Glasgow City Centre has a drainage infrastructure that reflects its history as a major commercial city. The Victorian and Edwardian commercial buildings that line the city centre streets were built with drainage sized for commercial use, and many of these drains are still carrying waste from the restaurants, cafes and businesses that occupy the ground floors today. Where these buildings have been converted to residential above street level, the drainage serves both purposes and can be complex to work on.
The modern apartment blocks that have been built in the city centre over the last twenty years have entirely separate drainage systems designed specifically for residential use. These are modern plastic systems with straightforward access points. The blockages in these properties are predictable, mainly kitchen grease, bathroom waste and occasionally foreign objects in the drainage. They clear quickly with the right equipment and the cause is usually obvious.
The Merchant City and the area around the High Street represent a third drainage category in the city centre. Former merchant warehouses and tenements converted to residential use, with drainage that was installed for a different purpose and has been adapted over multiple refurbishments. These properties require the most methodical approach to blockage clearance, and CCTV surveys are more frequently needed here than in purpose-built residential or commercial properties. Paul and Kyle are experienced with all three categories and know the city centre well.