Guide
Is a CCTV drain survey worth it? When £150–£350 saves you thousands
Updated
A camera survey is £150–£350 you did not plan to spend. Whether it is worth it depends entirely on what decision it feeds: for a one-off blocked sink it is money down the drain; before a £2,000 excavation quote it is the best value in the trade.
Worth it
- Before agreeing any dig or reline. Never accept a £600–£2,500+ excavation quote based on someone's opinion of what is down there. The survey shows the actual defect, its position and its depth, and turns a guess into a fixed-scope job you can price against other firms.
- Recurring blockages. A drain that blocks every few months has a cause: roots, scale, a displaced joint, a sag holding water. Paying £100 a visit forever is dearer than finding it once.
- Persistent smells or rats. Both usually mean a defect, rats exploit broken pipes. The camera finds the entry point.
- Buying an older property. A survey before exchange tells you about repairs the seller's paperwork won't.
Not worth it
- A first-time, one-off blockage that rods out in twenty minutes. Clear it, note it, move on.
- A blockage in a public sewer or lateral drain. That investigation is the water company's to run and pay for, see who is responsible.
- As a free extra you didn't ask for. "While we're here, the camera shows you need a reline" is a sales technique. A survey you commission, with a written report, is evidence; a glance at a monitor is not.
What the £150–£350 should buy
- A camera run through the drain runs in question, usually after a clean or jet so the lens can actually see the pipe wall.
- A written report with footage, defects logged with their position and depth, not a verbal summary from the van.
- Recommendations priced separately from the survey, so you are free to take the report to any firm you like for the repair.
Prices here are typical 2026 quotes and vary by region and by how much cleaning the drain needs before the camera goes in. If the survey is for a house purchase or a water company build-over application, the report has to meet a specific audience's expectations, ask for that in writing when you get prices.