Drainage King is a locally owned Christchurch drainage company led by Rusty Grieve, a qualified and experienced drainlayer known to most customers simply as Rusty. The team specialises in blocked drains, CCTV drain inspections, pipe repairs and residential drainlaying, working across Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri.
The way they work is summed up as find it, fix it, prove it. High-pressure hydro jetting clears blockages at their source rather than pushing them further down the line, and digital CCTV drain cameras diagnose what's happening inside sewer and stormwater pipes without digging up the whole section. If a pipe is cracked, collapsed or root-filled, it gets repaired or replaced, with paths, lawns and gardens reinstated to a high standard afterwards.
Blocked drains don't wait for business hours, so Drainage King answers calls 24/7 for emergencies — backed-up toilets, overflowing gully traps and stormwater problems included. Customers get clear communication, honest advice about what's actually causing the issue, and tidy workmanship, whether it's a 9pm callout or a full set of drains for a new build.
Nobody plans to need a drainage company. You call one because the toilet is backing up, the gully is overflowing in the rain, or the back section has started to smell like sewer. Those are exactly the moments Drainage King was built for. Self-styled 'the King of the Throne', this Halswell-based Christchurch business has made its name on the jobs nobody wants to think about — blocked drains, broken pipes and stormwater that won't go where it should — handled quickly, properly and without drama.
Drainage King is led by Rusty Grieve, a qualified and experienced drainlayer with years of hands-on work in Christchurch ground conditions, broken sewers and stormwater lines. The team covers Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri, taking on blocked toilets, sinks, showers and gully traps, backed-up sewer and stormwater lines, CCTV inspections, pipe repairs and full residential drainlaying. And because blocked drains don't wait for business hours, neither do they: the phones are answered 24/7 for emergency callouts.
The company's method is summed up in a three-part promise: find it, fix it, prove it. Rather than plunging and hoping, the team uses commercial-grade high-pressure hydro jetting machines to clear blockages at their source — tree roots, fat build-up, foreign objects, all of it — restoring full flow instead of pushing the problem further down the line.
When something more serious is going on, digital CCTV drain cameras let the team see exactly what's happening inside sewer and stormwater lines without excavating the whole section. Camera inspections identify pipe breaks, cracks, tree roots, dips and collapsed lines, and the locating tech can pinpoint the exact position and depth of a fault. Footage and reports come as an online link, which is handy when you're dealing with an insurer or the council.
If a pipe is cracked, collapsed or full of roots, Drainage King repairs or replaces the damaged section — then reinstates paths, lawns and garden areas to a high standard. It's a point of pride the team returns to more than once: respect for your property, and a tidy finish.
Beyond the emergencies, Drainage King's certified drainlayers handle residential drainlaying for new builds, extensions and repairs — from small spot repairs to full relays of old systems, with every connection installed to council standard. Customers get clear timeframes and updates throughout the job, and free quotes are available for drainlaying work of any size.
There's a genuinely human story here, too. Before he was a drainlayer, Rusty was a science teacher, and it shows in the way he explains what's gone wrong and talks customers through the fix without the usual trade jargon. He's also a family man, and the company's About page is refreshingly honest about what that means in practice: you're not just a job — you're someone's home, someone's rental, someone's mum trying to deal with a blocked toilet at 9pm. That matters.
That attitude runs through the whole operation: clear communication, honest advice about what's actually causing an issue, and straight answers on costs and next steps. No vanishing, no surprises.
It's easy to see why Christchurch homeowners keep the number handy. Whether it's a late-night toilet emergency, a gully that floods every winter, a stubborn blockage that keeps coming back, or drains for a brand-new build, the proposition is the same: turn up when needed, find the real cause, fix it properly, and leave the property tidy. As their own tagline puts it, you get the royal treatment without the royal price. For urgent callouts across Christchurch and Canterbury, the number to ring is (03) 365 4642.