not publish a price list, because a figure on a web page is not a price for your job. What we will promise is that looking costs nothing, the quote is itemised with VAT already in it, and once you have accepted it the price does not move.
Our four promises on price
Only about a third of homeowners in the UK ever get an itemised written quote. You will.
That statistic is the reason so few people trust trades, and it is the thing we have built the way we work around. Nothing on this list is unusual. It is just rarer than it should be.
- Free to ask, free to look. No call-out fee and no charge for quoting, at any hour, weekends and bank holidays included
- Itemised and in writing. What is included, what is not, and one figure with VAT already in it
- The price does not move. If the job turns out to be a different job we stop and re-quote rather than adding it to the bill
- No deposit on driveways, patios or groundworks. Nothing to pay until the work is finished and you have told us you are happy with it
Get your job priced
Four questions. Most drainage jobs we can price on the phone in a couple of minutes.
The process
From your first call to a figure you can rely on
Tell us what you need
On the phone, on WhatsApp with a photo, or through the form. For most drainage jobs a two minute conversation is enough for us to price it there and then.
We look, if the job needs looking at
Driveways, groundworks and anything underground get a site visit. It is free, at any hour, and there is no call-out fee whether you go ahead or not.
You get it in writing, itemised
What is included, what is not, and one figure with VAT already in it. Only about a third of homeowners in the UK ever get an itemised written quote. You will.
The price does not move
If we arrive and it turns out to be a different job, we stop, explain, and give you a new price to accept or refuse. What we never do is carry on and put it on the bill.
Six questions to ask any contractor before you compare two quotes
This is worth more to you than a headline price, because it is where a cheaper quote usually goes. Ask us the same questions and hold us to the answers.
- Is that figure including VAT, or will twenty per cent be added later?
- Is there a call-out fee, and is there a supplement for evenings or weekends?
- Is taking the waste away included, and will I get a waste transfer note for it?
- On a drain, is a camera check afterwards included so I can see what caused it?
- On a dig, is putting the paving, tarmac or turf back included in that price?
- On a driveway, how deep are you excavating and what sub-base are you laying?
What actually changes the cost of a job
Rather than a price we cannot stand behind, here is the honest version: the things we look at on each type of work, and why each one moves the figure. It is the same list we work through when we price your job.
Blocked drains and drainage
Most blockages are a straightforward, predictable job and we can price them on the phone. What moves the figure:
| What we look at | Why it changes the job |
|---|---|
| How much is affected | One sink is a small job. Every fitting in the house backing up means the main run, which takes longer and needs different kit. |
| Where the blockage is | A gully by the back door is quick. A run under a driveway with no access at one end is not. |
| What caused it | Fat and wipes come out with rods or a jetter. Roots need an electro-mechanical cutter. Scale needs descaling. |
| Whether the pipe is sound | If the camera shows a crack or a collapse behind the blockage, that is a separate repair and a separate quote, and you decide. |
| The time of day | Nothing. Same price at 2am on a Sunday as at 2pm on a Tuesday, and no call-out fee either way. |
CCTV surveys and reports
A survey is priced on the size of the system and what the report has to prove.
| What we look at | Why it changes the job |
|---|---|
| How many chambers | A small terrace with two chambers is quicker than a detached house with six and a separate surface water system. |
| Whether the covers can be found | A chamber that has been paved or turfed over has to be located and dug out before anything can go down it. |
| What the report is for | A report written for a solicitor or an insurer takes longer than a look to find one blockage, because everything has to be located and coded. |
| Whether you need the run mapped | Tracing the line and depth from the surface and marking it out is extra work, and it is what you need before anyone digs. |
| Remedial work | If you book the repair with us on the same visit, the survey fee comes off it in full. |
Repairs and lining
We never quote a repair without seeing it on camera first, because guessing is how people end up paying for the wrong thing.
| What we look at | Why it changes the job |
|---|---|
| Lining or digging | A cracked pipe still holding its line can usually be patched or lined with no ground broken, for a fraction of an excavation. A collapsed one cannot. |
| The length affected | One bad joint is a patch. A tired run end to end is a full length liner, priced by the metre. |
| Depth | The deeper the pipe, the more excavation, shoring and time, and it rises quickly. |
| What is on top of it | Turf is easy. Block paving can be lifted and relaid invisibly. A concrete drive or a conservatory floor is a different job entirely. |
| Reinstatement | Included in the quote, always. Putting the surface back is part of the repair, not an extra afterwards. |
Driveways, patios and groundworks
Priced per square metre once we have measured up and seen the levels. Two quotes that look the same on paper are often very different jobs underneath, so ask about all of these.
