About Block Drains
Block Drains is a marketplace for plumbers and drainers in Sydney. We set one fixed price for each job, take the booking online or over the phone, and match you with a licensed drain plumber based near you. You get the plumber's name, licence number and arrival window by text before they turn up.
We started it because getting a drain cleared in Sydney is harder than it should be. Quotes leave out the call-out fee, prices double after 5pm, and it's rarely clear whether you're paying for a fix or just a temporary clear. So we set the price at $449 including the call-out and a camera inspection, at any hour, and put it on the website. Then we did the same for every other job we do — sinks, showers, toilets, sewer mains, stormwater, jetting, standalone camera inspections. There's no drain job where the answer is “depends, we'll quote you on the day”.
The repair work is the exception, and deliberately so. Relining and excavation depend on what the camera finds, so we price those from the footage in a written quote rather than publishing a number that can't hold. What we do publish is the Sydney market range for them, next to ours, on the pricing page.
Who does the work
Independent plumbers who hold a current NSW plumbing and drainage licence, carry public liability insurance, and specialise in drains rather than general plumbing. Each one covers a set of suburbs near their base so they're not driving across the city. They're paid per job through Block Drains, so you don't negotiate with them. Block Drains doesn't do plumbing work itself: each plumber carries out the job under their own licence and insurance and is responsible for it, including a free return within 30 days if the same drain re-blocks and their camera report found no damage.
If a plumber gets poor feedback or doesn't turn up when promised, they're removed from the network. Reviews are collected after every job.
What the price covers
The fixed price covers everything needed to clear a standard blockage: travel, labour, jetting or machine clearing, and a CCTV inspection of the line with a short written report. Nothing is paid until the job's marked complete, and the payment goes to the plumber through Block Drains. That keeps the price honest and means nothing is negotiated at the door. If the camera shows a broken or collapsed pipe, that's a repair, not a clear. You'll get a separate written quote and nothing extra is done unless you approve it.
Are you a drain plumber?
We're adding plumbers across Sydney. If you have a jetter and a camera on the van and want steady local work without paying for ads, apply here.
How Block Drains works
We're a marketplace for plumbers and drainers, not a plumbing company. We connect you with a licensed, insured drain plumber who covers your suburb, at one fixed price per job. We take the booking and handle the payment; the plumber does the work, is responsible for it, and is paid per job through us, so there's no incentive to pad the bill and nothing to negotiate at the door.
- 1
Tell us what's wrong
Pick the symptoms (toilet overflowing, sink slow, sewage outside) and your postcode. The site works out the right service and shows the fixed price before you give us a single detail.
- 2
Pick a two-hour window
Choose 'as soon as possible' or a window from 7am to 10pm, seven days. Availability is live: it's based on the plumbers who actually cover your suburb.
- 3
We assign a licensed local plumber
The job goes to the nearest available NSW-licensed drain plumber in our network. You get their name, licence number and ETA by text and email, plus a link to reschedule or cancel.
- 4
The job's done and reported
They clear the drain, put a camera through the line, flow-test everything and leave a short written report. Anything beyond the fixed price is quoted in writing first.
- 5
Your card is charged only when it's done
You save a card when you book; nothing is charged until the plumber marks the job complete. Any extra work is quoted in writing and only charged if you approve it online. Block Drains handles the payment and pays the plumber, so there's never a bill to settle at the door.
- 6
Come back for less
10% off every future job, $50 credit for every friend you refer, a discounted annual Drain Care clean, and a free return from the same plumber within 30 days if the drain re-blocks with no damage found.