How much does a CCTV drain survey cost?
Nobody quotes a CCTV drainage survey off a price list, and any company that does is guessing at your drains. What you pay follows what is actually being done and what you are handed at the end. This page explains what moves the price, what a proper report includes, and what to check before comparing two quotations - for a CCTV drainage survey anywhere in the UK, and from us across Farnham, Surrey and Hampshire.
What a CCTV drain survey starts at
A look-see survey starts at £225. That is an engineer on site putting the camera down two inspection chambers and telling you what they find on the day. It does not include a written report, and we would rather say so up front than let you discover it afterwards. It is the right job when you want to know why a drain keeps backing up, and it is the floor the price builds from.
Everything past that is quoted on what the property actually needs: more chambers, a run that has to be jetted before a camera will pass, a condition report coded to WRc MSCC5, a drainage drawing, or a survey written to be relied on by a solicitor. What follows is what moves the number.
What decides the price of a drain survey
Six things account for nearly every difference between one quotation and the next. None of them are about where you are in the country:
- How much drainage there is. A terraced house with two chambers is a different job from a detached property with a long private run and a shared sewer at the boundary.
- What can be reached. Chambers that are buried, seized or under a new patio have to be found and opened before anything can be surveyed, and that is time on site.
- Whether the run has to be cleared first. A camera will not pass through standing water or a blockage. If the line needs jetting before it can be inspected, that is part of the job.
- The level of reporting. A verbal summary on the day costs less than a written condition report coded to WRc MSCC5 and BS EN 13508-2, because the coding and the write-up are skilled work done after the van leaves.
- Whether you need a drawing. A drainage map showing runs, chambers and directions of flow is separate work from the inspection itself, and it is what makes a survey useful years later.
- Why you need it. A homebuyer survey is written to be relied on by a solicitor or surveyor, so it is more thorough than a look down the line to find out why a gully keeps backing up.
What a full survey should include
Before you compare two prices, work out whether they cover the same things. A survey worth paying for gives you all of the following, and the quotation should say so:
- The recorded footage of every run inspected, not just stills.
- A written condition report coded to WRc MSCC5 and BS EN 13508-2, naming each defect and grading how serious it is.
- A drawing of the drainage, showing the runs, the chambers and which way the flow goes.
- A plain summary of what needs doing now, what can wait and what needs no action at all.
- Somewhere to ask a question about it afterwards and get an answer from the engineer who did the work.
Our reports are produced to that standard as a matter of course - see what a CCTV drainage survey covers, or the homebuyer's drain survey if you are buying.
Why quotations differ so much
The word "survey" is doing a lot of work in most adverts. A low headline price usually buys an engineer, a camera and an opinion on the day. There is nothing wrong with that - it is what our own look-see is - but it is a different product from a survey with a coded report and a drawing, and the problem starts when a company lets you assume you are buying the second and invoices you for the first. A higher price that includes the footage, the coding and the drawing can be the cheaper job in the end, because it is the one you can actually give to a solicitor, an insurer or a builder.
The things worth asking any company before you book:
- Is the written report included, or charged afterwards?
- Is the report coded to WRc MSCC5, or is it a few photographs and a paragraph?
- Is there a call-out fee, or a charge for travel?
- What happens if the drain needs jetting before the camera will go down - is that agreed first, or added to the bill?
How we price a survey
We give you a fixed price for an agreed scope before the survey is booked. If something on site changes what is needed - a chamber nobody knew about, a run that has to be cleared before a camera will pass - we tell you what it means for the price and you decide, rather than finding out on the invoice. There is no call-out fee, and travel across our standard area around Farnham is included.
For a price for your property, tell us the address and what is worrying you and we will come back with a fixed quotation: request a quotation or call the office.
CCTV drain surveys near Farnham
Our engineers work across the Surrey–Hampshire border. Explore local service information and nearby case studies before requesting a fixed quote.
Hampshire service areas
Aldershot, Farnborough, Fleet, Alton and Basingstoke.
See our recent survey work in Farnham, Guildford, Aldershot and Alton.
Want a fixed price for your property?
Tell us the address and what the problem is, and we will come back with a fixed price for an agreed scope - including the coded report, not as an extra on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a CCTV drain survey cost, and what changes the price?
A look-see survey starts at £225: an engineer on site, the camera down two inspection chambers, and what they found told to you on the day, with no written report. Past that the price follows the size and layout of the system, how many chambers can be reached, whether the run has to be jetted clear before a camera will pass, and whether you need a report coded to WRc MSCC5 and a drainage drawing. We confirm the scope and give you a fixed price before the survey is booked, so nothing is added afterwards.
Why do drain survey quotes vary so much?
Usually because they are not quoting the same job. A low headline price often covers an engineer putting a camera down and telling you what they saw. A higher one includes the footage, a written condition report coded to WRc MSCC5 and BS EN 13508-2, and a drawing of the drain runs. Before comparing two prices, check whether the report is included in both.
Is the written report included in the price?
It depends which survey you asked for, and we tell you which before you book. The look-see that starts at £225 is exactly that - what the engineer saw, told to you on the day, with no written report. When you ask for a survey with a report, the coded report and the footage are part of the quoted price, not an extra charged once the work is done. It is worth asking any company the same question directly, because a report charged separately afterwards is a common reason a cheap survey stops being cheap.
Do you charge a call-out fee or for travel?
No call-out fee. We work from Farnham and cover the Surrey and Hampshire border towns as our standard area, so travel is included for those. For a property outside that area we agree any travel with you before the survey is booked, rather than adding it to the invoice afterwards.
What do I get at the end of a homebuyer drain survey?
The recorded footage, a condition report coded to WRc MSCC5 and BS EN 13508-2 naming each defect and its severity, a drawing showing the drain runs and chambers, and a plain summary of what needs doing and what can be left. That is the document a solicitor or a surveyor can act on when you are buying.