Drainage
CCTV drain survey
TL;DR
A CCTV drain survey is £180–£320 for a standard domestic property and takes 45–90 minutes. You get a full-colour video, a written condition report, and — if we find a defect — a marked plan with location and depth so any repair can be priced properly. Essential before you buy a house with old clay drains, and required by most insurers before they'll approve a drain-repair claim.
Half the drainage problems we see could have been caught for £250 before they turned into a £6,000 excavation. A CCTV survey pushes a self-levelling camera through your drains from an accessible chamber, records the whole run, and gives you an honest picture of what's actually down there.
This page covers when you actually need a survey, what a good report looks like, and how to use one with a solicitor or insurer.
Fixed £50 diagnostic
Flat fee. No hourly meter running.
Fair quote or refund
Transparent pricing — refunded if we don't fix it.
Vetted UK engineers
DBS-checked, insured, real reviews.
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When should you get a CCTV drain survey?
Four scenarios where it saves you real money. Before you buy a house (especially pre-1970s with clay drains), after a recurring blockage in the same drain, before a build or extension that goes over the drain run, and when your insurer asks for one to progress a claim.
- Pre-purchase — cheaper than any structural survey and often more useful
- Recurring blockages — clears keep working then failing, means there's a defect
- Before an extension — Building Control need drain layout on the plans
- Insurance claim — required evidence before repair authorised
- Suspected root ingress or collapsed section
What we actually record and report
You get the raw video (usually 300–800MB, sent by download link), a written condition report referencing standard WRc / MSCC5 coding for each defect, a marked-up plan of the drain layout with chamber positions, and — for any defect — location and depth to the surface. That's what a builder or drainage engineer needs to price a proper repair without opening the ground blind.
- Full-colour, self-levelling camera footage
- MSCC5-coded condition report (industry standard)
- Drain layout plan with chamber positions
- Depth and distance-from-chamber for every defect
- Root ingress, displaced joints, cracks, fat build-up all logged
What we find, and what it actually means
Most surveys turn up something. Not all of it needs fixing today. We tell you honestly what's cosmetic, what's worth monitoring, and what's a real problem.
- Fat and scale — a jet clean fixes it (see drain jetting page)
- Root ingress at joints — root cutter now, sleeve liner within 12 months
- Displaced joint — depends on severity, often patch-lined for £600–£1,200
- Fractured pipe — patch or full liner, £900–£3,500 depending on length
- Collapsed section — usually excavation, £2,500–£7,500
- Rat ingress — seal defective connection at the shared sewer
Who owns the drain you're worried about?
Since 2011 the water authority (United Utilities in the North West) owns shared drains and any drain outside your property boundary. If our survey shows the defect is on their side, we help you raise it with them — they'll usually repair at no charge. Inside your boundary and only serving your property, it's yours.
Typical prices
Real-world ranges from recent Northwest jobs. Your final price is confirmed in writing before any work starts.
| Item | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard domestic CCTV survey | 180 – 280 | Up to 30m of drain, one report |
| Pre-purchase survey with plan | 220 – 320 | Full house, all accessible chambers |
| Insurance-claim survey | 220 – 320 | MSCC5-coded, insurer format |
| Commercial / multi-property | 380 – 950 | Half-day or day rate |
| Root cutting during survey | 120 – 220 | If blockage prevents full run |
| Additional chamber run (per 30m) | 60 – 90 | Beyond first 30m |
Kit & brands we use
We run Pearpoint P340 push cameras for domestic runs and Rausch tractor units for longer commercial mains. Reports are produced in WinCan VX so they're compatible with any drainage contractor or insurer.
CCTV survey red flags
The drainage industry has a real problem with 'free surveys' that magically find £8,000 of liner work. Ask these.
- Will you send me the raw video, or just a summary?
- Is the report MSCC5-coded, or just written descriptively?
- Do you install lining and patches yourself? (Conflict of interest — get an independent survey if the same firm quotes for the repair)
- Is the price fixed, or hourly plus 'access'?
- Will you tell me if the defect is on the water authority's side (not billable to me)?
- What length of drain does the price cover?
Our promise on this job
Flat £50 diagnostic — deducted in full from any work booked. Fair, transparent quote before we start. If we can't fix the fault we diagnosed, we refund the diagnostic. All gas work is signed off by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Talk to KJ about cctv drain survey
Real triage in seconds. £50 diagnostic visit — refunded if we don't fix it.