You can't fix what you can't see. If your drains are slow, smelly, or keep blocking regardless of what's been tried, guesswork isn't going to help. A CCTV drain survey puts a camera directly into the pipework and tells you exactly what's wrong, where it is, and how serious it's become.
We run a push-rod camera through your drains, record the footage, and hand you a written report with every fault located to the metre. You know what you're dealing with before any repair work starts, which means no unnecessary digging and no surprises on the day.
What the Survey Involves
One of our engineers arrives, lifts the relevant cover, and feeds a high-resolution camera through the drain. The camera transmits live footage to a monitor, and every metre of pipe is logged as it's inspected. You're welcome to watch the screen alongside us.
At the end of the survey, you get:
- A written report detailing every fault, its location, and its condition
- Recorded footage you can keep and share
- A clear explanation of what needs doing and why
- Honest options for repair, whether that's relining, patch repair, or excavation
A standard residential survey typically takes 45 minutes to an hour. Larger systems or commercial sites take longer. We'll give you a realistic timeframe on the phone once we know what we're dealing with.
When You Actually Need One
Some situations call for a camera survey straight away rather than jetting and hoping.
Recurring blockages. If the same drain blocks every few months, there's usually a structural reason. A collapsed section, root intrusion, or a misaligned joint will keep causing problems until it's properly identified.
Slow drainage across the whole property. One slow sink might be a straightforward blockage. Slow drains throughout the house often point to a partial collapse or significant build-up further down the line.
Buying a property. Pre-purchase CCTV surveys are one of the most useful things a buyer can do in Windsor. Older properties in Clewer Village, Eton, and Old Windsor frequently have Victorian-era clay pipe drainage that's been patched, cracked, or partially collapsed over the decades. A survey before exchange gives you the facts, and you can price any remedial work into your negotiations.
Suspected root ingress. Tree roots find hairline cracks and work their way in over years. A camera shows exactly where they've entered and how far they've spread, which jetting alone won't tell you.
Insurance or legal disputes. If your insurer or a solicitor needs evidence of drain condition, a written report with footage is the format they require. A verbal summary won't do.
Who Owns Which Drain
Before any repair conversation, it's worth knowing what's actually your responsibility. It's a question that comes up constantly on Windsor call-outs and it's genuinely confusing.
As a rough guide:
- Private drains run from your property to the boundary or to the point where they connect with a shared drain. These are your responsibility.
- Lateral drains run beyond your boundary and connect to the public sewer. Since 2011, Thames Water has been responsible for lateral drains serving a single property, even when they cross private land.
- Shared drains serve more than one property. These are typically Thames Water's responsibility too, though disputes about exactly where the boundary sits are common.
A CCTV survey report pinpoints the fault to the metre, which means you can establish quickly whether the problem sits on your side of the boundary or on Thames Water's. That distinction can save you a significant amount of money.
What We Find in Windsor Drains
Windsor's drainage stock is varied. Newer builds in Dedworth and Cranbourne tend to have UPVC pipework in reasonable condition. Properties in Clewer North, Clewer South, Spital, and the older parts of SL4 are a different story. Post-war housing built through the 1950s and into the 1970s was commonly drained using pitch fibre pipe, and that material has a known failure mode: over time it deforms into an oval or egg shape rather than holding its circular profile, which restricts flow and eventually causes blockages that no amount of jetting will permanently resolve.
Common faults the camera picks up:
- Fractured or collapsed pipe sections
- Root ingress through joints or cracks
- Displaced joints where ground movement has shifted the alignment
- Deformed pitch fibre causing partial blockage
- Build-up of grease, silt, or scale
- Incorrect falls where water pools rather than drains
Properties in Datchet and Wraysbury near the Thames see ground movement issues from high water tables, which shift drainage gradually over time. In Eton Wick and parts of Old Windsor, older connections sometimes tie into domestic drainage in ways that cause ongoing problems that aren't obvious without a camera.
Survey or Jetting: Which Do You Need First?
| Situation | Start with jetting | Start with a survey |
|---|---|---|
| Single blocked drain, first time | Yes | Not usually needed first |
| Same drain blocking repeatedly | No | Yes, find the structural cause |
| Slow drains across multiple outlets | No | Yes |
| Pre-purchase due diligence | No | Yes |
| Suspected pipe collapse or root damage | No | Yes |
| Smell but no visible blockage | Possibly, if grease or silt odour is likely | Yes, if jetting doesn't resolve it |
Jetting clears the material. A CCTV survey finds out why it's accumulating. If you're uncertain which one your situation needs, a call to us will get you a straight answer without any commitment.
After the Survey
The written report sets out every fault in plain language. If repair work is needed, we'll quote for it on the same call or visit. Drain repairs and relining carried out by Drainsco come with a 20-year guarantee covering both materials and workmanship on that remedial work. That guarantee applies to structural repairs, relining, and pipe replacement. It does not apply to blockage clearance.
You're not obligated to use us for any repairs. Some customers want the report for an insurance claim, a solicitor, or to get independent quotes elsewhere. The report is yours to use as you see fit.
CCTV surveys are a regular call-out across SL4, covering Windsor town centre, Clewer East, Clewer Village, Clewer North, Dedworth, Spital, Cranbourne, Eton, Eton Wick, Datchet, and Old Windsor. Engineers are on call 24/7. Every job is priced individually, agreed before we lift a cover, with no call-out fee. Call us on 01753 980292.