How Much Does It Cost To Clear a Blocked Drain in Brisbane?

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A blocked drain can be very simple to clear or it could be more complicated depending on what is causing the blockage. The more complicated the blockage, generally the more it costs to clear.

Some of the reasons a pipe or drain can block up are as follows:

  •  Paper Blockage
  •  Foreign Objects
  •  Grease Build up
  •  Broken Pipe
  •  Tree Roots

Simple Blockages:

A simple pipe blockage is generally caused by something being ‘stuck’ in the pipe, like excess toilet paper, a foreign object such as a children’s toy or hygienic product or a build-up of grease from fat being poured down the kitchen sink.

In this situation because the cause isn’t a damaged pipe, once the ‘stuck’ object is quickly dislodged the septic sewerage can continue to move through the pipes freely. There is no need to dig up any pipes or replace broken parts etc. These type of pipe blockages can often be cleaned between ½ – 1 ½ hours, which means cheaper plumbing costs.

 Difficult Blockages:

A blocked drain is considered difficult or more complicated when the reason for the blockage is caused by the sewerage pipe being broken underneath the ground there is tree roots growing inside the pipe; restricting the flow of the sewer.

In these situations the broken pipes may need to be repaired or the tree roots may need to be cleaned out from inside the drain. If a lot of the pipe has been damaged or many meters of tree roots are present it could take many hours to fix these problems and the costs will increase accordingly.

How Do You Know If It Is a Simple Or Difficult Blockage?

To determine if the blocked drain in your Brisbane house is simple or difficult and then fix it accordingly it is best to engage a plumber that has a CCTV drain camera. This is because they can quickly insert the camera into your pipes and actually see what is causing the problem and then locate exactly where the problem is. Without this equipment a plumber can only guess what the cause is and ‘hope’ to be able to fix the real cause of the problem.

A plumber that has a CCTV drain camera will have a higher hourly rate than a plumber without the specialised equipment because the equipment is expensive to buy and maintain. Although the hourly rate may be more when using a plumber with a drain camera, the benefits are that they will be able to see exactly what is causing the problem, locate exactly where the problem is occurring and therefore fix the problem quicker.

For example a blocked drain specialist may charge $300/hr but only take 1 hour to identify the blockage, locate and clean it.

1hr x $300/hr = $300

However a general plumber without the suitable equipment may charge $95/hr, but because they can’t see what the problem is and where it is located, it could take them 4 – 5 hours.

5hrs x $95/hr = $475 4hrs x $95/hr = $380

A non-specialised plumber could cost more and you still won’t know what caused the blockage and if there is something like tree roots in the pipe, and whether they have been completely removed.

Drain Blockages Brisbane | Blocked Drains Brisbane 

Call 0427 159 549