Whether you want to deal with potential problems in your drainage system or simply get peace of mind, a drainage survey can help. Contact us today for help with acquiring a CCTV drainage survey quote.
Last updated: July 2026
Editor at Arbtech, Rob is a content specialist who manages our ecology and arboriculture services copy to ensure it is accurate, up to date, and insightful for current and future clients.
Whether you’re a home buyer seeking reassurance or a developer navigating planning requirements, CCTV drainage surveys provide the clarity you need.
We partner with specialist consultants who use high-resolution cameras to inspect your pipes without any disruptive digging, identifying issues like root ingress or collapsed sections before they become a structural nightmare.
Our expert partners deliver a comprehensive report with clear results and recommended repairs, ensuring your drainage network stays in optimal condition.
Don’t let hidden problems stall your project – get a fast, professional assessment and move forward with confidence.
When there are blocked drains, damp patches and unpleasant odours on or around a property, it can be a sign of deeper issues within the drainage system. Not only that, but if they aren’t properly dealt with, the problems could lead to costly structural issues or major repairs.
Whether you’re moving into a new home, addressing existing obstacles on your property or managing a commercial building, it is important to understand the condition of your drainage network and have something in place if it isn’t functioning correctly.
Common symptoms like slow drainage, overflowing blocked sinks, or backed-up and blocked baths point to a heavy build-up of grease.
If you are experiencing bad-smell issues or dealing with stubborn recurring problems like repeated blockages, finding the true root cause is vital.
The first step is to see what is happening inside the underground pipework. A professional inspection allows our trained engineers to find blockages quickly.
We use specialist equipment to identify problems and provide accurate results. A thorough survey helps us map out the best solution.
Our team guarantees this thorough inspection delivers actionable insights without digging up your garden.
Using a drainage survey, you can spot issues early, keep your drainage in optimal condition, and do all of this in a way that is cost-effective and non-invasive.
A drainage survey is an in-depth inspection of a property’s drain system using advanced equipment such as high-resolution CCTV cameras. Due to the use of a CCTV inspection, the process is also sometimes known as a CCTV drain survey.
During the process, a drain surveyor will carry out a CCTV drain survey without the need for disruptive digging, helping to identify issues that could otherwise go unnoticed, like blocked drains, collapsed pipes and root ingress.
Drainage surveys can be used to diagnose drainage problems in both domestic and commercial properties.
More than anything, they are essential for home buyers and home sellers during property purchases to bypass avoidable repair costs.
Mortgage lenders and insurance companies often ask for a pre-purchase drain survey for due diligence.
When buying a property or building a property, a home-buyers’ drain survey is worth checking off your list before exchanging contracts.
During a major home purchase, you want to protect your ultimate purchase price. We work with building surveyors to carry out pre-purchase inspections on the home’s drainage system, revealing hidden drainage issues.
It also highlights potential drainage issues like displaced joints, misaligned joints or ingress from a tree root. Catching these structural issues early prevents severe property damage, giving you realistic estimated repair costs upfront.
A drain survey is crucial for an older property or complex older properties. Historic, listed buildings frequently rely on outdated, complex drainage networks. By uncovering faults now, you can ensure that you avoid unexpected costs later.
We also deliver commercial CCTV drain surveys for industrial clients, as well as conducting commercial TV drain surveys for any busy commercial site or larger properties. Each of the locations uses complex drainage systems that need heavy-duty tools.
By using specialist operators, we deploy advanced CCTV technology, including high-definition specialist CCTV cameras for clarity, alongside durable waterproof CCTV cameras for submerged runs.
For a primary main sewer line, a portable waterproof camera or a larger camera maintains our highest standards.
In hazardous zones, we use a Proteus CCTV inspection rig rated safely for inflammable environments and dangerous environments.
For property managers, laser profiling evaluates the structural integrity and exact pipe diameter of lateral drains and public sewers.
Our team routinely surveys lateral drains to catch a collapsing drain beneath integral major roads or busy local roads.
It is likely that a drainage survey would be needed for:
We can connect you with consultants from a partner company to undertake full drain surveys using various CCTV inspection techniques, as well as more targeted inspections to meet the specific needs of the client.
