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CCTV drain surveys in Bristol
A camera goes through the drain and you see exactly what’s down there. You keep the footage and a written report — not just our word for it. For homebuyers, landlords, insurers, and drains that keep blocking however often they’re cleared.
Buying a property? Tell us the postcode and your completion date — we’ll work to it.
The short answers
- Standard survey
from £160 no VAT to pay
- Homebuyer survey
- Footage
- Written report
- On site
Access, drain length and how many runs need surveying are what move the price.
Footage you keep
Sent to you, not just shown on site
Plain-English report
Written so you can act on it
Solicitor-ready
Set out so a conveyancer can use it
Local and independent
Bristol-based, our own equipment
Is it worth it?
When you actually need a survey
Not every blocked drain needs a camera. These five situations genuinely do — and we’ll tell you honestly if yours isn’t one of them.
You're buying a house
A standard homebuyer survey does not look at the drains. A collapsed run or root-damaged pipe can cost thousands to put right, and you'd inherit it. This is the cheapest insurance in the whole purchase.
It keeps blocking
If the same drain has blocked more than twice, the blockage is being moved rather than removed. Paying for a third clearance treats the symptom. A camera finds the cause.
You suspect tree roots
Mature trees near jointed clay pipework — most of Redland, Cotham, Bishopston and Clifton. A survey shows whether roots can be cut back or whether the joint has gone and needs repairing.
An insurer has asked for evidence
Subsidence, damp or escape-of-water claims often hinge on the drains. Insurers want footage and a report, not a description. We produce both in a format they accept.
Shared drains and converted flats
Where one house is now three flats, a survey establishes which run serves what — and whether the fault sits on a shared lateral drain that's Wessex Water's responsibility rather than yours.
When you probably don't need one
A single first-time blockage that clears easily and hasn't come back doesn't need a camera. We'll say so. Selling surveys nobody needs is how firms lose repeat customers.
From the camera
What the camera actually finds
Stills from surveys on Bristol properties. These are the four things we most often report on, and none of them are visible from the surface.
Root ingress
Cut back, or repair the joint
Fat build-up
Jetting restores the full bore
Structural fault
Needs lining or repair
Poor fall
Why it keeps silting up
What you get
What's included in a survey
Four stages, and you end up with something you own rather than an opinion you were told on the doorstep.
1
Access and clear
We locate the chambers and, if the run is holding water or debris, clear it first — a camera can’t see through a blockage.
2
Survey the run
The camera goes through each run, recording as it goes. We narrate what we’re seeing so the footage makes sense later.
3
Trace and map
Where it matters — shared runs, unknown pipework, pre-purchase — we trace the route and mark where the drains actually go.
4
Report and recommend
A written report with the footage, what we found, whether it needs work, and roughly what that would cost. In plain English.
On site — the camera goes in
Afterwards — the written report
Verified feedback
What Bristol customers say
Reviews left on Google by Bristol homeowners, landlords and buyers we’ve surveyed for.
Your most recent Google review appears here, in the customer’s own words, once the feed is connected.
Customer name
Date left
Second review slot. Three recent reviews sit here on desktop; on mobile they stack.
Customer name
Date left
Third review slot. Long reviews are trimmed so the three cards stay level with each other.
Customer name
Date left
No surprises
What a CCTV drain survey costs
A standard domestic CCTV drain survey in Bristol starts from £160, with homebuyer surveys from £260.
The price is agreed before we start, as with everything else we do. What moves it is how many separate runs need surveying, how accessible the chambers are, and whether the drain needs clearing before the camera can see anything.
- Footage and written report included — no extra charge
- No call-out fee, and the price is fixed before we start
- If we find nothing wrong, we say so — no invented remedial work
- Any repair quote comes with the footage that justifies it
£160 no VAT to pay
Buying a property? Tell us your completion date when you call and we’ll work to it.
