CCTV drain surveys in London
Perhaps your drain keeps blocking again and again. Perhaps there is a smell in the garden that never quite clears, or your solicitor wants a survey before the house purchase completes. Each case has the same answer. We run a waterproof camera along the pipe to see its true condition, whether that is a collapse, roots working their way in, a joint pushed out of line, or no fault at all. Whatever it shows, Ninja Plumbers gives you the footage along with a written report.
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- 24/7 emergency callouts
- Price agreed before we start
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Monday – Sunday, 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM · Out-of-hours emergency? Call 020 3576 5825
Get a price for CCTV drain surveys
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Included in the job
- Drains and sewers inspected by CCTV camera
- A written report with the recorded footage
- Drain surveys for buyers before a house purchase
- Surveys and evidence for insurance claims
- Pinpointing where a fault is and how deep it sits
- Identifying collapses, misaligned joints and root ingress
Read this before you ring
You may find you can sort some of this yourself, without calling us. We are fine with that, and would rather you knew it.
The survey diagnoses; it does not repair
The camera shows what the fault is and where it sits. A blockage then needs clearing as a separate job, and a collapsed section means excavation and repair. We price the survey and the likely next step on their own, because booking one does not tie you to the other.
Repeat blockages tend to have a structural cause
When a drain is cleared properly but blocks again every few months, something inside is catching debris. It could be a root, a sag in the pipe or a partial collapse. A survey finds that cause, so you stop paying to clear the same symptom again and again.
Buying a home? Order your own survey
You cannot always treat a survey arranged by the seller as independent. Paying for your own costs little, above all on a period property with old clay drains, compared with discovering a collapsed run after the purchase has already completed.
Insurers and solicitors want the written report
For an insurance claim or a house purchase, what gets accepted is a written report with footage that is timestamped and located. A spoken account of what the engineer saw will not do. The report is included as standard with every survey.
What changes the price
A drain survey is priced on how much drain there is to inspect and how easily the camera can get into it, and on what the survey is for, since a buyer, an insurer and a homeowner with a recurring blockage need different things.
How many runs
A single run from one manhole to the boundary is a short survey. A whole property, front and back, with branches from the kitchen, bathrooms and rainwater gullies, takes longer to film, and longer to write up.
Where the camera goes in
An accessible manhole is the easiest way in. A cover that is buried, sealed or seized, or a drain that can only be reached through a toilet with the pan lifted off, adds work before the camera can go down.
Whether the pipe needs clearing first
The camera cannot see through standing water, fat or debris. If the drain is blocked or heavily fouled, it has to be jetted clean before a useful survey is possible, and that clearing is added to the job.
What the report is for
A homeowner chasing a recurring blockage may only need to know what and where. A buyer’s solicitor or an insurer usually wants every defect located and measured, the drain’s path traced and marked on the ground, and a fuller written report.
We agree the price with you before any work begins, and accept both card and cash.
Questions we often get
How long will the survey take?
Under an hour, as a rule, for a single domestic run. A whole-property survey covering several runs, or a longer commercial line, needs more time.
What if my drain is hard to get to?
In most cases we go in through the nearest manhole or gully, so nothing needs digging up first. If there is truly no way in, we tell you before charging for the visit.
Can I see the footage myself?
Yes. You receive both the recording and the written report as part of the survey, and neither is billed separately later on.
What happens if the survey finds something serious?
We explain what we found, where it is and what the fix would involve. That repair is quoted as its own job, so you can decide with all the facts in front of you.
I am buying a house. How do I get access for a survey?
Ask the estate agent to arrange it with the seller, the same way your building surveyor gets in. We need to lift manhole covers front and back, and usually run taps and flush toilets inside to watch the flow, so the visit needs someone there to open up. Book it early in the conveyancing, so any findings can be raised before exchange rather than after.
Can the survey show whether a drain is mine or shared?
It helps a great deal. The camera shows where each pipe runs and where other properties’ drains join it, and a locator on the surface marks the line and depth. Whether a shared section is yours, a neighbour’s or the water company’s also depends on when it was built and where it connects to the public sewer, but the footage gives you the evidence to have that conversation.
Other drainage jobs we do
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Drain Unblocking
Blocked sinks, toilets and outside drains cleared with the right kit instead of bottled chemicals.
Read about Drain Unblocking -
Blocked Toilet
A toilet that will not flush away, or one that keeps blocking. Cleared, with the cause explained.
Read about Blocked Toilet -
Drain Repairs
For drains that are broken, not merely blocked. We repair them by excavation or, if the run allows, with no digging at all.
Read about Drain Repairs -
Surface Water Drainage
Rainwater with nowhere to go — standing water on patios, paths and gardens, given somewhere to drain.
Read about Surface Water Drainage -
Gutter Repair
Blocked, leaking, sagging and overflowing gutters cleared and repaired, along with the downpipes below them.
Read about Gutter Repair
Businesses use us for CCTV drain surveys too, among them cafés and restaurants, food shops and takeaways, clinics and dental practices, blocks of flats and managing agents, art and pottery studios, veterinary practices, and plenty of other business types.
Looking for CCTV drain surveys in London?
Tell us what is wrong and where you are, and you will have the price before any work begins.