Available today · 7 days, 8am–8pm · £225 all-in, nothing extra to pay
01925 357095 Fixed price · Same day · 7 days
A CCTV drain survey van parked outside a modern brick house in Great Sankey, with the camera reel and monitor laid out on the block paving
CCTV Camera Surveys · Great Sankey

The drain is not the problem. Not knowing which metre of it is.

A camera down the run, a graded report and the full footage — yours before we leave the street. £225 fixed. Someone can be with you in Great Sankey today.

Call 01925 357095
£225 fixed — no call-out fee Report & footage the same day
Every run, on camera
Every run, on cameraFrom the first accessible cover to the boundary or the public sewer, in one visit.
Graded, not guessed
Graded, not guessedEach defect coded, measured from a fixed point, and rated for how urgent it actually is.
Footage you keep
Footage you keepNarrated HD video sent to your phone. Take it to any contractor, or to your insurer.
How we work

We are not the people who fix it.That is the whole point.

No repair quote at the end, no liner in the van, no digger round the corner. We tell you what is down there and what it will take to put right, and then you choose who does it — us being nobody's preferred contractor is exactly what makes the report worth having.

Looking is the cheap part

What a survey saves you

There are four approaches to a drainage fault, from least to most expensive. Only the cheapest one actually shows you the problem first.

A CCTV inspection followed by a precise fix on the confirmed defectSee the fault. Repair what matters.
£225
Repeated jetting bills every time it backs up againEach call-out costs money and solves nothing long-term.
£80 each time
Excavating on speculationDig a hole, find the pipe is fine, reinstate the ground.
£2,000+
Finding out about it the day you move inA drain defect discovered after completion is yours to pay for.
£4,000–£12,000
Ring three drainage firms in WA5 and you will get three site visits before you get three prices. Ours is £225, published, and it does not move.
£225 · One visit, one price Quoted before we attend

✓ What that buys

Everything listed here is part of the price. No extras, no follow-up charges.

  • CCTV inspection of all reachable drainage lines
  • Detailed report including labelled screen captures
  • Scaled drainage plan with pipe routes and depths
  • MSCC5-compliant condition assessment
  • Clear guidance on any repairs that may be needed

— What you never get

Nothing added on the day, on the bill, or after the fact.

  • No separate call-out or attendance charge
  • No extra cost if further camera passes are needed on site
  • No premium for bookings outside normal hours
  • No additional fee for producing the report
  • No travel charge for properties in the Great Sankey area

Reports are produced to WRc standard and accepted by solicitors, licensed conveyancers and mortgage lenders nationwide. Take it to any contractor you like.

Why people ring us

Call us if this sounds familiar

You don't have to diagnose the issue yourself. Just notice when something isn't right.

House purchase

House purchase

Mortgage valuations and homebuyer reports don't extend underground. A broken drain or root intrusion won't appear until it becomes your responsibility. A pre-purchase survey puts the facts on the table before you commit.

Recurring blockage

Recurring blockage

A blockage that returns isn't a blockage — it's a symptom. Somewhere in the line there's a structural fault creating the same problem over and over. The camera identifies the root cause so you stop paying to clear it.

An unexplained smell

An unexplained smell

Sewer odour inside a property usually points to a defective pipe or failed seal below the slab. The smell can travel some distance from the break, which is why guessing rarely works. We trace it on screen.

Sinking ground

Sinking ground

Subsidence around a drain run is a strong indicator of pipe failure. Leaking water erodes the bedding material and creates voids beneath the surface. The survey confirms whether the pipe is responsible before any ground is opened.

Rat problem

Rat problem

A broken underground drain is the most common way rats access a building. Even a small displacement in a joint is enough. The camera survey pinpoints every break so a targeted repair can close the route.

Damp walls or cracking

Damp walls or cracking

Low-level damp and fine cracks near the base of a wall sometimes stem from a leaking drain saturating the ground nearby. A CCTV inspection maps the pipework and flags the fault without excavation.

Also worth a call: drains that empty slowly, gurgling noises from the toilet, an unusually green strip of grass, standing water near an inspection cover, a manhole chamber that never seems to drop.
Call 01925 357095
An aerial view of the suburban streets and back gardens of Great Sankey, each house on its own drain run
Great Sankey's drains

Great Sankey's drains have been in the ground longer than most of its residents.

West Warrington is the newest part of the town. Most of WA5 went up between 1975 and 2005, which means plastic pipe, not clay — and a completely different set of faults. Crushed runs, back-falls and building debris, not roots and fractures.

Clay pipes crack over time, joints shift, tree roots exploit every gap. A camera survey locates the damage without lifting a spade.

Nothing dug up

What happens on the day

Get in touch
1

Get in touch

Let us know the property address and why you need the survey. We'll come back with a fixed quote and a date — normally within a couple of days.

The engineer surveys
2

The engineer surveys

A specialist camera is pushed through each accessible drain run while the engineer records the findings. Most surveys in Great Sankey are completed well within two hours.

Report delivered
3

Report delivered

You receive a comprehensive PDF with colour stills, a site drainage plan and MSCC5 condition scoring. Reports are usually with you inside 24 hours.