With experience in diagnosing drainage problems caused by issues with the structure, tree roots and general wear and tear, the external team is perfectly suited to help with any and all potential drain issues.
Typically completed within the space of two hours, the drain survey process carried out by our specialist partner plays out in the following way:
Every CCTV drain survey carried out by our drainage surveyors is non-destructive.
We find readily accessible access points or an accessible inspection chamber to launch the line, using high-tech CCTV equipment for feeding real-time footage and constant feedback to our team.
The recorded data, video footage and resulting CCTV footage present a clear picture, offering a clear view of the current condition across all the drains.
Our team can detect abnormalities, trace the exact location of broken pipes, and measure the precise pipe size alongside active water flow.
The drain mapping tools and reliable drainage survey system we use guarantee precision, and you will then receive a detailed written report as part of your thorough drain inspection package.
We also supply a formal condition report summarising the health of the line, followed by a comprehensive full report, with the written report outlining any minor blockages or major problems and acting as an invaluable asset. It highlights tree root intrusion, specific lateral profusion, or any lateral profusion from adjoining lines.
Our team captures high-quality still images during the initial visual inspection, perfectly supporting the wider full inspection phase.
We regularly collaborate with external plumbing and drainage consultants, and we also work with plumbing and drainage engineers to review the two types of data effectively.
The drainage survey report will be created after the inspection as a full survey overview, giving the client results from the assessment and recommendations for ways to reduce or remove any obstacles.
As evidence, the CCTV drainage survey report could also contain high-resolution imagery and mapping of the network for drainage.
It will then be able to inform the local water authority, insurance company or any other involved regulators and organisations, easing any concerns and dealing with any identified issues.
A combination of practical items and the latest technology is vital in a drain survey, such as:
Once your full CCTV drain survey finishes, we outline the next steps and any physical work required.
If we uncover damaged pipes, severely fractured, damaged pipework, or structural defects, remedial work may be required, and prompt drain repairs prevent further damage to the asset.
We guide you on establishing ongoing maintenance and robust preventative maintenance routines to actively prevent future drain blockages and resolve ongoing drainage issues, potentially involving professional drain cleaning.
Our team can also deploy high-pressure drain jet vacuumation to clear the pipe system with minimal disruption, sometimes needing longer flushing.
For severe failures, we advise on sewer rehabilitations, major sewer repairs, or specialised sewer inspections. Arranging necessary repairs early saves on future repairs or further work from external drain services.
If we hit completely impassable existing blockages, a survey may require immediate clearance, helping us to evaluate the affected pipes, remaining structural problems, or any other issues.
The upfront clarity keeps your overall drain survey cost predictable and ensures the final drainage survey cost aligns with your budget.
In the section below, we explain how you can get a CCTV drain survey and why Arbtech is the best option for providing this service.
From home buyers to home sellers and developers to local authorities, we’ve seen every problem a drainage system can have and helped countless clients.
We partner with highly qualified drain surveyors based all over the UK, dealing with all sorts of potential problems and making informed decisions in the detailed report once the drain inspection is complete.
Every member of the team we work with has the qualifications, experience and knowledge to undertake a CCTV survey on drains and come away with the insight and results you need to solve the issue you’re having.
The likely cost of a drainage survey is important to take into account, as it will need to be factored into your budget alongside any other work you’re looking to carry out.
CCTV drain survey cost can vary depending on property size, access requirements and specific needs. For example, a CCTV survey carried out on larger commercial properties or to help with buildings insurance claims is likely to involve more work than other surveys on smaller buildings or cases with different requirements.
For help with preventing future problems and simplifying potential issues that are already ongoing, it would be best to speak to us directly and allow our team to create a quote for your site.
If you’re having trouble with your drainage system or simply want assurances that there’s nothing wrong with it, Arbtech can put you in contact with the providers of a top-quality drain survey service to help.
Our partner company can evaluate blocked and collapsed drains with the most recent surveying technology before creating a report that will give you and any related regulators everything you need to know.
Get in touch with us today via email, phone or our website, and we can pass you on to the drain survey specialist to calculate the likely CCTV drain survey cost and arrange a free quote for you to look over as you make your decision.
Arbtech are your best asset when it comes to getting planning permission for your project. We cover the whole of the UK and we are waiting to get started on your project...
Get Your Free Quote