The survey said
get the drains
looked at. So look.
Almost every London Level 3 survey recommends a CCTV drainage survey, because the surveyor lifted a cover, saw water moving and could not see further. A camera survey tells you what the pipes are actually like, and if something is wrong the repair is usually smaller than people fear.
A recorded run through
every pipe you own.
A CCTV drain survey pushes a camera through the drains from each inspection chamber and records the run, with a written report that maps the pipework, notes the material and diameter, and grades every defect by position. You get the footage and the report, which is what a solicitor, a lender or a buyer asks for. A typical house takes an hour or two.
The common findings in London stock are familiar. Victorian salt glazed clay pipes with displaced or open joints. Root ingress through those joints, usually from the nearest tree or hedge. Fractures and longitudinal cracks from ground movement in clay soil. Scale and grease build up in kitchen runs. Bellied sections holding standing water. And, less often, a collapse or a pipe that simply ends where a previous owner stopped.
Shared pipes are
not always yours.
Since 2011 the pipes that serve more than one property, and the lateral drain beyond your boundary, have generally belonged to the water company. The private drain inside your boundary that serves only your house is yours. On a London terrace the back drain often runs along several gardens before it reaches the sewer, so a defect in it may be the water company's to fix even though the camera went in from your chamber.
A proper survey report identifies where the private drain ends and the shared section begins, which is the difference between you paying for a repair and reporting it to the water company. That point is worth establishing before anyone quotes.
Lining first,
digging only when needed.
Most defects in a pipe that is still in one piece are repaired from the inside. A patch liner is a resin impregnated sleeve cured in place over a single joint or crack. A full liner does the same along a whole run, leaving a new pipe inside the old one. Roots are cut out first and the joint lined so they cannot return. None of this needs the garden or the path dug up.
A collapse, a severe belly or a pipe that is too badly broken to line means excavation: dig down, replace the section, backfill and reinstate. In a London garden that usually means reinstating a patio, a path or a lawn afterwards, which is the part of the job a drainage specialist does not do and a building contractor does. We do both halves, so the repair and the making good are one job with one price.
Questions we get
asked most.
Get a written
price.
Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm, Sunday 9am to 3pm. All London boroughs.
Message us on WhatsAppSend the survey page or a photo and we will tell you what it means and what it will take to fix.
What happens on the day.
Find the access points
Inspection chambers, gullies and rodding points are located and lifted so the camera can travel the runs you are responsible for.
Run the camera
A waterproof camera on a cable is pushed through each pipe, recording the condition, the joints and the distance along the run.
Record the defects
Cracks, roots, displaced joints, deformation and blockages are logged against their position, using industry standard defect descriptions.
Report and recommendations
You receive the footage and a written report, with repairs set out in order of urgency and priced in writing.
The usual reasons for a drain survey.
Buying a property
Older London houses often have clay drains that are cracked or full of roots. A survey before exchange tells you what you are buying.
Recurring blockages and smells
If a drain keeps blocking, the camera shows why, so the cause is fixed rather than the blockage cleared again.
Building near or over a drain
Extensions often sit over or close to drains. Where a public sewer is involved, the water company's build over rules apply, and a survey shows the line and condition first.
Damp, subsidence or sinking paving
Leaking drains can wash out the ground beside foundations and paths. A survey checks whether the drain is the cause.
Often needed
alongside this.
Areas we cover.
We take drainage surveys and repairs across all 32 London boroughs. Most of our work is in west London, in Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick and White City, and in south west London, in Putney, Wandsworth and Wimbledon. We also work in south east London, in Greenwich, Blackheath and Lewisham.
If your property is outside these areas, call us anyway. We travel across London and will tell you honestly if a job is too far to price properly.