A drain collapse discovered after completion is your problem. A drain collapse discovered before completion is the seller's. We survey, document and report in 24 hours — typical buyer savings of £5,000–£15,000.
35+ years on the tools · Same-day service guaranteed · Fully insured domestic & commercial
35+
Years on the tools
Guaranteed
Same-day response
£5M PL
Fully insured
CO5 8DX
Local to West Mersea
A full CCTV inspection of the drainage at a property you're buying, with a written defect-coded report and MP4 footage delivered ahead of your exchange deadline. Designed to give you the evidence you need to (a) walk away from a bad property, (b) renegotiate the price, or (c) complete with confidence.
Buyers exchanging on any property over 25 years old, any property with mature trees nearby, any property where the homebuyer's report flagged 'drainage not inspected', and any cash purchase where there's no mortgage lender forcing a survey. Solicitors and conveyancers regularly refer clients to us when drainage is excluded from the standard survey.
After offer accepted, before exchange. We turn around survey-to-report in 24 hours where you're on a deadline — most buyers book the survey alongside the homebuyer's report so timelines align. Don't leave it to the last week if you can avoid it: defects often need lining or excavation quotes which take 48 hours to prepare.
Standard RICS Level 2 and 3 reports do not include drainage CCTV — surveyors note 'drainage not inspected' as standard. Around 1 in 4 properties over 30 years old has a significant drainage defect that won't be visible above ground. Skipping this survey is the most common 'expensive mistake' new homeowners report in the first 12 months.
Buyers who skip the CCTV survey to save £250 routinely inherit four- and five-figure drainage bills. Here's what we find:
Common in 1900–1960s Essex housing stock. Repair cost £8,000–£20,000 after completion — but typically £500–£1,500 knocked off the sale price if flagged before exchange.
Mature gardens in Colchester, Wivenhoe and Ipswich are the highest-risk profile. Hairline today becomes full root-ball blockage in 18 months. Lining cost £1,200–£2,500 if caught now, £8,000+ if left.
Pre-1937 properties often share drains with neighbours and the conveyancer rarely flags it. Our survey identifies shared runs and unmapped lateral connections — vital info for any future work.
Previous owner extended over a public sewer without water-authority approval. You inherit a six-figure indemnity gap and potentially have to expose the drain at your cost.
Two-minute call with Matt to scope the symptoms, agree an ETA and confirm pricing brackets before we leave the yard. No call-out fee for the conversation.
We lift covers, run flow tests and — where relevant — drop the CCTV camera in to identify the actual cause, not the easiest symptom.
Itemised price covering parts, labour, disposal and timeline. You approve in writing before any tools come out of the van.
Work carried out cleanly: dust sheets, tool mats and bagged waste. We protect floors, gardens and driveways throughout.
Post-works flow test, CCTV verification where appropriate, photos and a written job sheet emailed within 24 hours plus our workmanship guarantee.
Survey today, report and MP4 footage emailed tomorrow. Faster on request for tight exchange deadlines.
OS-MaP / EN 13508-2 defect-coded PDF, accepted by solicitors, surveyors and mortgage lenders.
Buyers using our reports routinely save £5,000–£15,000 off the asking price where defects are found. The survey pays for itself many times over.
If a defect is found, we quote the remedial work directly from the footage. You can use that quote in negotiation — or take it elsewhere with no obligation.
We work for the buyer. We don't take referral fees from estate agents or surveyors. The report tells you what's actually there.
Insurers require evidence on pre-existing defects. Our report is the documentation you need from day one of ownership.
A buyer's CCTV survey is a different product from a generic drain inspection — it's designed to be used in negotiation and conveyancing, and the report has to stand up to a surveyor and a solicitor. Here's how we run them.
Discuss your projectEvery accessible run from the property to the boundary, including foul drainage, surface-water drainage, gullies, manholes and rest-bends. We trace lateral connections (kitchen, bathroom, downstairs WC, washing machine, outside taps) and identify where each connects to the main run. Shared drainage and unmapped connections are flagged.
Plain-English summary on page 1. Property and survey metadata. Defect schedule with chainage, EN 13508-2 code, severity grade 1–5 and photo plate. Recommended remedial action per defect. Drainage map showing run layout. Appendix of full inspection footage references. Designed to be forwarded straight to your solicitor.
Sonde-equipped heads mark the surface location and depth of each run to within 100mm. Critical if you're planning an extension, basement, swimming pool, conservatory or driveway re-laying after purchase — the report tells you where you can and cannot dig.
Survey within 5 working days of booking (sooner on request). Full report and MP4 footage emailed within 24 hours of the survey. Repair quotes — where needed — within a further 48 hours. We work to conveyancing deadlines and have turned full surveys around in 36 hours start-to-finish when needed.
Most buyer surveys are £250–£400 fully inclusive. Use the report (a) as a go/no-go decision on the property, (b) to renegotiate the asking price where defects are found, (c) to require the seller to complete repairs before exchange, or (d) as your evidence base for the first six years of ownership.
Colchester, Essex, Suffolk & London.
Call Matt direct or request a written quote — we'll come back to you fast.
Clear Drains 4 U · West Mersea, Colchester CO5 8DX · 35 years' experience
