Greater Manchester
In short
In Bolton the blockage is often three houses away — the shared alley run in a back-to-back terrace acts like a slow-motion queue, and the first house to notice is rarely the cause.
Bolton blocked-drain work is dominated by silted and root-invaded back-alley shared runs in the terrace belt (BL1, BL3, BL4), plus single-property blockages in Astley Bridge and Bromley Cross semis where a nappy or wipe has caught on a bend.
Where your responsibility ends: Halliwell and Farnworth terraces share back-alley runs; Astley Bridge and Bromley Cross semis have single-property laterals to the front-street sewer.
Drainage undertaker for Bolton: United Utilities
Under the 2011 private-sewer transfer, any pipework serving more than one property, and any lateral drain from the boundary of your property to the sewer, is United Utilities' responsibility. That covers most back-alley shared runs and every stretch under the public highway. In Bolton's back-to-back terraces the shared alley pipe is almost always a UU-owned lateral — a free clearance if you're patient enough to wait for UU's own crew (0345 672 3723). We're the paid option when you need it clearing today.
United Utilities 24/7 sewer-flooding line: 0345 672 3723 — free of charge. Call them first if the blockage is beyond your boundary or on shared pipework.
£85–£180 for a jet-clear; £220–£420 with CCTV; £160–£260 for typical root cutting.
Every price is confirmed in writing after the £50 diagnostic. Nothing billable starts until you approve the fair fixed quote — and if we can't clear the blockage we diagnosed, the £50 is refunded.
A common Bolton operator trick is quoting for "drain excavation" on a blockage that hasn't even been camera-surveyed. Insist on a jet and a camera before you agree to any digging.
Our promise on every Bolton blocked-drain call-out: £50 to attend and diagnose, a fair fixed quote in writing before any billable clearance or repair, and the £50 refunded if we can't clear the blockage we diagnosed.
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Flat fee. No hourly meter running.
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Transparent pricing — refunded if we don't fix it.
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KJ
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