What Is a CCTV Drain Survey?
In short
A CCTV drain survey is a camera inspection of underground drainage. An engineer feeds a camera through the pipework from an inspection chamber, records each run, locates any defect above ground with a sonde, and issues footage with a written report. It is worth doing when a drain blocks more than once in the same place, before buying a property, and before any excavation is priced.
A CCTV drain survey is a camera inspection of your underground drainage. A engineer feeds a high-resolution camera through the pipework from an inspection chamber, records the run, and produces a report describing the condition of the drain and the location of any defects.
It replaces guesswork. Instead of digging to find out what is wrong, you get footage of the actual pipe and a plan based on what is really there.
What happens during a survey
We lift the chambers, note the layout and depths, then jet the line if it is too silted to see through. The camera is pushed or tracked along each run while the operator records commentary, and a sonde locates any defect above ground so it can be marked accurately.
- Recorded video of every accessible run
- A written report describing defects by type and severity
- Depth and position of any fault, marked so it can be found again
- A drainage layout showing how the system connects
- Clear recommendations — clean, patch, reline or excavate
What a survey shows
Camera inspection identifies the faults that cause repeat problems and the ones that matter to a lender or insurer.
- Root ingress through joints and cracks
- Displaced, open or misaligned joints
- Cracks, fractures and collapsed sections
- Scale, fat and silt build-up, and standing water indicating poor fall
- Mis-connections — surface water into foul, or foul into surface water
- Rat runs, redundant pipework and unrecorded connections
When it's worth doing
A survey pays for itself in three situations: when a drain blocks more than once in the same place, before buying a property, and before any excavation is priced. In each case the cost of the survey is small next to the cost of getting the diagnosis wrong.
Buying a house is the clearest case. A standard homebuyer survey does not inspect below ground, so drainage defects are one of the most common expensive surprises after completion — a homebuyer drain survey is the only way to know what you are taking on.
What it costs
A straightforward domestic CCTV survey usually costs between about £150 and £350 depending on the number of runs and how much jetting is needed to get a clear picture. Commercial sites and large or complex systems are priced individually.
Every survey we carry out includes the footage and a written report you can pass to a solicitor, insurer or water company — not just a verbal opinion on the day.
Still not resolved? CCTV Drain Surveys can help
Find out exactly what's going on inside your drains, without guessing. Our engineers are available 24 hours a day with no call-out charge, and you get a fixed price before any work starts.