Same-day appointments · 7 days, 8am–8pm · £225 fixed, no call-out fee
01925 357132 Fixed price · Same day · 7 days
Drainage engineer feeding a CCTV survey camera into a manhole on a residential driveway in Birchwood
Drain Camera Surveys · Birchwood

The pipe under a Birchwood garden is fifty years old. Nobody has ever looked inside it.

A camera through every accessible run, a graded report and the full footage — yours before we leave. £225 fixed. Someone can be with you in Birchwood today.

Call 01925 357132
£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, including the shared rear runs the Birchwood estates were built with.
The material named
The material namedPitch fibre, clay or plastic. It is the single fact that decides what a repair would cost, and it belongs in the report.
Yours the same day
Yours the same dayWritten report coded to MSCC5 and the full narrated video, sent before the evening — not a summary a week later.
How we work

We do not fix drains.That is deliberate.

No repair quote at the end of the visit, no liner in the van, no digger arriving on Monday. We are paid to find out what is wrong and to tell you — and nothing about what we find changes what we earn.

Looking is the cheap part

What a survey saves you

Four ways to deal with a drain problem, ranked by cost. The cheapest one tells you what the others are guessing at.

CCTV survey, then a targeted repair of the actual faultKnow the problem. Fix the right thing.
£225
Every time you pay to clear it and it comes backAgain and again, until the cause is found.
£80 each time
Digging blind on a guessExcavate, find nothing, fill it back in.
£2,000+
Discovering it after you've bought the houseThe most expensive way to find a drain fault.
£4,000–£12,000
Most drainage firms in WA3 will not publish a price at all. We publish ours, and we quote it before we attend.
£225 · One visit, one price Quoted before we attend

✓ What that buys

Everything below is included. There is nothing else to pay.

  • A camera down every accessible run, cover to boundary
  • Each defect graded and located to the metre, marked on the ground
  • Written WRc-standard report, in your hands the same day
  • The full narrated video and every defect photograph — yours to keep
  • A straight answer on what, if anything, actually needs doing

— What you never get

Not on the day, not on the invoice, not afterwards.

  • A call-out fee, or a charge for locating and marking
  • A price that moves once we've seen the job
  • A repair quote you didn't ask for
  • Any obligation to use us for the work
  • A report we keep hold of, or footage you have to ask twice for

The report is WRc-standard — accepted by solicitors, conveyancers and the major mortgage lenders. Take it to any contractor you like.

Why people ring us

Call us if this sounds familiar

You don't need to know what's wrong. You just need to recognise the sign.

Buying a house

Buying a house

The survey isn't in the RICS report, and the problem transfers to you at completion.

Keeps blocking

Keeps blocking

Cleared three times, back again. Something's broken, not blocked.

A smell you can't trace

A smell you can't trace

Inside or out. Usually a cracked pipe or a dry trap.

Ground has dropped

Ground has dropped

Sinking patio, dip in the lawn, cracks in the path.

Rats

Rats

They come in through broken drains. Find the hole, fix the rats.

Damp and cracking

Damp and cracking

A leaking drain under the house shows up in the walls first.

Also worth a call: slow drains, gurgling toilets, a patch of lawn that's greener than the rest, water pooling round a cover, a manhole that's always full.
Call 01925 357132
Victorian red-brick terraced street in Birchwood
Birchwood's drains

The drains are older than the people worrying about them.

Birchwood was built almost from scratch in the 1970s on the old Risley ordnance site, and that single fact decides what is under most gardens here. The estates went in fast, during the years when pitch fibre was the cheap alternative to clay — and pitch fibre has a service life, not a fault.

Clay cracks, joints displace, roots get in. A camera finds it in an hour.

Nothing dug up

What happens on the day

You call. We give you a time today.
1

You call. We give you a time today.

We text a two-hour arrival window and the engineer's name.

Camera goes in through an existing cover.
2

Camera goes in through an existing cover.

Nothing dug up, nothing lifted that isn't already a manhole. We can also go in via a gully or, if needed, the toilet.

About an hour.
3

About an hour.

We survey every accessible run, locate each defect to the metre and mark its depth on the ground.

Report and footage the same day.
4

Report and footage the same day.

Written report coded to MSCC5, defect photos, the full narrated video, and a straight answer on what — if anything — needs doing.

