What we do
Domestic Drain Relining
Sewer and stormwater lines on residential property. Cracked, root-affected and leaking pipe repaired from the inside, including patch and junction repairs.
Commercial Pipe Relining
Manhole-to-manhole rehabilitation for body corporates, property managers, schools and councils, with the site still trading.
Blocked Drains
Same-day clearing, hydro jetting and camera inspections across the region, with a survey afterwards so you know whether it will happen again.
What drain relining is
A resin-saturated liner is drawn into the damaged pipe and cured hard against the pipe wall. The old pipe becomes a mould. What you end up with is a smooth, jointless pipe inside the old one, sealing the cracks, breaks and open joints that were causing the trouble.No trench. No spoil heap. No reinstating the driveway afterwards. The work runs through the access points already on your property.
Why Wellington drains fail
Wellington is hard on drainage, for reasons specific to this region.
Much of the older housing stock in Karori, Newtown, Island Bay, Petone and Miramar was laid with earthenware or salt-glazed clay pipe. Those pipes went in as short lengths with mortar joints. Ground movement pulls the joints apart, and once there is a gap, tree roots find it within a season or two.
Then there is the terrain. Steep sections mean pipe runs are long, buried deep and often under retaining walls, garages or shared driveways. Excavating them is expensive and disruptive in a way it simply is not on flat Auckland suburbia.
Wellington also sits on ground that keeps moving. Settlement, slips and seismic activity all put stress on rigid pipe. A liner is flexible. It bridges cracks and displaced joints instead of relying on the old pipe staying perfectly aligned.
Signs your drain needs more than a clean
A drain that blocks once is bad luck. A drain that blocks every few months has something structurally wrong with it, and rodding it out again will not fix that.
Book a camera inspection if you are seeing:
- Toilets and gully traps backing up, then draining slowly
- Recurring blockages in the same spot
- Sewage smell around the outside of the house after rain
- Wet patches or lush green strips of lawn over the drain line
- Water pooling where it never used to
- Tree roots showing up in previous drain reports
What makes our system different
80 metres in a single set-up
On a 100mm residential drain we can install up to 80 metres of liner from one access point, subject to site conditions and pipe layout. Long runs get repaired in one visit instead of several, and every set-up you avoid is time you are not paying for.
50 metres on pipe up to 225mm
For commercial and larger-diameter work, manhole to manhole, in one continuous length.
New Zealand WaterMark certified
Our relining system carries WaterMark certification, meaning it has been assessed as fit for plumbing and drainage use in New Zealand. Ask other operators whether theirs has. Most will not know.
50-year durability expectation
The liner is engineered for a 50-year service life, comparable to new pipe and considerably longer than the earthenware it usually replaces.
Fixed price after the camera, not before it
Nobody can price a drain repair accurately from a phone description. We look first.
What drain relining costs
We publish a range because we would want one. Not one of the established Wellington operators does.
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Camera inspection and report (standalone) $250 to $450
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Patch repair, single defect $1,200 to $2,500
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Junction or top-hat repair $1,800 to $3,500
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Residential reline, per metre installed $300 to $600
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Typical single-fault domestic job, all in $3,500 to $8,000
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Full property lateral, longer runs $8,000 to $15,000+
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Commercial, manhole to manhole Quoted per survey
These are guides, not quotes. Your fixed price comes after the camera inspection, before any work starts.
What moves the price. Access matters more in Wellington than anywhere else in the country. A flat site with an accessible inspection point is straightforward. A steep section where equipment is carried up sixty steps is not, and honest operators price that in rather than surprising you with it later. Beyond access: length, diameter, the number of junctions to reinstate, and how badly the pipe needs cleaning before it can be lined.
What relining will not fix
We will tell you when relining is the wrong call, even though that is the more expensive conversation for us to have.
- Fully collapsed pipe. No shape left to line against. Sometimes we replace a short collapsed run and reline either side of it.
- Incorrect fall. A liner follows the existing pipe. If the drain runs uphill because of settlement, lining preserves the problem.
- Severely deformed sections. Some ovalisation is workable. Crushed is not.
- Undersized drains. If a line was already marginal for the property, it needs upsizing, not lining.
If your drain is one of these, we will say so and quote the work that actually fixes it, or point you to someone who does that work well.
How the process works
Common questions
We understand you may have questions regarding our drain relining service offerings. We've collated a collection of our most frequently asked questions. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, please get in touch.
How long does a relined drain last?
The liner carries a 50-year durability expectation. The technology has been in commercial use since the 1970s in Europe, and installations from the 1980s are still in service.
Is the system certified for New Zealand?
Yes. It is a New Zealand WaterMark solution, assessed as suitable for plumbing and drainage applications here.
Do I need a building consent?
No. Repair, maintenance and replacement of sanitary plumbing and drainage does not require building consent when carried out by an authorised person, which includes a licensed drainlayer. All work must still comply with the Building Code.
Will it reduce my pipe's capacity?
The liner reduces internal diameter by a few millimetres. Because the new surface is smooth and jointless, flow rate typically improves rather than declines, particularly compared with a scaled or root-affected pipe.
Can you reline around bends?
Yes. Current liner systems handle multiple bends up to 90 degrees and accommodate a change in diameter along the run. Very tight or compound bends are assessed on the camera footage first.
What about the council's part of the drain?
The private lateral up to the connection point is yours. Beyond that it belongs to Wellington Water. We will tell you where the boundary sits on your job and, where the fault is on the public side, help you lodge it with the right people.
Is it messy?
Far less than excavation. Work happens through existing access points. There is equipment on the property and a hose run for the day, but no trench and no spoil heap.
Licensed, insured, accountable
Work is carried out under a Certifying Drainlayer licensed by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. We carry public liability insurance and we guarantee our installation work in writing.
- 02 138 1382
- info@wdr.co.nz
- Wellington, New Zealand