Pre-purchase
Homebuyer drain surveys
A standard homebuyer or building survey does not inspect the drains. If nobody looks, nobody knows.
Drain repairs are among the more expensive things that can go wrong with a house, and they’re invisible until they aren’t. A collapsed section under a driveway, or roots through a run beneath an extension, is a bill you inherit on completion day.
We survey before exchange, produce a report your solicitor can use, and give you something concrete to negotiate with if there’s a problem. Buyers regularly recover the survey cost several times over on the asking price.
What your solicitor or lender needs: the footage, a written report identifying defects by location along the run, an assessment of severity, and an indication of remedial cost. That’s what we produce as standard.
Situation
Survey recommended?
Period property, mature trees nearby
Strongly — jointed clay plus roots
Converted flat sharing a drain
Yes — establishes what serves what
Extension built over the drain run
Yes — access and build-over both matter
Any sign of subsidence or damp
Yes — drains are a common cause
New-build under 10 years
Usually not — warranty should cover it
Not sure which applies? Describe the property when you call and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth doing.
Coverage
CCTV drain surveys by area
We survey across Bristol, Bath and the surrounding towns. Each area page covers the pipework and property stock we actually find there — which is usually a good predictor of what the camera will show.
Straight answers
Common questions about drain surveys
How much does a CCTV drain survey cost in Bristol?
A standard domestic survey starts from £160, and homebuyer surveys from £260. The price is agreed before we start.
What moves it: how many separate runs need surveying, how accessible the chambers are, and whether the drain needs clearing first — a camera can’t see through a blockage.
What's included in a CCTV drain survey?
A camera is passed through the drain and you receive the footage plus a written report explaining what it shows, where along the run any defect sits, how serious it is, and roughly what putting it right would cost.
Homebuyer reports are set out so a solicitor or mortgage lender can use them directly.
Do I need a drain survey when buying a house?
A standard homebuyer or building survey does not inspect the drains, so unless you arrange one separately nobody looks. Drain repairs are expensive and invisible until they fail.
It’s most worth doing on period properties, anywhere with mature trees nearby, converted flats sharing a run, properties extended over the drain, or where there’s any sign of subsidence or damp. On a new-build under ten years old, the warranty usually covers it.
How long does a survey take?
Usually one to two hours on site for a standard domestic property, depending on how many runs there are and how accessible the chambers are. The report follows afterwards.
Do I get to keep the footage?
Yes. The footage is yours, sent to you along with the written report. You’ll need it if you’re negotiating on a purchase, making an insurance claim, or getting comparison quotes for repair work.
Can a survey tell me who's responsible for the drain?
Often, yes. Tracing the run shows what the pipe serves and where it connects. If it turns out to serve more than one property, it’s likely a shared lateral drain and normally Wessex Water’s responsibility rather than yours.
We’ll tell you that before you pay for any repair. More on drain responsibility in Bristol.
What if the survey finds a problem?
You get the footage, the report and a quote for putting it right — and you’re under no obligation to use us for the repair. The report is written so another contractor could quote from it.
Most faults we find can be repaired from inside the pipe with no-dig relining, so the garden or driveway stays as it is.
Do you survey commercial premises?
Yes — pubs, restaurants, offices, retail units, HMOs and managed blocks. Grease line surveys are common for kitchens, and pre-lease surveys are worth doing before you take on a building’s drainage liability.
Next steps
What usually happens next
Drain repairs & relining
Most faults a survey finds can be repaired from inside the pipe, so the garden or driveway stays where it is.
Blocked drain clearance
If it's blocked right now, that comes first — a camera can't see through standing water and debris.
Drain jetting & cleaning
Where the survey shows fat, silt or scale rather than a structural fault, jetting restores the full bore of the pipe.
Book a survey, or ask whether you need one
Tell us the postcode, the property type and why you’re asking. We’ll tell you honestly whether a survey is worth doing — and if it isn’t, we’ll say so.