Inside a WA3 drain

What the camera actually finds

A fracture in the pipe wall. Nothing visible above ground, and the reason the blockage keeps coming back. REC
A fracture in the pipe wall. Nothing visible above ground, and the reason the blockage keeps coming back.
Root ingress at an open joint. Rodding clears the hole through it; the roots are back by spring. REC
Root ingress at an open joint. Rodding clears the hole through it; the roots are back by spring.
A displaced joint. The step catches everything that passes and the run silts up behind it. REC
A displaced joint. The step catches everything that passes and the run silts up behind it.
You watch the screen with us. No survey where the findings only appear later in an email.
You watch the screen with us. No survey where the findings only appear later in an email.
Every accessible cover lifted, every run entered. Not a look down the first chamber and a verdict.
Every accessible cover lifted, every run entered. Not a look down the first chamber and a verdict.
The written report, coded to MSCC5, with each defect graded and located to the metre.
The written report, coded to MSCC5, with each defect graded and located to the metre.

Already had a survey and been quoted thousands?

Ring us and we'll tell you for free whether the repair is really needed. If they never gave you footage, that's your answer.

Call 01925 357132
Birchwood and the WA3 side of Warrington

Birchwood areas we cover

WA1

Woolston· Martinscroft

WA3

Birchwood· Gorse Covert· Oakwood· Locking Stumps· Risley· Croft· Culcheth· Glazebury· Rixton· Hollins Green

All of WA3, plus the WA1 edge at Woolston and Martinscroft. Anywhere in WA3 we can usually be with you the same day.

Before you ring

Questions we get asked

Is the drain mine or United Utilities'?
Most drains serving a single property — up to the point where they join the public sewer — are your responsibility. The public sewer is United Utilities'. We identify the boundary during the survey so you know exactly where your liability ends.
How long does it take?
The survey itself is usually about an hour for a typical Birchwood semi or terrace. Allow 90 minutes for larger properties or multiple access points.
Do you dig anything up?
No. The camera goes in through an existing cover, gully or, if needed, the toilet. Nothing is dug up, lifted or broken out. There is no mess.
What exactly do I get?
A written report coded to MSCC5 naming each defect, its location to the metre, a severity grade and our recommendation. Plus the full narrated HD video and defect photographs. Everything is sent to your phone the same day.
Will I get a copy of the video?
Yes. The footage is yours — sent to your phone or email the same day. Take it to any contractor for quotes, share it with your solicitor, or keep it for your records.
I'm buying a house — is it worth it?
A RICS HomeBuyer survey does not cover drains. Once you complete, every drain problem becomes yours. A £225 survey before exchange is how you avoid discovering a £4,000–£12,000 repair after you've moved in.
What if nothing is found — is it still worth £225?
Yes. A clear survey is peace of mind before you buy, or confirmation that a recurring blockage is a maintenance issue rather than a structural one. You also get a baseline video to compare against in future.
Can you put the camera down the toilet?
Yes. If there is no accessible manhole or the run can only be reached from inside, we can deploy the camera through the toilet pan. It is a standard access method and leaves no trace.
Do I need to prepare anything?
No. Just make sure we can get to the manhole or access point — clear any covers, pots or stored items. If the drain is completely blocked, tell us so we come prepared.
Can it find tree roots?
Yes — roots are one of the most common findings, especially in pre-war clay pipes. The camera shows exactly where they enter and how far they have spread.
What if I need a repair?
We tell you what the problem is, where it is to the metre, and roughly what a repair should cost. You can use us or anyone else — the report and footage are yours. Nobody digs anything until you have seen the evidence.
Can I use your report to get quotes from other firms?
Yes. The report is coded to MSCC5 — the industry standard — and accepted by solicitors, conveyancers and mortgage lenders. Any drainage contractor can quote from it without doing their own survey.
How much can a drain repair cost?
Honest ranges: a patch liner is typically £500–£1,200. Localised excavation and repair £1,500–£4,000. Full lateral replacement £5,000+. The survey tells you which — if any — you actually need.
Are there any extra charges?
No. £225 is the number. No call-out fee, no trip charge, no extras for locating or marking. Fixed price quoted before we attend.
How much does a CCTV drain survey cost in Birchwood?
£225, fixed, with no call-out fee. That includes the camera survey of every accessible run, a written report coded to MSCC5 and the full narrated footage, delivered the same day.

Don't dig until you've seen it.

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

Call 01925 357132
Call 01925 357132