Every drain backed up
In January 2025 we were called to a Craigie home with a whole-house blockage: every fixture backing up, not just one. That usually means the problem is out in the main sewer line, past the point where the house branches join.
We started where we normally would, jetting downstream from the drain gully outside. The jetter kept getting stuck. When a jetter hose won’t travel, there is usually a bend, a jump-up or a change in the pipe it can’t get round, so we needed to know how the line actually ran.
Paying for the plan, then digging to it
We bought the drainage diagram for the property, which is the official plan of where the sewer pipes and access points were laid. It showed a jump-up inspection opening (a vertical riser that lets you get tools into a deep section of pipe) inside the shed.
So we dug for it. Inside the shed we dug down about 1100 mm and reached the pipework. There was no inspection opening. The drains under the shed didn’t match the plan.
This happens more than people expect with older properties. Plans get drawn at the time of building, then extensions, sheds and paving go in over the top, and sometimes what was built never matched the drawing in the first place. A plan is a starting point, not proof.
The real shaft was next door
The line we needed ran into the neighbouring property, so we came back the next day once access was arranged. The shaft was there. From it we jetted upstream, back towards the house, and followed up with a camera inspection.
The camera found the cause: a mass of tree roots filling the pipe. The frame below was taken at 23.5 metres on the camera counter.
We jetted the roots clear and ran the camera again, which showed the drain was open. We also located a faulty inspection opening about 700 mm deep under a tree. We left a pink mark in the garden bed so its position isn’t lost again.
Clear for now, not fixed for good
Jetting removes roots, but it doesn’t close the gap they came through. Roots look for water and the warmth of a sewer line, and a cracked or poorly sealed fitting gives them a way in. Once they’ve found it, they grow back.
So our recommendation was to reline the section that was letting roots in. Relining puts a new pipe inside the old one from the existing access points, sealing over the damaged section without digging up the garden or the tree.
The owner also asked for an inspection opening to be brought up to the surface inside the shed. That gives a way into that section of drain from the owner’s own block next time, rather than relying on access through the neighbour’s yard.
If your drainage plan doesn’t add up
- Treat the plan as a guide. It’s worth having, but sheds, extensions and old changes mean the pipes may not be where it says.
- Ask where your access points are. If the only shaft for your line is on a neighbour’s block, an opening on your side can save time and a phone call when it blocks.
- Roots come back. If a camera shows roots, ask what the long-term fix is, not just the clear.
Roots blocking your drains? Our tree root blockage page covers how we deal with them, or call 0499 281 430.
More on blocked drains in Craigie, or see more recent jobs.