Your call
4

Your call

The report sets out what was found and what, if anything, needs doing. Use it for quotes, pre-purchase negotiations, or an insurance claim. We don't push further work.

Inside a WA5 drain

What the camera finds

Surface damage to a concrete run — the wall breaking down from the inside, with the debris collecting below it. REC
Surface damage to a concrete run — the wall breaking down from the inside, with the debris collecting below it.
A rat filmed live at 18.7m in a 150mm clay run. Baiting removes the rat. It does not remove the hole it came through. REC
A rat filmed live at 18.7m in a 150mm clay run. Baiting removes the rat. It does not remove the hole it came through.
A pipe deformed to about 25% of its bore. It still runs, until the first thing that catches on the narrowing stops. REC
A pipe deformed to about 25% of its bore. It still runs, until the first thing that catches on the narrowing stops.
The monitor on the tripod beside the open chamber. You watch the run with us, live, not in an email afterwards.
The monitor on the tripod beside the open chamber. You watch the run with us, live, not in an email afterwards.
The crawler going down the ramp. On a long run or a shared drain a tracked unit reaches what a push rod cannot.
The crawler going down the ramp. On a long run or a shared drain a tracked unit reaches what a push rod cannot.
The footage on the screen, logged to the metre. You get the file the same day, whatever we find.
The footage on the screen, logged to the metre. You get the file the same day, whatever we find.

Already had a survey and been quoted thousands?

Call us and we'll tell you at no cost whether the recommended repair is actually necessary. If the company that quoted you never showed you video evidence, that speaks for itself.

Call 01925 357095
Great Sankey and the west side of Warrington

Great Sankey areas we cover

WA5

Great Sankey· Chapelford· Penketh· Old Hall· Callands· Whittle Hall· Westbrook· Sankey Bridges· Bewsey and Dallam· Burtonwood· Lingley Green· Hood Manor and Whitecross

All of WA5, plus the WA2 and WA8 borders. Anywhere in WA5 we can usually be with you the same day.

Before you ring

Questions we get asked

Is the drain mine or United Utilities'?
In most cases the drains serving your property alone are your responsibility, up to the point where they meet the public sewer maintained by United Utilities. We locate that boundary as part of the survey so you understand precisely where your liability starts and ends.
How long does it take?
The survey itself is usually about an hour for a typical Great Sankey semi or terrace. Allow 90 minutes for larger properties or multiple access points.
Do you dig anything up?
Not a thing. The camera is fed through an existing cover, gully or, if needed, the toilet pan. Nothing is dug, lifted or disturbed. You are left with no mess whatsoever.
What exactly do I get?
A detailed written report coded to MSCC5 listing each defect, its location to the metre, a severity grade and what we recommend. On top of that, the full narrated HD video and defect photographs — everything sent to your phone on the same day.
Will I get a copy of the video?
Yes. The video is yours to keep — sent to your phone or email the same day. Show it to any contractor for pricing, share it with your solicitor, or file it for your own records.
I'm buying a house — is it worth it?
Drains are not covered by a RICS HomeBuyer survey. Once you complete the purchase, every drain issue becomes yours. A £225 survey before exchange stops you inheriting a repair costing £4,000–£12,000.
What if nothing is found — is it still worth £225?
Yes. If you are buying, a clear result is genuine peace of mind. If you already own the property, it confirms a recurring blockage is a maintenance issue and not structural. Either way, the baseline video is useful for comparison down the line.
Can you put the camera down the toilet?
Yes. Where no manhole is accessible or the pipe run can only be reached from inside, we feed the camera through the toilet pan. It is a routine access method and nothing is marked or damaged.
Do I need to prepare anything?
Nothing special. Just make sure the manhole or access point is reachable — shift any covers, pots or items stored on top. If the drain is completely blocked, mention it when you book so we arrive prepared.
Can it find tree roots?
Yes — root intrusion is among the most frequent problems we see, especially in pre-war clay pipework. The camera reveals precisely where roots have entered and how extensively they have grown.
What if I need a repair?
We explain the defect, pinpoint it to the metre, and give you a rough cost for the repair. You can instruct us or take the report to anyone else — the evidence is yours. No one digs until you have reviewed the footage.
Can I use your report to get quotes from other firms?
Yes. It is coded to MSCC5 — the recognised industry standard — and accepted by solicitors, conveyancers and mortgage lenders. Another drainage contractor can quote directly from it with no need for a second survey.
How much can a drain repair cost?
Realistic figures: a patch liner is typically £500–£1,200. A localised dig-and-repair £1,500–£4,000. Full lateral replacement starts at £5,000. The survey identifies which option — if any — applies to you.
Are there any extra charges?
None. The price is £225. There is no call-out fee, no trip charge, no extra for locating or marking. Fixed price, quoted before we arrive.
How much does a CCTV drain survey cost in Great Sankey?
A fixed £225, no call-out charge. You get a camera survey of each accessible run, the written report to MSCC5 standard, and the complete narrated video, all on the day.

See the problem before you start digging.

£225 fixed. Same day. The footage is yours.

Call 01925 357095
Call 01925 357095