| What we look at | Why it changes the job |
|---|---|
| The area | Measured on site, not estimated from a satellite photo. |
| The surface | Gravel, tarmac, block paving, permeable block paving, resin bound and porcelain all sit at different rates, and we will give you the honest cost and maintenance trade-off for each. |
| Excavation depth and the sub-base | This is the part that decides whether it is still flat in ten years. We quote the build-up, so you can compare it against anyone else's price. |
| What is there now | Breaking out old concrete costs more to remove than lifting turf, and it is heavy inert waste. |
| Levels and drainage | A slope needing retaining, or a surface needing channel drainage or a soakaway, adds work. So does getting the falls away from the house right. |
| Access | Whether a machine and a lorry can get to it, or whether it has to be barrowed through a side gate. |
Waste removal and maintenance
Send a photo of the pile on WhatsApp and we will normally price it the same day.
| What we look at | Why it changes the job |
|---|---|
| Volume | Priced by what we actually take, not by the size of a skip you have to fill yourself. |
| What it is | Garden and general waste is straightforward. Soil, rubble, hardcore and concrete are heavy inert waste, which most van clearance firms will not touch and we will. |
| Access | Whether we can back up to it or have to carry it out. |
| Maintenance contracts | Priced per site and per year on the type of property and what has gone wrong there historically. A pub kitchen needs a different cycle to an office gully. |
Always included
In the quote, not added afterwards
- Coming out to look at the job and quote it, at any hour
- The price we quote, itemised and in writing before anything starts
- VAT, included in the figure we quote you and never added afterwards
- Chambers lifted and reinstated, and the area washed down
- A camera check and a written note of what caused the problem
- Waste taken away under our own registration, with a transfer note
- Reinstating paving, tarmac or turf where we have dug
Quoted separately
Only these, and only after we have asked you
- Excavating a buried chamber nobody can find, agreed with you first
- Additional chambers beyond the first two on a survey
- Utility company charges where their apparatus has to be moved
- Council application fees for a dropped kerb, paid direct to the council
- Building control and water company fees on new drainage
Nothing on this list ever appears on an invoice without a conversation first.
Questions about price
What people ask before they ring
Why are there no prices on your website?
Because a figure on a web page is not a price for your job. Two things move the cost of almost everything we do: what is actually wrong, and what is on top of it. Neither is knowable from a website, and we would rather not quote you something we then have to change. Ring us and you will have a real figure in a couple of minutes.
Is the quote free?
Yes, always. There is no call-out fee and no charge for coming out to look, at any hour, including weekends and bank holidays. You only pay if you go ahead with the work.
Do your quotes include VAT?
Yes. Every figure we give you has VAT in it already. We think quoting a householder excluding VAT is a way of looking twenty per cent cheaper than you are.
Will the price change once you get here?
No. The price we agree before we set off is the price you pay. If we get there and the job turns out to be a different job, we stop, explain, and give you a new price to accept or refuse. We never carry on and put it on the bill.
Do you charge more at night or at weekends?
No. Same price at 2am on a Sunday as at 2pm on a Tuesday, and no call-out fee either way. The one exception is a CCTV survey booked outside working hours, which carries a supplement because that is planned work rather than an emergency, and we tell you about it when you book.
Can you price it over the phone?
Most drainage jobs, yes. Blockages, surveys and waste removal we can usually price in a two minute conversation, or from a photo on WhatsApp. Driveways, groundworks and anything underground need a look first, and that visit is free.
How do your prices compare with a national firm?
Cheaper, on the evidence of our own customers. One review says it plainly: much cheaper than a big national company we used previously. We have no call centre, no franchise fee and no marketing budget to cover.
Do you take payment up front?
No deposit on driveways, patios or groundworks, and nothing to pay until the work is finished and you have told us you are satisfied with it. On smaller drainage jobs we take payment on the day, once the work is done.
Want your actual job priced?
Ring us and describe it, or send a photo on WhatsApp. Most jobs we can price on the phone in a couple of minutes, and it costs nothing to ask.