You may find your blocked drain has been cleared today but then blocks again the following week. There could also be problems within your pipes when purchasing a property or doing an extension.
Seeing what is under your property can be tricky.
If access is available, a CCTV drain survey allows you to see what’s going on below ground without having to dig up everything.
Here are four companies that offer various levels of service, from in-depth reports to fault-finding.
What This Guide Will Cover
- Choosing the Best Drain Survey
- Smart Drain UK: Best CCTV Drain Survey
- Metro Rod: CCTV Drain Surveys for Homes & Businesses
- Drain Doctor: CCTV Drain Surveys & Emergency Call Outs
- Dyno-Rod: CCTV Drain Surveys
- Quick Comparison
- Questions to Ask Before Booking
- Final Verdict
Choosing the Best Drain Survey
You’ll need to consider what you’re looking for when you have a drain survey done.
- Blocked Drains: CCTV drain survey can help find the cause of blocked drains, roots, broken joints, silt, or fractured pipes.
- Buying a Home: You’ll want a CCTV survey report, video, and to know how many metres of drain were surveyed.
- Home Extension: CCTV surveys can include drain tracing, drain plan and any required documents.
- Ground Movement: Let your contractor know what drains you want investigated.
Once you have your drain surveyed, they may find the fault, but this doesn’t always mean you will receive a video, drain plan and CCTV survey report. Decide which deliverables you need before comparing quotes.
1. Smart Drain UK: Best CCTV Drain Survey
Smart Drain UK has taken the number one spot when it comes to CCTV drain surveys. Whether you are buying a home, extending, or experiencing repeated blockages, Smart Drain UK can provide you with the answers.
By using CCTV drain inspection, Smart Drain UK can view the drainage system by inserting a camera into the drain access points. Once your drain has been surveyed, they can provide you with a report, video, plan of the site, and recommend any repairs if required. They can also let you know how deep, where, and the size of any defects that were found.
Perfect for: A CCTV survey when purchasing a home or if you need to know more about your drainage system.
Their CCTV surveys are ideal for:
- Purchasing or selling a home
- Blocked drains, smelly drains
- Builders, contractors & developers
- Landlords, estate agents, building societies, mortgage brokers & insurance companies
Your drain could be damaged, cracked, root-infested, have silt or stones within the pipe, fractured or collapsed. Your drains may need to be cleared first if they are obstructed or inaccessible.
Smart Drain UK is based in Rugby and can carry out CCTV drain surveys throughout the UK, from the Midlands to London. They also provide other drain repairs, such as drain lining and subsidence surveys.
You can find more information about Smart Drain UK in the National Association of Drainage Contractors directory. There is also positive customer feedback on Trustpilot.
They can also tell you the differences between a CCTV survey and a WRc-standard drainage report, if this is required for insurance, structural reasons, or by your contractor.
Ideal for: Homeowners, homebuyers, landlords, developers and builders.
2. Metro Rod: CCTV Drain Surveys for Homes & Businesses
There are many reasons why you may want to have a CCTV drain survey, and Metro Rod’s CCTV drain survey service is available for domestic and commercial properties.
Their CCTV drain survey can help you purchase a property, extend over drains, view large diameter pipes, and much more. By using their CCTV camera, they can provide you with video, a report, a drain plan, and recommendations.
Why Metro Rod is included: They provide many CCTV drain surveys that can be helpful for both domestic and business needs.
Metro Rod can also clean and repair your drains, so you can view your drainage system and address problems identified. When booking your survey, make sure you know the diameters of the pipes, access points, and what you want mapped. They can also do CCTV drain surveys on developments.
Ideal for: Businesses, landlords, developers, estate agents, homebuyers, building societies, mortgage brokers, homeowners & insurance companies.
3. Drain Doctor: CCTV Drain Surveys & Emergency Call Outs
If you have bad smells or frequent blockages, you may want to have a CCTV drain survey completed. Drain Doctor’s CCTV inspections are offered along with many other drain services.
CCTV drain surveys will allow the Drain Doctor to see what is causing your drain issue. This could be a crack, roots, silt build up or any other cause of blockage. Drain Doctor provides local engineers, 24-hour call-outs, and can give you a quotation before commencing any work.
But what do you get after a CCTV drain survey?
You can receive a full CCTV drain survey report, video, pictures, and recommendations, or they can give you the results verbally. Make sure you ask what you will receive after the drain survey, especially if you are buying a home.
Drain Doctor also repairs your drains, so you can get your drain surveyed and then receive a quotation to repair any defects. If you have blocked drains, having a CCTV survey done could allow you to know if it will need a simple clear or a drain repair.
Ideal for: If you have blocked drains, smelly drains, cracked pipes, or want to know more about your drainage system.
4. Dyno-Rod: CCTV Drain Surveys
Having a drain survey done can be helpful, but what if you already know your drain is blocked, what can you do? Dyno-Rod’s CCTV drain survey can help you find what’s wrong with your drain.
Dyno-Rod also provides other drain services, from unblocking to jetting and drain repairs, all through their online portal and local engineers.
Difference between Dyno-Rod and other companies: Dyno-Rod specialises in finding what may be causing your drain to block; they can help you find any faults with your drainage system. If you’re buying a home, confirm what written survey information Dyno-Rod will provide. However, if you know there is a fault with your drainage, they could be useful to you as their engineers carry CCTV cameras with them. If a repair is needed, they can advise you of this, subject to a separate quotation.
Ideal for: If you have frequent blockages, smelly drains, or you know there is a fault with your drain.
Quick Comparison
| Smart Drain UK | Metro Rod | Drain Doctor | Dyno-Rod | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | CCTV drain survey for homebuyers, home extensions, and homeowners with issues | CCTV drain survey for larger homes, businesses, developments, etc | CCTV drain survey and emergency drain repairs | CCTV drain surveys and unblocking drains |
| Additional Services | Drain repairs, lining and subsidence investigations | Cleaning, mapping, maintenance and repairs | Drain repairs and relining | Drain unblocking, jetting and repairs |
Questions to Ask Before Booking
When you are receiving your quotation, ask the following questions to ensure you know what you will receive.
- What drains are being checked? You should ask if all foul and surface water runs will be checked, shared pipes, inaccessible areas, etc.
- What do you get? Will you receive a written report, footage, stills, a drain plan, location of defects, etc.
- Will you get a condition report? If so, what code/standard will the report follow?
- Is cleaning and tracing included? If there is a blockage in the pipe, it may require further work to gain access to view.
- Will repairs be quoted? You may want to know if any repair works will be quoted.
For costs, Checkatrade’s CCTV survey cost guide explains the difference between basic inspections and more detailed surveys.
Water UK Standards Board guidance covers recommended certification for sewer CCTV survey operators and also gives information on the Manual of Sewer Condition Classification when it comes to inspecting sewer assets. These water-industry guidelines are not a universal requirement for domestic surveys, although a client or insurer may specify a particular reporting standard.
Final Verdict
Metro Rod works on large networks, Drain Doctor provides local support, and Dyno-Rod is good for stubborn blockages.
If you are a homeowner or property professional and want to see what the camera found, then Smart Drain UK would be a sensible first port of call out of the 4 companies above. They can provide footage, reports, plans, and other repair work that may be beneficial when looking at your property.
